Driven by Hurricane Larry, Dangerous Surf to Start Reaching U.S. Beaches

Dangerous swells from Hurricane Larry were expected to reach the East Coast beginning Wednesday, although its current track does not suggest the powerful storm will make landfall in the United States, according to the National Hurricane Center.

As of Wednesday afternoon, Larry was about 425 miles southeast of Bermuda and moving northwest at 13 mph, the hurricane center said. The Category 3 storm has maximum sustained winds of 110 mph, but forecasters expect it to weaken in the coming days.

Bermuda was under a tropical storm warning, with high winds expected late Wednesday or early Thursday.

Swells generated by Larry were affecting parts of the Caribbean and could produce “life-threatening surf and rip current conditions” in the U.S. and Canada through the end of the week, the hurricane center said.

Larry, which became the 12th named storm of the 2021 Atlantic hurricane season Sept. 1, intensified to a Category 3 hurricane Friday.

Dennis Feltgen, a meteorologist and spokesperson for the hurricane center, said this hurricane season, as expected, had been an active one, but that there was “a long way to go.” The peak of the season runs from mid-August to late October, and maximum activity takes place in early to mid-September, he said.

It has been a dizzying few weeks for meteorologists who have monitored several named storms that formed in quick succession in the Atlantic, bringing stormy weather, flooding and damaging winds to parts of the U.S. and the Caribbean.

In addition to Ida, which battered Louisiana as a Category 4 hurricane Aug. 29 before its remnants brought deadly flooding to the New York area, there were also Julian and Kate, both of which quickly fizzled out within a day.

Not long before them, in mid-August, Tropical Storm Fred made landfall in the Florida Panhandle and Hurricane Grace hit Haiti and Mexico. Tropical Storm Henri knocked out power and brought record rainfall to the Northeastern United States on Aug. 22.

The quick succession of named storms might make it seem as if the Atlantic is spinning them up like a fast-paced conveyor belt, but their formation coincides with the peak of hurricane season. The links between hurricanes and climate change are becoming more apparent. A warming planet can expect stronger hurricanes over time, and a higher incidence of the most powerful storms — although the overall number of storms could drop, because factors like stronger wind shear could keep weaker storms from forming.

Hurricanes are also becoming wetter because of more water vapor in the warmer atmosphere; scientists have suggested storms like Hurricane Harvey in 2017 produced far more rain than they would have without the human effects on climate. Also, rising sea levels are contributing to higher storm surge — the most destructive element of tropical cyclones.

A major United Nations climate report released in August warned that nations have delayed curbing their fossil-fuel emissions for so long that they can no longer stop global warming from intensifying over the next 30 years, leading to more frequent life-threatening heat waves and severe droughts. Tropical cyclones have likely become more intense over the past 40 years, the report said, a shift that cannot be explained by natural variability alone.

Ana became the first named storm of the season May 23, making this the seventh year in a row that a named storm developed in the Atlantic before the official start of the season June 1.

In May, scientists with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration forecast that there would be 13 to 20 named storms this year, six to 10 of which would be hurricanes, including three to five major hurricanes of Category 3 or higher in the Atlantic.

NOAA updated its forecast in early August, predicting 15 to 21 named storms, including seven to 10 hurricanes, by the end of the season Nov. 30.

Last year, there were 30 named storms, including six major hurricanes, forcing meteorologists to exhaust the alphabet for the second time and move to using Greek letters.