Published on Apr. 9, 2026, 7:21 PM
El Niño is expected to dominate tropical activity across the Atlantic Ocean this hurricane season
Experts with Colorado State University (CSU) released their much-awaited Atlantic hurricane season outlook on Thursday, calling for a growing El Niño to dominate much of the season ahead.
The official forecast calls for slightly below-average tropical cyclone activity across the Atlantic basin.
Below-average doesn’t mean out of the woods, though. “As with all hurricane seasons, coastal residents are reminded that it only takes one hurricane making landfall to make it an active season,” the CSU team advised.
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Slightly below-normal hurricane season expected
CSU’s group of experts analyzed almost 40 years of data, comparing what happened back then to current and predicted conditions over the next couple of months.
The first seasonal outlook calls for 13 named storms, six of which may grow into hurricanes, and two of those hurricanes may intensify to Category 3 or stronger.
This is down slightly from an average Atlantic season, which produces 14 named storms, seven hurricanes, and three major hurricanes.