2022 Hypothetical Atlantic hurricane season

The 2022 Atlantic hurricane season was the second-most active Atlantic hurricane season on record. With an ACE of 268.03, the season holds the record for the highest ACE recorded in a single Atlantic hurricane season, surpassing that of the 1933 season. A total of 29 tropical cyclones formed, with 26 becoming named storms, 13 becoming hurricanes, and 8 becoming major hurricanes. The season's strongest storm was Hurricane Virginie, which also broke the record for the most intense Atlantic hurricane ever recorded with wind speeds of 190 miles per hour and a minimum barometric pressure of 879 milibars. While Virginie was indeed the season's most powerful storm, the most destructive storm was Hurricane Walter, which caused more than $80 billion USD in damages, making it the third-costliest Atlantic hurricane on record, only behind Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Harvey.

A very large portion of the $192 billion USD the season caused in economic losses was caused by five of the season's six Category 5 and Category 4 hurricanes: Earl, Julia, Martin, Virginie, and Walter, as well as the weaker, yet destructive Hurricane Shary. Hurricane Ian also became a Category 4 hurricane, but its effects on land were minimal. The 2022 season also featured the smallest tropical cyclone on record, Tropical Storm Lisa, which reached a tiny 8.2 miles in diameter, as well as Hurricane Karl, a Category 3 hurricane that became one of the longest-lived Atlantic tropical cyclones on record.

The season officially began on June 1st, but as shown with the formation of Tropical Storm Alex in May, activity is possible at any time of the year. The season officially ended on November 30th, although 2 storms were active past this date, and the final storm of the season, Tropical Storm Delta, dissipated in January of 2023. This is only the third time on record that an Atlantic tropical cyclone has spanned two calendar years, the first being Hurricane Alice in 1954 and the second being Tropical Storm Zeta In 2005.

Retirement
In the spring of 2023, the World Meteorological Association announced that six names would be retired from their rotating name lists: Earl, Julia, Martin, Shary, Virginie, and Walter, and that they would never be used to name another Atlantic tropical cyclone again. They were replaced with Evan, Jennifer, Manny, Sheila, Vivian, and Wayne, respectively, for the 2028 season. With six names retired, the 2022 season featured the most names retired in a single season.