The Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1 to November 30, giving meteorologists 10 months to plan for one of the worst storm seasons in memory.
Although meteorologists expect this year to be a near-normal season, another warm El Niño year could mean storms arrive earlier and last longer. Climate models indicate that El Niño could start later than usual, leading to an event in early fall.
More recently: The month of November had 9 hurricanes, the most since 2004.
1892 Atlantic Hurricane Season
This was the first year that natural phenomena like the Little Ice Age, the Nile River floods, and the Spanish flu could be closely tied to hurricane activity.
As the climate cooled over the summers, the “sudden stratospheric warming” phenomenon increased in the stratosphere, often resulting in a stronger jet stream over the North Atlantic. Strong jet streams could promote more storm formation, especially at the surface, where hurricanes have most of their energy. This year, a rare red hurricane developed over the North Atlantic — one of the strongest storms of the decade.
At the same time, unusually cool air over the North Atlantic could influence wave motion and stall the development of tropical storms there.
Like the 1990 hurricane season, this year’s Atlantic hurricane season was relatively quiet early. Eight storms formed, but none became major hurricanes. Five of the storms formed early in the season, while two tracks collided over the Atlantic, developing into separate storms.
1798 Atlantic Hurricane Season
The first Atlantic hurricane season also saw one of the strongest hurricane formation trends of all time, including eight named storms (not including El Nino years) and three hurricane outbreaks, the highest ever for December in the U.S. During the Hurricane Convention in New Orleans, the officials of the states of Florida, Louisiana, and Texas organized the American hurricane Conference.
AccuWeather senior hurricane specialist Dan Kottlowski says that while the period between 1867 and 1877 saw a majority of major hurricanes, a particularly strong El Niño followed the season, leading to an “unusually dry and erratic season.” El Niño happened again in 1886-87, between 1926 and 1933, and again in 2007.
1642 Hurricane Season
This was the first year that records for the location of hurricane landfall records were kept in Florida. The arrival of the first Category 3 hurricane — T-intermediate Cat 4 — ever on record caused widespread damage in the Florida Keys. Records show that this was the second earliest date that a hurricane of at least Category 3 ever made landfall in Florida.
Hurricane Jose currently on course to hit the U.S. coast in less than a week. Here’s what it looks like now.
2004 Atlantic Hurricane Season
Like 2018, this was an unusually mild season — the warmest season on record. In the Atlantic, 74 named storms formed, mostly in the Caribbean Sea and near South America. Two of those cyclones became major hurricanes, which ranked as Category 3 or stronger.
2005 Atlantic Hurricane Season
After a record-setting season in 2004, the next season was more active. The first official Atlantic hurricane season of the 21st century was one of the most active on record.
Nineteen hurricanes formed in the Atlantic and Caribbean during the season, more than double the average of eight. Eight of those hurricanes made landfall in the U.S., more than double the average of four.
2015 Atlantic Hurricane Season
The season was hit with two of the deadliest Atlantic storms ever. Hurricane Matthew killed more than 1,000 people in Haiti, and Hurricane Hermine killed 10 people in Florida.
1348 Atlantic Hurricane Season
This was the first hurricane season to begin with a dead tropical cyclone — Hurricane Betsy, which hit the Gulf Coast of Louisiana and Mississippi on August 28, 1947. This storm would go on to cause more than $2 billion in property damage.
