"Yokel" wrote in message
...
Another major reason for the low hurricane activity was higher wind shear
this season, which disrupted many of the storms before they had a chance
to
become full-blown hurricanes.

This isn't true. I have looked at the average August-September 200-850mb
wind shear over the Atlantic main development region (10-20N, 20-60W) and it
is actually below average this year. If you look at the tropical cyclone
formation probability throughout this summer:

http://rammb.cira.colostate.edu/proj...ent/tatfpr.gif

you will notice that it has been well above climatology virtually all summer
and is similar to 2005 and 2004. August-September Atlantic sea surface
temperatures have been warmer than average and trade winds have been weaker
than normal and together have been consistent with seasons with twice as
much activity as this year. I have also looked at mid level relative
humidity and that has been slightly unfavourable this summer but was similar
to 2005 and 2004. Overall it seems the reason why the activity this year has
been supressed is a mystery.

Adam