2017 Atlantic hurricane season (Money Hurricane)

Seasonal forecasts
Prior to the season's start, multiple weather organizations release predictions on seasonal activity.

Seasonal summary
The season began on June 11, with the formation of Tropical Storm Arlene just north of the Bahamas. The storm gradually strengthened as it made a loop, turning to the north-northwest torwards the United States. Arlene began to weaken as it approached land, and came ashore near Georgetown, South Carolina, as a minimal tropical storm. The cyclone rapidly dissipated as it moved faster torwards the Appalachians. The next storm, Bret, formed just 8 days later. It was a brief tropical storm that lasted a little more than a day, making landfall in Cuba. Its remnants came ashore in the Florida Panhandle. After a short period of inactivity, Tropical Storm Cindy developed on July 7. A strong Azores High pushed the cyclone between Bermuda and the Eastern United States, before Cindy managed to recurve and peak just short of hurricane strength south of Nova Scotia. Before long, Cindy became extratropical while located to the west of Newfoundland. The final tropical cyclone of the month of July, Tropical Storm Don, became a highly destructive tropical cyclone which devastated Hispaniola, primarily Haiti. The country was still in a humanitarian crisis nine months after Hurricane Matthew, and Don's impacts only compounded the problem as the storm dumped torrential rainfall due to its slow movement, causing significant flooding. Don made landfall in eastern Dominican Republic, near La Romana a tropical depression, before degenerating to a remnant low. Finally, the remnants regenerated for a short period a day later, before finally dissipating on August 1 after bringing moderate impacts to Bermuda.

Activity ramped up rapidly in August, with the month seeing more storms than all the previous months put together alone. The first storm, Hurricane Emily, originated from the Gulf of Mexico and made landfall as a minimal category 2 in the Big Bend of Florida. It then crossed Florida and paralleled the Southeastern coastline before finally weakening as it headed further inland. A day after Emily, Tropical Depression Six developed, later going on to become Hurricane Franklin and meandering off the coast of North Carolina for several days. After a short lull in tropical activity, Hurricane Gert developed on August 18. For the majority of its lifetime, it stayed well away from land, only coming close to the Cape Verde islands while tropical. The fourth cyclone of the season, Tropical Storm Harvey, was very brief and lasted for only a day before making landfall in extreme southern Texas as a tropical storm. Finally, Category 4 Irma followed a classic Cape Verde track, recurving back to the open Atlantic before managing to strike any land. Despite that, strong swells heavily impacted coastal areas of the United States, the Greater Antilles, and the island of Bermuda.

As of Irma's last advisory, the season has produced 63.0150 units of Accumulated Cyclone Energy. The 1951-2000 full-season average is 93 units.

Tropical Storm Arlene
A tropical disturbance developed over the Bahamas early on June 10. Due to favorable conditions, the wave quickly gained organization. An Air Force reconnaissance aircraft investigated the system at 3:00 UTC on June 11 and found tropical storm-force winds, but reported that the circulation was ill-defined. Another aircraft at 15:00 UTC found that the disturbance had become a tropical storm, and was designated as Tropical Storm Arlene. Maximum sustained winds of 45 mph (70 km/h) and a minimum pressure of 1004 millibars were recorded. The storm was not inhibited by unfavorable conditions, and continued to intensify. As Arlene continued north and began a cyclonic loop, it significantly enlarged in size, spanning from just north of the Bahamas to North Carolina. Shortly before completing the loop, Arlene peaked at 9:00 UTC on June 13 with winds of 60 mph (95 km/h) and a pressure of 993 mbars. After peak, the storm's structure began to rapidly degrade due to increasing wind shear and upwelling of cooler ocean waters. By the time Arlene made landfall slightly more than 48 hours later after peak, on June 15 at 15:00 UTC, winds had decreased to 40 mph (65 km/h) and the pressure had risen to 1009 mbar. The exposed cyclone made landfall near Georgetown, South Carolina, bringing moderate effects to the area. Arlene accelerated to the northwest torward the Appalachians and dissipated 12 hours after landfall.

The majority of damage occurred in the Bahamas during Arlene's development stages. The cyclone's slow movement dropped torrential rainfall on multiple islands of the chain, including some still recovering for Hurricane Matthew of 2016. 15 fatalities and $2 million in damages was recorded. Power outages were extensive in the most severely hit locations. One surfer drowned after strong swells overwhelmed him on the island of Bermuda. In the United States, the primary impact was heavy rainfall. A family of 3 was killed in Lake City, South Carolina when a large tree fell on their home, and a couple died after they lost control of their motercycle on Interstate 95 near Florence. In total, Arlene caused 21 fatalities and approximately $3 million (2017 USD) in losses.

Tropical Storm Bret
A disorganized group of thunderstorm activity formed just south of Jamaica on June 21. It struggled to consolidate as strong wind shear dominated the area. Steadily moving northwestward torwards the Yucatán Channel, the wave began to resemble a subtropical cyclone, with the circulation remaining largely displaced from the primary convection. Late on June 22, a narrow area of more favorable conditions developed ahead of the system, allowing for some strengthening of the low pressure area and a more tight circulation. Finally, at 15:00 UTC, the wave was deemed a tropical depression after gaining sufficient organization, supported by data from a reconnaissance aircraft. Tropical Depression Two had wind speeds of 35 mph (55 km/h) and a pressure of 1008 millibars, which later became its peak intensity. Not long after formation, Two made its first, and only, tropical landfall near the municipality of Sandino, Cuba. A frontal boundary to the west forced the storm onto a more due north track as it moved away from the island nation. Despite moving over land, the depression strengthened slightly to a weak tropical storm, and was designated as Tropical Storm Bret. Unusually, the pressure did not fall, but rose instead. Bret managed to maintain tropical storm status for 18 hours before becoming Post-Tropical due to hostile conditions. Its remnants came ashore near Apalachicola, Florida and fully dissipated over Georgia.

Minimal impacts were recorded in Cuba and in the Southeast from Bret. 1 fatality was reported when a woman went missing and was later presumed dead in Cuba. Beaches across the Gulf coast were closed to prevent beachgoers from entering the high surf, but were reopened shortly after as Bret fell apart quickly and never caused the disruption that was previously forecasted.

Tropical Storm Cindy
The tropical wave that led to the formation of Cindy began to take shape north of the Lesser Antilles. A conducive environment favored rapid development of the low. While located approximately 255 miles north-northeast of Samaná in the Dominican Republic, the now-well organized tropical wave became a tropical depression at 03:00 UTC on July 7. After designation, Tropical Depression Three continued on a strengthening course throughout the afternoon. At 15:00 UTC, the National Hurricane Center upgraded the cyclone to a tropical storm, naming it Cindy. Some minor strengthening occurred throughout the day despite increasingly detrimental conditions caused by dry air from the Azores High. Cindy reached its first peak at 9:00 UTC on July 8 with 1-minute sustained winds of 50 mph (80 km/h) and a pressure of 999 mbars. Subsequent weakening began as dry air entrained itself into the storm's circulation. Originally expected to continue on a northwestern track torwards a landfall on the Delmarva Peninsula, Cindy instead started to recurve around Bermuda. Restrengthening ensued as the cyclone exited the strip of unfavorable dry air stationed south of the island. It inflicted little damage to the territory as it passed safely to the north on a northeast trajectory. Baroclinic processes allowed Cindy to strengthen quickly as it headed torwards the Canadian Maritimes, and it reached peak intensity at 21:00 UTC, July 10, while situated south of Nova Scotia with winds of 70 mph (110 km/h), partnered with a minimum central pressure of 985 millibars. Now forecasted to briefly reach hurricane status, Cindy once again defied predictions by quickly beginning to take on extratropical characteristics. It officially completed the transition at 15:00 UTC on July 11, and the last advisory was issued by the National Hurricane Center.

No significant were caused by Cindy throughout its lifespan, although it did come close to land on several occasions. Strong wind gusts caused some disruption in Nova Scotia and Newfoundland, with the latter seeing more widespread impacts as the storm's center passed closer to the province. Downed tree limbs resulted in isolated blocked roads and downed power lines. Fortis Incorporated and Nova Scotia Power reported that 10,000 to 25,000 people were without power as Cindy impacted the region. Most power was restored within the next 2 days in the Atlantic Maritimes.

Tropical Storm Don
An African Easterly wave exited the coast of Africa with little convective organization, as a Saharan Air Layer prevented the low from strengthening. The wave crossed the Main Development Region uneventfully, but when it reached the Caribbean, where conditions were much more favorable for tropical cyclogenesis, immediate changes began to occur. Due to very moist air and low wind shear, the cloud tops began to rise and cool significantly, whilst becoming more numerous. The wave began to take on a similar look to that of a tropical depression, prompting the National Hurricane Center to designate the system as an invest. On July 27, after an Air Force reconnaissance flight found a closed circulation, Tropical Depression Four was declared to have formed south of Hispaniola at 9:00 UTC. The tropical depression strengthened to a tropical storm 6 hours later at 15:00 UTC, and was named Don. Until July 28, Don continued in a westward direction before becoming nearly stationary south of Haiti. Tropical Storm Warnings were hoisted by the Haitian government that ran throughout the southern coast. Meanwhile, Don briefly stalled, before starting on a sharp eastward path. The small storm peaked at 21:00 UTC on July 28. The winds reached 50 mph (85 km/h) and the pressure dropped to 1004, before the mountains of Hispaniola began to interfere with Don's cyclonic structure. In a very weakened state, Don made landfall as a tropical depression at 3:00 UTC, July 30, in the far east of the Dominican Republic, near the city of La Romana. Crossing the island caused even further weakening, and Tropical Depression Don degenerated into a remnant low. A day later, moderately favorable conditions allowed the remnant low to regenerate into a tropical storm, becoming Don's second stint as a tropical cyclone. It did not last long as cooler ocean waters began to take their toll, and by August 1 the storm became post-tropical after briefly brushing Bermuda as a subtropical cyclone. The post-tropical low dropped light rain along coastal areas of New England, however no damage was reported.

Devastation in Haiti was widespread, caused by the torrential rainfall which lasted for two days as Don slowly moved. The nation was still recovering from the recent strike by Hurricane Matthew less than a year prior, and the humanitarian crisis that followed suit. Many survivors still had no homes and were living in tents when Don impacted the island, and the ensuing flooding swept away hundreds of poorly constructed homes and tents, which housed many people whose residence had been destroyed by Hurricane Matthew. In total, an estimated 400-450 deaths in Haiti were reported, many of which were the result of homes getting swept away by rushing floodwaters. In the Dominican Republic, damage was less severe, and most homes remained standing. There was a sharp contrast between the two countries, as the economic situation allowed for better constructed homes in the Dominican Republic than in that of Haiti, which is one of the poorest nations in the world. In it's last days of existence, Don moved just west of Bermuda, with no damage or casualties. In total, Don is estimated to have caused up to 500 deaths and 967 million in destruction.

Hurricane Emily
The first hurricane of the season formed from an area of low pressure with the potential for tropical development that was first noted by the National Hurricane Center on July 31, while located in the Bay of Campeche. Thunderstorm activity was numerous throughout the system despite it having only formed the previous day. Development was slowed slightly by the close proximity of land from nearby Mexico, but the drifting disturbance's extensive time over warm waters allowed it to counteract any weakening. On August 2, the National Hurricane Center announced that Tropical Depression Four had formed after maintaining persistent thunderstorm and organization for the past two days. A high pressure system over Texas caused the newly formed storm to curve to the northeast in the direction of Florida. Gradually strengthening, Four reached tropical storm status at 03:00 UTC on August 4, and was given the name Emily. Over the next day or so, Tropical Storm Emily intensified slowly, with moderate wind shear in the central Gulf. On August 5, as the storm was nearing hurricane status, tropical storm watches and warnings were issued for Florida's entire western coast, due to uncertainty in Emily's forecast path. These warnings were later discontinued for much of the Panhandle after it became clear that the storm was going to make landfall further south. At 15:00 UTC on August 6, the NHC reported that Emily had officially strengthened into a hurricane, with winds of 75 mph (120 km/h) and a pressure of 984 millibars. In the last day prior to landfall, a period of quick intensification began, believed to be the cause of the Florida Continental Shelf. The following day, Emily came ashore near the community of Homosassa Springs in Citrus County, Florida at 09:00 UTC. Winds were estimated to be at 100 mph (155 km/h); the pressure was recorded to be at 971 millibars. Accelerating to the the northeast, Emily crossed Florida several hours later and entered the Atlantic Ocean. Now in a steady weakening stage, the storm made its second landfall in South Carolina just north of Myrtle Beach, not far from the North Carolina border. Winds had decreased to 80 mph (130 km/h) due to land interaction with Florida, but Emily remained at formidable strength. After landfall, Emily began to weaken substantially as it was eventually pulled in by a frontal boundary over Pennsylvania and lost all tropical characteristics on August 9 around 03:00 UTC.

Most damage came from areas in western Florida and the Mid-Atlantic, where the front later dropped large amounts and then spawned the largest New England tornado outbreak in history. In Florida, Emily's peak storm surge of about 6 feet caused moderate property damage along the immediate coastline. Wind was the primary cause of damage further inland. In North Carolina, an EF0 tornado briefly dropped down in a field, becoming the first record hurricane-related tornado of the year. In the end, Hurricane Emily caused $45 million (2017 USD) in property loss and 12 fatalities.

Hurricane Franklin
The precursor to Hurricane Franklin was a long-tracked African Easterly Wave that had exited the coast of Africa almost a week earlier. Originally showing little signs of development while crossing the Main Development Region, changes eventually began to occur as the open low turned to the northeast under the influence of a high pressure ridge. The system was invested by the National Hurricane Center on July 1, but development was deemed unlikely. However, the invest continued to organize, and was unexpectedly upgraded to the sixth depression of the 2017 Atlantic hurricane season at 5 am EDT (09:00 UTC) on August 4. An unusual dip in the jet stream caused the newly Tropical Depression Six to become nearly stationary and almost dissipate due to the sudden increase in wind shear. Barely managing to remain intact, the depression started to move to the southwest, along the leading edge of the jet stream. Despite the inhibiting factors, it managed to strengthen slowly, finally reaching tropical storm status on August 6 around midday local time (11 am EDT, 15:00 UTC). It was given the name Franklin, and had winds of 40 mph (65 km/h), while the pressure was estimated to be 1007 mbar. Some more meager intensification occurred, peaking at 45 mph (75 km/h), before the tropical storm began to interact with the nearby Hurricane Emily. Subsequent weakening started as the cyclone neared the southeast coastline, and it lost tropical storm intensity on August 7. Just shortly before making landfall, Franklin veered to the northeast, pulled by the rapidly degenerating Emily. Before being able to absorb the smaller storm to its south, Emily was absorbed by a frontal boundary which then positioned itself to the north of Franklin, once again causing it to slow down. Paralleling the shore, the center and most intense winds remained just a few miles offshore, resulting in minimal damage. A maximum storm surge of 3 feet was reported at South Port, North Carolina, where the small inlet exacerbated wave height. Moving away from land, Franklin strengthened once more to a tropical storm. Not long after doing so, the tropical storm made a sharp u-turn to the south for the second time. Feeding on warm Gulf Stream waters, it began to intensify, and Franklin attained minimal hurricane status on August 12. Winds peaked at 75 mph (120 km/h), and the pressure reached its lowest at 998 millibars. Immediately following that, Hurricane Franklin began to weaken as it executed its third and final u-turn, this time to the northeast. The storm lost hurricane intensity by August 13, finally accelerating away from the southeast coast after meandering there for almost a week. Franklin lost tropical characteristics at 5 am (09:00 UTC), August 14, as the final advisory was issued on the post-tropical low.

Despite spending such a prolonged time near land, Franklin's impacts were largely insignificant, with only 1 fatality and minimal damage. When Franklin became a hurricane, it was the first time that a storm with the name has reached hurricane strength.

Hurricane Gert
Several waves that had developed over Africa were monitored for potential development as they entered the Atlantic. The first soon developed into Tropical Depression Six. The other later went on to spawn Hurricane Irma, a powerful category 4 hurricane. A complete lack of the Saharan Air Layer, one of the usual detrimental factors to disturbances exiting Africa, allowed Six to begin strengthening upon formation. Around 21:00 UTC, August 18, despite forming only 18 hours earlier, it was officially classified as a tropical storm by the National Hurricane Center, making Tropical Storm Gert the seventh named storm of the season. The center of the newly-formed tropical storm was located just 230 miles south of Praia, the capital and largest city of Cape Verde. Due to the proximity, some of the outer bands brushed the Salavento Islands of the chain, but no damage was reported to have been caused by Gert. Progressively moving away to the west, Tropical Storm Gert strengthened at a steady rate for the next 3 days. On August 21, the storm reached category 1 hurricane strength; the third hurricane of the season and of the month of August. Hurricane Gert soon reached its peak on August 22, at approximately 15:00 UTC, with 90 mph (150 km/h) winds and an estimated minimum pressure of 973 millibars. The peak was short lived, however, and after only 12 hours weakening began as wind shear increased around the storm. Gert lost hurricane status around early evening on August 23 while drawing closer to the northern Lesser Antilles. Curving because of a ridge, the cyclone avoided striking land and began to retreat to the northeast, and attained hurricane status for the second time early on August 26, helped by baroclinic processes to do so. Gert attained its secondary peak that same day at 21:00 UTC; highest winds reached 75 mph, while the pressure dipped slightly to 989 mbar. Cooler waters and higher vertical wind shear began to tear the storm apart not long after peaking as it headed further north torwards to the Azores. Losing intensity, Gert transitioned to a strong extratropical cyclone on August 18 as it sped past the Azores torwards Iceland.

Throughout its lifetime, Gert stayed well away from land, causing no fatalities and minimal damage, mostly in Cape Verde.

Tropical Storm Harvey
For several days prior to any activity, the Bay of Campeche was monitored as an area of potential tropical cyclogenesis. Models consistently remained in agreement that a weak tropical cyclone was likely in the upcoming week. When a weak low developed over Mexico, it was immediately marked by the National Hurricane Center for the possibility of further development. Moving northward, the low moved over the bay and a sudden increase in organization occurred. This warranted an Air Force hurricane hunter aircraft to investigate for signs of tropical transition. Upon collecting enough information, it was found that a tropical depression had rapidly developed in just 24 hours after entering the Bay of Campeche. At 06:00 UTC on August 22, a special advisory was issued by the NHC announcing that Tropical Depression Eight has formed. Landfall was expected before any strengthening could begin, but only 6 hours later the depression strengthened to a tropical storm and was named Tropical Storm Harvey. Upon landfall, Harvey peaked with maximum sustained winds measured at 45 mph (75 km/h), while the pressure was recorded at 1006 millibars. The storm made landfall near the city of Brownsville, Texas, causing some moderate damage. Heading inland, the desert conditions began to take their toll on Harvey's structural integrity. 15 hours after landfall, the remains of the tropical storm dissipated over south-central Texas on August 23.

For some time, it was heavily debated in which country Harvey made landfall, but after close analysis it was determined that Harvey crossed onto land just several miles north of the border in Texas. Regardless of landfall location, some considerable damage was done by the storm. In total, about $22 million (2017 USD) in losses were attributed to Harvey, particularly in Mexico. Fortunately, no fatalities were reported.

Hurricane Irma
The second tropical wave that exited the coast of Africa after the wave that became Hurricane Gert passed Cape Verde without much avail. Moving west into the central Main Development Region, thunderstorm activity gradually began to increase, fueled by above-average sea surface temperatures. The area of disturbed weather was soon invested by the National Hurricane Center and was given the invest number 98L. Changing course to the northwest, Invest 98L continued to become better organized at a steady state. A NASA Global Hawk unmanned aircraft investigated the system around midday on August 22, finding that the system has become a weak tropical depression with winds estimated at 30 mph, but a rather low pressure of 1000 millibar at 15:00 UTC. Strengthening at an unchanging rate, Tropical Depression Nine became Tropical Storm Irma 24 hours later, the ninth named cyclone of the season. After doing so, increasing shear resulting from nearby Hurricane Gert began to slow the intensification of the storm further, and it appeared that a weakening process would begin shortly. However, as Gert began to lose strength, the window for Irma to increase in intensity reopened. Two days later, it was reported that the tropical storm had become a hurricane based on satellite estimates. A central dense overcast (CDO) began to develop shortly after. Unexpectedly, a period of rapid strengthening began on August 26, catching many forecasters and computer models off guard. By the end of the day, the hurricane was a strong category 3 with winds of 125 mph. The pressure had dropped significantly to 954 mbar. Earlier, the maximum sustained winds were 80 mph; the pressure had lay stagnant at 977. Continuing to deepen, the storm reached category 4 status 6 hours later while situated to the northeast of the Lesser Antilles. Due to it's strength, severe swells were expected to slam coastal areas that were on the north side of the islands. Irma finally peaked at 09:00 UTC on August 28 with maximum 1-minute sustained winds reaching 145 mph and the pressure bottoming out at 932 mbar. After peak, the intensity began to regress as Irma turned on a northward path, east of Bermuda. By the next day, the major hurricane had weakened to a category 3. Losing intensity more rapidly after turning for one final time torwards the central Atlantic Ocean. Picking up in speed, Hurricane Irma became a powerful hurricane-force extratropical cyclone and began to deepen once more. However, as it was no longer tropical, the final advisory was issued by the National Hurricane Center at 21:00 UTC, August 31.

Rough waters from Irma claimed 3 lives, including 1 in Puerto Rico and 2 on the East Coast of the United States.

Storm names
The following names were used for named storms in the North Atlantic in 2017. This is the same list used in the 2011 season with the exception of Irma, which replaced Irene. The names not retired from this list will be used again in the 2023 season.

Season effects
This is a table of all the storms that have formed in the 2017 Atlantic hurricane season. It includes their duration, names, landfall(s), denoted in parentheses, damages, and death totals. Deaths in parentheses are additional and indirect (an example of an indirect death would be a traffic accident), but were still related to that storm. Damage and deaths include totals while the storm was extratropical, a wave, or a low, and all the damage figures are in 2017 USD.