Research on the Hurricane Clustering over North Atlantic Basin

Observations show that the hurricanes’ formation and development in the North Atlantic basin is not a temporal event; however, it has a tendency to cluster in some periods. When two or more hurricanes occur in the Atlantic Basin in a fixed time interval or during a continuous period of time, this phenomenon is defined as the hurricane clustering. So far few studies have focused on such phenomenon, let alone the mechanisms and valuable insights hidden behind.

By using the second generation of the hurricane data (HURDAT2) conducted by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) National Hurricane Center (NHC) during 1950~2015, the features of hurricane clustering phenomenon over the North Atlantic Basin (i.e., North Atlantic Ocean, Gulf of Mexico, and Caribbean Sea) are analyzed. Each identified clustering is classified based on their locations, time period, and development stages. In general, the number of hurricane clustering reaches the maximum in August and September. And it is mainly located over the North Atlantic Sea. More statistical findings of its characteristics have also been found. Further studies of particular cases have shown that certain environmental pattern was behind the development of each set of hurricane clustering.