Do record high sea surface temperatures (SSTs) increase the frequency and intensity of hurricanes as predicted by the IPCC?

Despite record high SSTs in the Atlantic basin, fewer hurricanes and major hurricanes have formed thus far.

For a brief discussion of hurricanes in the US see…

And for more information about how global major hurricane frequency has changed see…

There has been much discussion in the MSM and social media about SST globally and in the Atlantic basin, with average temps running nearly 1C above the 1982-2011 mean throughout the entirety of the hurricane season.

As discussed in the post above, the IPCC claims that as SST increases, it provides more energy to tropical cyclones, potentially making them more intense. The IPCC has reported that there is a likely increase in the intensity of tropical cyclones (i.e., more storms will reach higher categories on the Saffir-Simpson scale) with increased SST associated with global warming.

As 2023 was an anomalously high year for SSTs, if the IPCC was correct, we should see a corresponding increase in hurricane activity. However, thus far, the 2023 season has been significantly quieter than previous years in terms of total named storms, hurricanes, and major hurricanes.