For insurers, the periodic El Nino climate phenomenon has traditionally lowered the risk of costly Atlantic hurricanes, but decades of population growth along coastal areas and rising property values are forcing them to rethink that assumption.
Marked by warmer-than-average sea surface temperatures in parts of the Pacific Ocean, El Nino typically suppresses Atlantic hurricanes by creating atmospheric conditions that make it harder for storms to form. U.S. government scientists said El Nino arrived in June, which was also the start of the Atlantic hurricane season. They expect a below-average season in 2026 of eight to 14 named storms and one to three major hurricanes.
