I think we are more aware of the la nina/el nino oscillations and the part they play with North American weather....cooler la nina currents decrease the wind shear in upper atmosphere, so most of the tropical storms come farther west before turning north.. not good if you live on the west coast of Fla...the Gulf of Mexico can add a lot of heat to drive the storm upward...a lot of cumulonimbus have been forming over the Gulf recently