{"id":2811,"date":"2026-04-11T13:43:51","date_gmt":"2026-04-11T13:43:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/egocene.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/11\/csu-projects-somewhat-below-normal-2026-hurricane-season\/"},"modified":"2026-04-11T13:43:51","modified_gmt":"2026-04-11T13:43:51","slug":"csu-projects-somewhat-below-normal-2026-hurricane-season","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/egocene.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/11\/csu-projects-somewhat-below-normal-2026-hurricane-season\/","title":{"rendered":"CSU Projects \u201cSomewhat Below Normal\u201d 2026 Hurricane Season"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/insuranceindustryblog.iii.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/GettyImages-2177415167.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" fetchpriority=\"high\" width=\"1024\" height=\"681\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-19237 lazyload\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" data-src=\"https:\/\/insuranceindustryblog.iii.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/GettyImages-2177415167-1024x681.jpg\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/insuranceindustryblog.iii.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/GettyImages-2177415167-1024x681.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/insuranceindustryblog.iii.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/GettyImages-2177415167-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/insuranceindustryblog.iii.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/GettyImages-2177415167-768x511.jpg 768w, https:\/\/insuranceindustryblog.iii.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/GettyImages-2177415167-1536x1022.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/insuranceindustryblog.iii.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/GettyImages-2177415167-2048x1363.jpg 2048w\"><\/a><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>By Lewis Nibbelin, Research Writer, Triple-I<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Colorado State University (CSU) researchers <a href=\"https:\/\/tropical.colostate.edu\/Forecast\/2026-04.pdf\">predict<\/a> a \u201csomewhat below normal\u201d Atlantic hurricane season in their initial 2026 projections, citing the likely development of a robust El Ni\u00f1o event as the primary reason for their forecast of six hurricanes this year.<\/p>\n<p>Led by senior research scientist and Triple-I non-resident scholar&nbsp;Phil Klotzbach, the&nbsp;CSU TC-RAMS team&nbsp;predicts 13 named storms and six hurricanes, two of which will become major hurricanes, or those that reach Category 3 strength or higher. A typical Atlantic season sees 14 named storms, seven hurricanes, and three major hurricanes.<\/p>\n<p>The team\u2019s forecast stems from conditions favorable for a strong El Ni\u00f1o, characterized by above-average ocean temperatures in the central and eastern tropical Pacific. Typical El Ni\u00f1o events \u201ctend to increase winds high up in the atmosphere,\u201d Klotzbach explained, which increases levels of vertical wind shear, or changes in wind speed and direction.<\/p>\n<p>Noting \u201ctoo much shear tears hurricanes apart,\u201d Klotzbach said that \u201cespecially when those events are moderate or strong, they cause very significant impacts in Atlantic hurricane activity.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"> <iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"April 2026 Hurricane Forecast\" width=\"474\" height=\"267\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ZToaYTqP7Tg?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe> <\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>A potential record-setting <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/weather\/2026\/04\/06\/super-el-nino-chances-increasing-risks\/\">super El Ni\u00f1o<\/a> on the horizon would suggest impacts far beyond the Atlantic, including extreme heat around the globe. Bringing drought to some regions and flooding to others, the event would help suppress Atlantic hurricane activity while boosting hurricane as well as typhoon risks in the Pacific.<\/p>\n<p>But while \u201cthe odds of landfall do go down when the forecast is for below normal activity,\u201d Klotzbach emphasized \u201cthere have been significant landfalls in seasons that were somewhat below normal.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>For comparison, the 2025 Atlantic hurricane season produced 13 named storms and five hurricanes. Among those five, four became major, including three Category 5 storms \u2013 marking only the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.noaa.gov\/news-release\/2025-atlantic-hurricane-season-marked-by-striking-contrasts\">second year on record<\/a>&nbsp;that more than two such storms occurred in the Atlantic Basin. Though none made landfall in the U.S., the Category 5 <a href=\"https:\/\/insuranceindustryblog.iii.org\/jamaica-payout-spotlights-potential-of-parametric\/\">Hurricane Melissa<\/a> tied with 1980\u2019s Hurricane Allen for the strongest Atlantic Basin landfall by wind speed on record, causing widespread damage throughout the Caribbean.<\/p>\n<p>While the season runs from June 1 through Nov. 30, now is the ideal time for families and businesses to review their policies with an insurance professional to ensure they have adequate coverage. Many may be unaware they need flood coverage, which is not part of a standard <a href=\"https:\/\/www.iii.org\/article\/do-i-need-flood-insurance-for-my-home\">homeowners<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.iii.org\/article\/insuring-co-op-or-condo\">condo<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.iii.org\/article\/your-renters-insurance-guide\">renters<\/a>, or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.iii.org\/article\/does-my-business-need-flood-insurance\">commercial property<\/a> insurance policy. Flood policies are offered through&nbsp;FEMA\u2019S <a href=\"https:\/\/www.floodsmart.gov\/\">National Flood Insurance Program<\/a> and dozens of private insurers.<\/p>\n<p>Homeowners can also upgrade their residences to voluntary standards for wind and heavy rain resilience, as modeled by the Insurance Institute for Business &amp; Home Safety (IBHS). Retrofitting roofs to IBHS <a href=\"https:\/\/ibhs.org\/guidance\/fortified-construction-standards\/\">FORTIFIED<\/a> standards, for instance, has <a href=\"https:\/\/ibhs.org\/ibhs-news-releases\/study-shows-ibhss-fortified-program-reduced-hurricane-sally-damage\/\">demonstrated success<\/a> in reducing hurricane damage, prompting numerous state governments to begin providing premium discounts to policyholders with completed retrofits.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Learn More:<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/insuranceindustryblog.iii.org\/few-high-powered-storms-defined-2025-hurricane-season\/\">Few, High-Powered Storms Defined 2025 Hurricane Season<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/insuranceindustryblog.iii.org\/storm-resistant-roof-efforts-gain-ground\/\">Storm-Resistant Roof Efforts Gain Ground<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/insuranceindustryblog.iii.org\/jamaica-payout-spotlights-potential-of-parametric\/\">Jamaica Payout Spotlights Potential of Parametric<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/insuranceindustryblog.iii.org\/resilience-investment-payoffs-outpace-future-costs-more-than-30-times\/\">Resilience Investment Payoffs Outpace Future Costs More Than 30 Times<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/insuranceindustryblog.iii.org\/study-touts-payoffsfrom-alabama-wind-resilience-program\/\">Study Touts Payoffs from Alabama Wind Resilience Program<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Lewis Nibbelin, Research Writer, Triple-I Colorado State University (CSU) researchers predict a \u201csomewhat below normal\u201d Atlantic hurricane season in their initial 2026 projections, citing the l<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2811","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-insurance-flood"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/egocene.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2811","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/egocene.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/egocene.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/egocene.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2811"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/egocene.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2811\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/egocene.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2811"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/egocene.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2811"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/egocene.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2811"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}