Hurricane season on the verge of August without a named storm

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — The hallmark of the 2022 hurricane season — so far — has been uncharacteristic calmness, and the benign conditions might not change for the remainder of August, forecasters say.

This could be just the third August since 1961, and the first August since 1997, without a named storm, according to AccuWeather, the independent forecasting service.

As Wednesday’s 30th anniversary of Hurricane Andrew approaches, it’s also interesting to note this season’s calm follows 2021, the third-most active season with 21 named storms, and 2020, the most active season with 30 named storms. And this year was the first time in seven years there wasn’t a named storm before the June 1 start of hurricane season.

Two tropical waves are expected to come off Africa’s west coast soon — one in the next few days and another over the weekend. The second one has the best chance for developing.

Dry air, Saharan dust and wind shear are the main reasons no named storms have developed recently and only three — Alex, Bonnie and Colin — have developed so far this season.

“As these waves come off (the African coast) each one kind of moistens up the atmosphere, it makes it a little more favorable for the next one,” said AccuWeather senior meteorologist Adam Douty.

As the storms come off the African coast this year they’ve hit pockets of dry air and wind shear that rips them apart or prevents development before reaching the eastern Caribbean.

If the storms can get through those barriers and close to the U.S. coast or into the Gulf of Mexico, they could thrive.