El Niño has broken Atlantic hurricanes. Now the season is breaking records
The natural climate pattern is having a pronounced effect on this hurricane season.
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Read the original articleCNN · cnn.comOur verdict
Political lean
0 = center. The further from 0, the stronger the lean (max 10).
Reporting balance
How complete and even-handed the reporting is — separate from which side it leans.
This is a largely neutral, data-driven weather report with clear sourcing, sensible caveats on record-keeping, and no political slant (lean 0). Its main weakness is a headline that claims El Niño has 'broken' hurricanes, which the body does not support, together with heavy reliance on one researcher and no official forecaster. Readers should keep in mind that the season is quiet but not finished, and check NOAA or the National Hurricane Center for the current outlook.
- Why this lean
- The story is a science and weather report with no left/right political angle. Its framing rests on meteorological data and attributed expert commentary, with no partisan labels or policy claims. Vivid metaphors add editorial color but do not tilt politically. A small lean-neutral score reflects that the story is not ideologically framed.
- Framing
- The story is told from a meteorological perspective and treats the record-quiet Atlantic season, caused by El Niño wind shear, as the central question, with a note that quiet seasons can still bring damaging storms.
Key Findings
- 1The headline's 'El Niño has broken Atlantic hurricanes' overstates what the body supports. The body says El Niño is suppressing storms this season and that quiet years can still produce hurricanes, as Andrew (1992) did.
- 2Expert sourcing is narrow: Klotzbach supplies the key rankings and the wind-shear claim, and there is no NHC forecaster or second scientist. The claim that shear was 'record-strong' rests on one researcher's posts.
- 3The data handling is careful: the article notes the 1966 satellite-record caveat on first-hurricane dates, the 'under review' status of the rainfall record, and that NOAA's chart uses 5-day averages from 1944-2020.
- 4Vivid, personified language ('a beast of an El Niño', 'strangling', 'kryptonite', 'shredder') sits in a weather-data story and adds drama, though the attributed mechanism explanation remains clear.
- 5Strength: the article presents the counter-point itself, noting that late-season storms near the US are less affected by shear, that heavy rain can come from weaker systems, and that the season is not over.
Who gets a voice
- Phil KlotzbachHurricane researcher at Colorado State University, cited for the least-active-since-1950 ranking and the record-strong wind shearExpert meteorological analysisMain voice
- NOAAFederal agency whose satellite imagery and 1944-2020 climatology are used for the probability chart and record historyOfficial data sourceMinor voice
- National Weather Service Lake CharlesLocal forecast office cited via social-media post for the Cottonport 29.06-inch rainfall figureOfficial weather serviceMinor voice
- Chris DolceCNN meteorologist and article authorMedia meteorologyMinor voice
Loaded language
Personifies the climate pattern and presents its strength as a fact rather than a measured intensity.
Violent metaphor that makes the weather phenomenon sound deliberately hostile.
Pop-culture label that makes wind shear feel like a villain, which suits a feature story more than a data report.
Dramatic label that shifts the tone from explanation to spectacle.
The headline's absolute wording implies a permanent failure of hurricane formation, which the body does not support.
Dimension Breakdown
Almost all expert commentary comes from one researcher, Phil Klotzbach, plus NOAA data and CNN's own graphics. No NHC or NOAA forecaster is quoted and no dissenting scientist appears.
Most description is plain and attributed, but vivid, personified language such as 'a beast of an El Niño', 'strangling fledgling storms', 'tropical-system kryptonite' and 'hurricane shredder' adds dramatic tone to a technical subject.
Figures are sourced and given context: the 76 percent NOAA probability on Sept. 10 (1944-2020 averages), the 1966 satellite-record caveat, the 14 mph gap for Edouard, and the 'under review' status of the Cottonport rainfall record. Inconvenient context is included, such as Hurricane Andrew forming in a seven-storm season.
The main affected groups (Gulf Coast residents, forecasters) are touched on through storm impacts and flood reports, but no official forecaster and no second scientist give a view on how unusual or durable the El Niño suppression is.
The headline says El Niño 'has broken Atlantic hurricanes', which overstates the body. The body says the season is quiet and suppressed, and that hurricanes can still form in quiet years.
The article explains wind shear, the sinking-air mechanism and the record-keeping limits. It gives little on El Niño's typical strength, forecast duration, or how climate change may interact with suppression; the warming-world rainfall point is a one-line aside with a link.
Missing Perspectives
- No NOAA or National Hurricane Center forecaster is quoted, so the official outlook for the rest of the season is missing; readers cannot tell whether official forecasters agree with the quiet-season framing.
- No second scientist is heard on how unusual the El Niño suppression is or whether climate change is altering the pattern; the warming-world rainfall point appears only as a brief unattributed aside.
- Coastal and Gulf Coast communities are present only through storm history and flood reports; local officials or emergency managers on preparedness during a quiet season are absent.
Highlighted Passages
“El Niño has broken Atlantic hurricanes. Now the season is breaking records”
“driven by a beast of an El Niño strangling fledgling storms”
“but this year it’s been nearly shutdown”
Key Facts
- According to CNN's analysis of NOAA data, no hurricanes had formed in the Atlantic 103 days into the 2026 season, a record-long wait.
- According to Phil Klotzbach of Colorado State University, the season had five short-lived tropical storms by Sept. 11, making it the least active since 1950.
- According to the article, Tropical Storm Edouard was 14 mph short of hurricane strength when it made landfall near the Texas-Louisiana border on Sept. 1.
- According to NOAA's 1944-2020 averages cited in the article, Sept. 10 has a 76 percent chance of an active tropical storm or hurricane in the Atlantic.
- According to the article, Klotzbach says the record-strong wind shear across the main development region is linked to El Niño.
- According to the National Weather Service in Lake Charles (via a social-media post), Cottonport, Louisiana received 29.06 inches of rain in 24 hours, a state record that is still being reviewed and certified.
- The article states that no Atlantic hurricane season since 1966 has passed without at least one hurricane, and that Hurricane Andrew struck in a season with only seven storms.