By JENNIFER KAY, Associated Press Writer Jennifer Kay, Associated Press Writer – Fri Sep 11, 5:01 pm ET
MIAMI – It may be tempting the weather gods just to point this out, but this has been a dud of a hurricane season so far.

Only two hurricanes have formed in the Atlantic over the past three months, and neither hit the U.S. — a somewhat unusual lull.

"I'm glad that I didn't have to go out and get anything — yet," said Lissette Galiana, who was shopping at a Wal-Mart in suburban Miami on Friday, around what is usually the very peak of the Atlantic hurricane season. "There's always a chance."

Forecasters attribute the calm to a weak El Nino, the periodic warming of the central Pacific Ocean. It is producing strong upper-level winds out of the west that are shearing off the tops of thunderstorm clouds that can develop into hurricanes.

Of course, the season has nearly 2 1/2 months to go, and forecasters and emergency planners are warning people not to let their guard down, noting that powerful hurricanes have hit in the fall, including Wilma, which cut an unusually large swath of damage across Florida in October 2005.

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