A recent study led by scientists at the University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric, and Earth Science and the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) reveals how a major global climate pattern influences the African weather systems that help seed Atlantic hurricanes. This study was initiated as an undergraduate project by a student who looked at the frequency and strength of atmospheric waves developing over Africa and moving west over the Atlantic Ocean, sometimes become the tropical storms and hurricanes we commonly see in the peak months of the Atlantic hurricane season. The study showed that the waves in La Nina years were stronger, moister, and had more thunderstorm activity than waves in El Nino years, making them more likely to develop into organized tropical systems. This is another reason that La Nina years tend to have more hurricanes than El Nino years. This new information is expected to improve seasonal forecasts in the future. You can read more about their methodology and results at https://news.miami.edu/rosenstiel/stories/2025/09/decades-of-data-show-african-weather-disturbances-intensify-during-la-nina.html. (Note the image below is from 2018 and is not current–it just shows lots of potential tropical systems from African waves.)
