Parts of the Atlantic Basin are warm - much warmer than normal, especially in the breeding ground for hurricanes off the west coast of Africa. These higher than normal temperatures, along with reduced wind shear due to the absence of El Niño are just some of the reasons why NOAA is predicting an active to very active Atlantic hurricane season in 2013. This image shows how the satellite derived sea surface temperatures on May 23, 2012 differ from the average using data from the