“Water temperatures have been warm enough for Atlantic hurricanes, but El Niño-fueled wind shear, aka tropical-system kryptonite, is the biggest reason the season has been squashed.”
El Niño just gave us the first no-hurricane September in decades. How long can the Atlantic shutout last?cnn.com
Warm water alone doesn't make hurricanes. Wind shear, winds changing speed and direction with height, tears young storms apart first. Same El Niño, opposite result in the Pacific: 20 named storms, three of them Category 5.