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Warm waters boosted 2017′s major hurricane tally, study says

By SETH BORENSTEINSeptember 27, 2018 GMT

FILE - This Thursday, Sept. 7, 2017 satellite image made available by NOAA shows the eye of Hurricane Irma, left, just north of the island of Hispaniola, with Hurricane Jose, right, in the Atlantic Ocean. Six major hurricanes _ with winds of at least 111 mph (178 kph) _ spun around the Atlantic in 2017, including Harvey, Irma and Maria which hit parts of the United States and the Caribbean. (NOAA via AP)

WASHINGTON (AP) — A new study finds that the Atlantic’s warmer waters triggered an unusual number of major hurricanes last year.

It also predicts that by the end of the century, the region could see a couple of extra whopper storms each year.

Six major hurricanes — with winds of at least 111 mph — spun around the Atlantic last year. The average is usually three.

Warm water acts as fuel for hurricanes. Federal climate scientist Hiro Murakami says in his study that the Atlantic was extra warm because of both natural conditions and human-caused climate change.

The study is in Thursday’s journal Science.