After two months into the 2016 hurricane season, the Atlantic Ocean has been pretty quiet while the Pacific Ocean has been producing storm after storm. A total of 6 tropical systems have already developed in the Pacific - with two active storms right now:
Therefore, the next named Pacific storm will be Howard - meaning the Pacific is already on "H". Meanwhile for the Atlantic - the first named storm was Alex, which occurred back in January and the most recent storm was Danielle. So despite the "early" start to the season, it's still behind the Pacific.
Why the difference?
One reason the Atlantic Ocean is so quiet originates thousands of miles away, off the west coast of Africa. Large plumes of Saharan dust and dry air are being carried across the Atlantic from this area. This dust can actually be seen as far west as our Gulf States like Florida and Louisiana - creating hazier days than usual.
While there has been some storm activity off the coast of Africa, nothing has had the chance to develop due to the dry air and dust so far.
