Jose hanging on, Maria intensifying as the Atlantic tropics sizzle

Enlarge / Hurricane Jose will soon begin to feel the effects of cooler water. (credit: NOAA)

This year, the Atlantic tropics are reminding the United States and Caribbean Islands how brutal September can be when it comes to hurricanes. Perhaps coastal residents have forgotten, as the Atlantic tropics have slumbered in recent Septembers, according to a widely used metric that calculates the total energy of storms during their lifetimes-Accumulated Cyclone Energy.

The Atlantic basin's combined Accumulated Cyclone Energy for the last four Septembers, from 2013 to 2016, was lower than it had been over a four-year period since 1911 to 1914, according to Phil Klotzbach, a hurricane scientist at Colorado State University. This year it has been among the ten most potent. This is also just the ninth year on record with seven or more hurricanes by September 17 in the last century and a half.

So it's busy out there. And for some people, more pain lies ahead. Here's a look at the threats posed by hurricanes Jose and Maria.

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