The Atlantic hurricane season has entered unusual territory, with no hurricanes recorded by 10 September 2026.
That timing makes the development particularly remarkable.
September normally brings some of the Atlantic basin’s busiest hurricane activity.
However, the Atlantic has remained remarkably subdued this year.
Scientists are linking the unusual pattern to a rapidly strengthening El Niño event.
The climate pattern is also producing dramatic contrasts across different parts of the world.
Why the Atlantic Has Gone So Quiet
El Niño is changing atmospheric conditions across the Atlantic basin.
One major effect is stronger wind shear over the tropical Atlantic.
That wind shear can disrupt developing storms before they become organised hurricanes.
As a result, systems face tougher conditions for sustained development.
Meanwhile, the Pacific is experiencing a very different pattern.
The northeastern Pacific has recorded around 40% more named storms than average.
Therefore, the contrasting hurricane activity highlights El Niño’s powerful regional influence.
The event has also reached extraordinary ocean temperatures.
NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center recorded a Niño 3.4 Relative Oceanic Niño Index of 2.0°C.
That reading places the event within the “very strong” category.
Meanwhile, the Niño 1+2 region reached 3.7°C above average.
That area sits near the Pacific coast of north-western South America.
Scientists Warn of an Exceptional El Niño
Forecasters are increasingly concerned about the event’s potential strength.
The World Meteorological Organization has described the event as “supersizing before our eyes.”
The organisation also projects that it could become the strongest El Niño ever recorded.
The Washington Post reported that temperatures could reach around 4.1°C above average during December.
That would exceed the previous record by roughly one degree.
The previous benchmark came during the powerful 2015 El Niño.
Furthermore, forecasters expect the current event to remain influential well into 2027.
The WMO gives almost a 100% chance of El Niño continuing through February 2027.
NOAA also sees a greater than 90% chance of very strong conditions continuing through autumn and winter.
The consequences are already appearing beyond the Pacific.
Panama has experienced torrential rainfall and serious flooding.
More than 15,600 people have reportedly been affected across northern and Caribbean regions.
Yet other parts of Panama are facing the opposite problem.
Rainfall shortages have created water stress across eleven watersheds.
The World Food Programme has also warned about wider food-security risks.
Nearly 50 million additional vulnerable people could face acute hunger because of the strengthening climate pattern.
The Atlantic’s hurricane silence therefore forms only one part of a much larger story.
El Niño is creating sharply different weather outcomes across the globe.
The post Historic El Niño Could Explain the Atlantic’s Record Hurricane Silence appeared first on iHarare News.
