Scientists report that record sea warming in the tropical Atlantic is thought to be the main environmental influence of the exceptional 1995 hurricane season. This new understanding could help improve prediction of damage loss from hurricanes and give a sense of what might be expected should global warming occur. Better predictive abilities of hurricane occurrence could help business decisions of many insurance and reinsurance companies. Dr. Saunders also states that the link established between sea surface warming and the number of Atlantic hurricanes may provide a clue as to the effects of global warming. Climate models for the coming decades predict an increase of sea surface temperature, which in turn suggests an increase in Atlantic hurricane activity.
Hurricanes also occur in other ocean basins where they are called typhoons or cyclones.