There have already been more Category 5 storms in 2015 than the average annual total of what should be seen in a year, and a recent study predicted climate change will lead to fewer, but more powerful storms.
A recent paper suggested rising ocean temperatures are influencing the number and severity of tropical storms that form every year, Florida State University reported.
"We're seeing fewer hurricanes, but the ones we do see are more intense," said Professor Jim Elsner. "When one comes, all hell can break loose."
There have already been five category 5 storms since the beginning of 2015, Mashable reported. The planet average was at only 4.6 category 5 storms between 1990 and 2014. Now, the Northwest Pacific is at 483 percent of its usual ACE index to date. This index measures the length and severity of tropical cyclones.
The researchers of the study, which was recently published in the journal Nature Climate Change, projected that over the past 30 years, storm speeds have increased by about 3 miles per hour. They also found there were 6.1 fewer storms than there would have been of land and water temperatures had remained constant. The Earth has been estimated to be 1.53 degrees Fahrenhiet warmer than it was in the past century, and annual temperatures can be a strong predictor of a storm season.
"In a warmer year, stronger but fewer tropical cyclones are likely to occur," said Kang, now deputy director of the National Typhoon Center in South Korea. "In a colder year, on the other hand, weaker but more tropical cyclones."
The 2015 Atlantic storm season doesn't' start until June 1, and "nine named storms, five hurricanes and one major hurricane" have been projected for this period; the 30-year average has been 12 named storms, six hurricanes and three major hurricanes.
