Hurricane absentees explained

I was wondering, along with many others I'm sure, what might have caused the dearth of hurricanes this year, compared to the predictions before the season started. According to The Register, El Niño is the culprit:

So what is behind the drop off in activity? Is this the end of global warming? The BBC reports that the dearth of stormy weather is behind attributed to a building, but weak, El Niño event.

This influx of warm water in the Pacific is triggered by slower-than-average trade winds. Researchers think it disrupts hurricane formation because it creates strong upper wind shear. The shear shreds the top of the thunderstorm at the centre of a hurricane, causing it to lose intensity and wind strength, and to dissipate much faster.

The El Niño event is expected to last until well into 2007