We’re about halfway through the Atlantic Hurricane season – and while the ocean’s been pretty quiet the past few months, the swell season is about to launch. The Atlantic hurricane season, when hurricanes are most likely to form in the ocean, runs from June 1st to November 30th. Back in May, NOAA predicted a below-normal hurricane season due to a few competing factors. Firstly, El Niño in the South Pacific is due to intensify, which may have an impact on the Atlantic Ocean. El Niño shifts atmospheric patterns, so much so, it increases wind shear over the tropical Atlantic and Caribbean. Hurricanes need a stable, unsheared atmosphere to organize and intensify. Strong wind shear tears apart a storm’s structure. And this wind is likely to travel into the Gulf of Mexico from the Pacific, interfering with Atlantic hurricanes.…