Hurricane intensification is controlled by 3 dynamics. 1) Energy supplied by sea surface temperatures; 2) Wind shear that increases during El Nino and ENSO neutral years and disrupts the storm structure needed to become a strong hurricane; 3) Ocean Barrier Layers that prevent the storm from sucking up colder subsurface waters that usually prevents intensification, as well as creating a layer of warmer than normal subsurface water that supplies the extra  heat needed to intensify the storms.