Hurricanes Hermine & Gaston Aren't Related

As one hurricane winds down, another storm spins ahead. Hurricane Gaston is expected to lose its intensity come Friday, but Hurricane Hermine might actually pick up speed. Hermine could even escalate when it makes landfall, which meteorologists are predicting to happen over the weekend. The hurricane season officially kicked off in June, and forecasters continue to expect that the Atlantic Ocean will host a pretty big number of hurricanes this year. The past three years have reportedly been a hurricane drought, but as of Wednesday, that doesn't seem to be the case. Which raises the question: Are Hurricane Hermine and Hurricane Gaston related? The overlapping dates can make it seem like there's a link, or make the two seem interchangeable.

While both Hermine and Gaston brewed in the Atlantic ocean, there doesn't seem to be any link between the two, other than the fact that it's hurricane season. The timing worked out such that they emerged consecutively, and so it definitely may seem like they were related. This is important, since the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) released a 2016 hurricane forecast in May, in which it predicted that the year would see a total of 12 to 17 named storms, including tropical ones and hurricanes. It's supposed to be the most active storm season since 2012. Gaston was located in the central Azores, about 935 miles west of Falai Island, on Wednesday, and Hermine was gaining strength in Florida's Gulf Coast on Thursday.

But according to Tampa Patch, the National Hurricane Center is on the lookout for a roving tropical depression in the Atlantic Ocean, as well as a potential fourth storm off the African coast. This isn't surprising, as we're currently in the middle of the aforementioned hurricane season, which means there will be more storm- and hurricane-related news to come. According to the NOAA, the end of El Niño, as well as a strong West African monsoon season, are contributing factors to the surge in storms. The agency also regards August onward as the start of potentially increasing hurricanes, with the three most integral factors being wind, temperature, and moisture.

So while there might not be a definite link between Hurricanes Gaston and Hermine, there is certainly a season of storms and hurricanes to watch out for. The good news is that the chaotic season is supposed to officially end on Nov. 30, according to the NOAA, which also cautioned people on the Atlantic coast to take safety measures throughout the next few months.