Why Hasn’t A Major Hurricane Hit the U.S. in 9 Years?

Another Atlantic hurricane season has come to a close, and with it comes the continuation of a remarkable streak: The U.S. hasn’t seen a major hurricane make landfall within its borders in nine years. The last to do so was Hurricane Wilma, which hit Florida as a Category 3 hurricane on Oct. 24, 2005…Other work has come to conflicting conclusions. A study by Jennifer Francis of Rutgers University has suggested that the reduction of Arctic sea ice and the amplified warming at the North Pole could lead to more "blocking situations" like the one that sent Sandy on its westward turn into the U.S. Blocking patterns happen when the kinks in the jet stream get "stuck" for several days or weeks.