When all the hurricanes and tropical storms that have formed in the Atlantic and eastern Pacific Oceans this year are added together, the 2018 hurricane season is the most active season ever recorded, Colorado State University meteorologist Phil Klotzbachannounced Tuesday.
Florence and Michael were the most destructive storms in the Atlantic, while the eastern Pacific featured several powerhouse storms, including Lane, Rosa, Sergio and now, Willa.
To determine the strength of a given season, scientists use the "Accumulated Cyclone Energy" (ACE) index, which adds together the intensity and duration of all the tropical storms and hurricanes that formed.
So far in 2018, the ACE for the Atlantic and eastern Pacific seasons together is 432 units of energy, shattering the record of 371, which was set in 1992, Klotzbach said.
As the global climate heats up in the decades ahead, sea water will also warm, potentially fueling more storms. Scientists in a 2015 study in the Journal of Climate predicted an increase in tropical cyclone frequency in the eastern Pacific Ocean and near Hawaii.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2018/10/23/hurricane-season-most-active-record-atlantic-pacific-combined/1741226002/
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