First Forecast: 2016 Season Strongest in Four Years
Global Weather Oscillations (GWO), Ocala, FL, predicts the next two years will provide “very favorable conditions for development of tropical storms and hurricanes.” In a forecast issued February 1, GWO calls for 17 named storms, nine hurricanes and four major hurricanes during the 2016 Atlantic season. David Dilley, GWO CEO, states the next two seasons (2016 and 2017) “will be much stronger than the past three seasons, and it will likely be the most dangerous and costly period in over 10 years.”Dilley adds that the combination of the El Niño ending before the 2016 hurricane season and the high number of named storms (12) connected to the 2015 season signals that a “climate pulse hurricane enhancement cycle” is now in place and will provide very favorable atmospheric conditions for hurricane development and landfalls during the next couple of years. GWO typically issues detailed preseason predictions two years into the future for 11 U.S. prediction zones from New England to Texas.