US Agency Predicts Busy Hurricane Season
2022-05-26
LRC
TXT
大字
小字
滚动
全页
1A leader of the U.S. government-run weather agency said he expects a record-setting hurricane season this summer for the Atlantic Ocean.
2Rick Spinrad is the administrator for NOAA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
3He told the Associated Press that the summer season in the Atlantic will produce from 14 to 21 large storms.
4About half of them will become the powerful storms known as hurricanes.
5Three to six of them will turn into major hurricanes with winds measuring about 200 kilometers per hour.
6The number of damaging storms changes over long periods of time.
7Over 30 years, the number of large storms was about 14.
8But in 2020, there were 30 and last year there were 21.
9The strength of a hurricane is shown by its category.
10Category 5 storms have the highest measured wind speeds.
11Spinrad said, in the past five years, the number of Category 4 or 5 storms that reached land in the United States was more than all such storms in the 50 years before that.
12He said this year will be "similar" to past years and warned "if you fail to plan around this outlook, you're planning to fail."
13He said people who own homes or land in the coastal areas usually affected by storms need to protect their property.
14Matthew Rosencrans predicts storms for NOAA.
15He said all of the things that go into producing big hurricanes are present this year.
16That includes a heavy rainy season in West Africa.
17A cooling pattern in the Pacific Ocean known as La Nina that affects weather around the world is another predictor.
18And warmer ocean temperatures caused by climate change are another.
19Other weather experts not associated with NOAA agreed that there will be a higher number of damaging storms this year.
20They said the La Nina weather event reduces a kind of wind that can lower the strength of hurricanes.
21As countries around the world reduce pollution, the air has become cleaner, they said.
22This increases sunlight that makes water temperature rise.
23Deanne Criswell is director of FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
24The agency helps people after disasters.
25"We're seeing these storms happen more frequently," she said at a news event in New York City.
26"They're lasting longer."
27Criswell said the change in the number of storms that come from climate change is "dramatic."
28NOAA said 13 people died in 2021 when Hurricane Ida flooded many cities in the northeastern U.S.
29Eleven people in New York City who lived in below-ground housing died because of the floods.
30This year is also the 10-year anniversary of Sandy, a large storm that caused a loss of power and flooding in much of New York City.
31NOAA said there is a 65 percent chance that this year's storm season will be "above normal."
32Phil Klotzbach researches hurricanes at Colorado State University.
33He said six straight years with a high ACE, a measure of storm strength, is a record, and "really strange."
34Ten other weather teams agree with NOAA.
35The groups come from the government, universities and private weather companies.
36The average of their predictions suggests there will be 20 big storms and eight hurricanes.
37Four of those hurricanes are expected to be major ones.
38NOAA predicts the Pacific Ocean will be quieter because of the influence of cool La Nina conditions.
39Atlantic hurricane season starts on June 1.
40I'm Dan Friedell.
1A leader of the U.S. government-run weather agency said he expects a record-setting hurricane season this summer for the Atlantic Ocean. 2Rick Spinrad is the administrator for NOAA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. He told the Associated Press that the summer season in the Atlantic will produce from 14 to 21 large storms. About half of them will become the powerful storms known as hurricanes. Three to six of them will turn into major hurricanes with winds measuring about 200 kilometers per hour. 3The number of damaging storms changes over long periods of time. Over 30 years, the number of large storms was about 14. But in 2020, there were 30 and last year there were 21. 4The strength of a hurricane is shown by its category. Category 5 storms have the highest measured wind speeds. Spinrad said, in the past five years, the number of Category 4 or 5 storms that reached land in the United States was more than all such storms in the 50 years before that. 5He said this year will be "similar" to past years and warned "if you fail to plan around this outlook, you're planning to fail." 6He said people who own homes or land in the coastal areas usually affected by storms need to protect their property. 7Matthew Rosencrans predicts storms for NOAA. He said all of the things that go into producing big hurricanes are present this year. That includes a heavy rainy season in West Africa. A cooling pattern in the Pacific Ocean known as La Nina that affects weather around the world is another predictor. And warmer ocean temperatures caused by climate change are another. 8Other weather experts not associated with NOAA agreed that there will be a higher number of damaging storms this year. They said the La Nina weather event reduces a kind of wind that can lower the strength of hurricanes. As countries around the world reduce pollution, the air has become cleaner, they said. This increases sunlight that makes water temperature rise. 9Deanne Criswell is director of FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The agency helps people after disasters. 10"We're seeing these storms happen more frequently," she said at a news event in New York City. "They're lasting longer." 11Criswell said the change in the number of storms that come from climate change is "dramatic." 12NOAA said 13 people died in 2021 when Hurricane Ida flooded many cities in the northeastern U.S. Eleven people in New York City who lived in below-ground housing died because of the floods. This year is also the 10-year anniversary of Sandy, a large storm that caused a loss of power and flooding in much of New York City. 13NOAA said there is a 65 percent chance that this year's storm season will be "above normal." 14Phil Klotzbach researches hurricanes at Colorado State University. He said six straight years with a high ACE, a measure of storm strength, is a record, and "really strange." 15Ten other weather teams agree with NOAA. The groups come from the government, universities and private weather companies. The average of their predictions suggests there will be 20 big storms and eight hurricanes. Four of those hurricanes are expected to be major ones. 16NOAA predicts the Pacific Ocean will be quieter because of the influence of cool La Nina conditions. 17Atlantic hurricane season starts on June 1. 18I'm Dan Friedell. 19Dan Friedell adapted this story for VOA Learning English based on reporting by the Associated Press. 20Write to us in the Comments Section and visit our Facebook page. 21Words in This Story 22category - n. a group of things that are similar 23pattern- n. something that happens in a repeated way 24frequent- adj. happening often 25dramatic- adj. sudden, extreme, or claiming a lot of attention