Danielle becomes first Atlantic hurricane this year

Tropical Storm Danielle strengthened into a hurricane Friday, the first of a relatively quiet 2022 Atlantic season.
As of Friday evening, it was nearly stationary and was expected to meander over the open Atlantic for the next couple of days, the National Hurricane Center said. The storm, which became a hurricane just before 10:50 a.m. Eastern time Friday, does not present an immediate threat to land.
The storm was about 895 miles west of the Azores in the North Atlantic with maximum sustained winds of 75 mph.
“The upwelling of cooler water underneath slow-moving Danielle is likely to prevent much strengthening in the near-term,” the hurricane center said.
Danielle reached tropical storm strength Thursday morning, only the fourth such storm this year, and strengthened quickly throughout the day.
Forecasters were also watching two other durbances in the Atlantic: One that was several hundred miles east of the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean, and one near the Cabo Verde Islands off the west coast of Africa.
Meteorologs said the system in the Caribbean, which was moving at about 10 mph, could strengthen into a tropical storm overnight if the heavy rains and thunderstorms continue over the Leeward Islands. If it develops into a tropical storm, it will be named Earl.
In the Pacific, Typhoon Hinnamnor was moving slowly toward the Korean Peninsula after brushing past Taiwan and Japan this week. And Tropical Storm Javier, which was churning a few hundred miles off the coast of Mexico, had maximum sustained winds near 45 mph, with higher gusts. Forecasters said some slight strengthening was possible through Saturday before it starts to weaken Sunday.
Danielle’s formation comes after a relatively quiet start to the Atlantic hurricane season, with just three other named storms. Alex, which formed in early June, caused flooding across South Florida and killed at least three people in Cuba. Bonnie tore across Central America as a tropical storm in early July and briefly became the first major hurricane of the Pacific hurricane season. Colin, the most recent named storm, formed over the Fourth of July weekend, drenching the Carolinas.
There were no named storms in the Atlantic during August, the first time that has happened since 1997. After Danielle, the next tropical storms will be named Earl and Fiona.
In early August, scients at NOAA issued an updated forecast for the rest of the Atlantic hurricane season, which called for an above-normal level of activity. In it, they predicted the season — which runs through Nov. 30 — could have 14 to 20 named storms, with six to 10 turning into hurricanes that sustain winds of at least 74 mph. Three to five of those could strengthen into what NOAA calls major hurricanes — Category 3 or stronger — with winds of at least 111 mph.
Last year, there were 21 named storms, after a record-breaking 30 in 2020. For the past two years, meteorologs have exhausted the l of names used to identify storms during the Atlantic hurricane season, an occurrence that has happened only one other time, in 2005.
Dan Kottlowski, senior meteorolog at AccuWeather, said this week that hurricanes and tropical storms need three main things to develop: warm water, vertical wind shear and a mo, unstable atmosphere.
So far this year, the atmosphere has had dry air instead, which has contributed to a slower season, but Kottlowski warned that there was still plenty of time for severe weather to form.
“Over the last seven years, we’ve had a very favorable pattern, but that hasn’t been the case this year,” said Kottlowski, who is also AccuWeather’s lead hurricane forecaster. “It’s still very highly possible that we will see the potential of strong hurricanes to form in the latter part of September to October.”
The links between hurricanes and climate change have become clearer with each passing year. Data shows that hurricanes have become stronger worldwide during the past four decades. A warming planet can expect stronger hurricanes over time and a higher incidence of the most powerful storms — though the overall number of storms could drop because factors like stronger wind shear could keep weaker storms from forming.
Hurricanes are also becoming wetter because of more water vapor in the warmer atmosphere; scients have suggested storms like Hurricane Harvey in 2017 produced far more rain than they would have without the human effects on the climate. Also, rising sea levels are contributing to higher storm surge — the most destructive element of tropical cyclones.
Maria Torres, a National Hurricane Center spokesperson, said people should not lower their guard, even though there have been few major storms so far this year.
“Be vigilant, as things can change, and the season is not over yet,” she said. One storm is enough to make up a season, she added, citing Hurricane Andrew, which devastated South Florida and Louisiana in 1992, an otherwise quiet year. “We still have many months to go in hurricane season.”