This sea surface temperature chart shows the hot and cold water for the south Atlantic ocean in several different ways.
Note that over the course of the period (and it took a long time for these measurements to develop), as changes in ocean temperature take place, the coolest water begins to move towards a warmer offshore that’s closer to Africa.
Next, note that the warmest water cannot easily move.
This weather pattern is consistent with the warming trend we’ve seen, the coolest water continues to spread northeast.
Note the shift toward Africa. We are now seeing a reversal with much cooler water flowing south.
The Atlantic hurricane season will have a starting point of about 95 degrees and then will increase up to 117 degrees, a monthly average of about 3.3 degrees of temperature change.
Now, if you look at the map, you’ll see that about 8% of the time, a storm will be so powerful that it could generate six or more named storms – and this so-called “all-time high” for the Atlantic hurricane season was set in 2015.
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That’s when Harvey, Irma, Maria, Katia, Nate and so many others came ashore.
You can read more about the Atlantic hurricane season here.