2022 Atlantic hurricane season (Prism55)

The 2022 Atlantic hurricane season was the most active Atlantic hurricane season on record, shattering numerous records. 40 depressions formed, of which 34 became tropical storms, 22 became hurricanes and 15 became major hurricanes (Category 3+ on the Saffir-Simpson Scale). Of the seasons's storms, seven - Fiona, Ian, Owen, Shary, Tobias, Virginie and Walter - were responsible for the most damage and deaths of the season. Numerous areas, including Florida, the entire East Coast of the US, the Antilles and even places such as Scotland felt the effects of the season. The season was the costliest tropical cyclone season ever observed worldwide, and included the costliest tropical cyclone in history - Hurricane Tobias.

The 2022 season was one of the few Atlantic seasons to have more tropical cyclones than its West Pacific counterpart; the former saw 34 cyclones of tropical storm intensity while the latter had 29. This was the first of such occurences since the 2010 season, and the third total.

The season officially began on June 1, 2017, and lasted until November 30. Despite this, the 2022 season was one of the few seasons on record to have both pre-season and post-season activity. A record breaking thirty-four tropical storms formed, of which a record twenty-two became hurricanes. Of these, a record fourteen became major hurricanes, a record ten became Category 4, and a record five became Category 5 or higher, breaking all the previous records set by the 2005 season.

Season summary
The season officially began on June 1 and ended on November 30. Despite this, the first storm of the season, Alex, developed in April, the first storm to do so since Arlene in 2017. The last storm of the season, Nu, dissipated on December 28, although two more short-lived depressions formed afterwards. Hurricane Mu, however, persisted into January 2023 and was the last storm of the season to dissipate. This made it only the third time in recorded history, after the 1954 and 2005 seasons, that a storm spanned two calendar years.

April, May & June
The season started out early with Tropical Storm Alex developing on April 22nd, roughly a month and a half before the official start of the season. Alex stayed out in the open sea for the entirety of its lifetime, as it generally travelled north and dissipated on April 26th.

Tropical cyclogenesis ceased for a month and a half, until Tropical Storm Bonnie formed on June 14th. Bonnie made landfall on Saint Lucia as a tropical storm and later affected Venezuela as a tropical storm when she passed just off coast of the country. Bonnie later dissipated south of Hispaniola.

July
Activity picked up in July, with the formation of Tropical Storm Colin on July 3rd. Colin remained out in the sea, passing dangerously close to the northern Lesser Antilles before dissipating on July 7th. While Colin weakened out in the sea, Tropical Depression Four developed from an area of low pressure south of Hispaniola on July 6th, before being ripped apart by wind shear and degenerating into a remnant low on July 9th.

A few days later, Hurricane Danielle formed in the open Atlantic from an area of low pressure. Danielle passed through the Lesser Antilles as a tropical depression, before intensifying to a tropical storm in the Caribbean Sea, and later turning into a Category 1 hurricane before striking the Yucatán Peninsula at that intensity. Afterwards, Danielle turned eastwards, intensified to a Category 1 again before making landfall on Cuba and degenerating into a remnant low.

On July 17th, Tropical Storm Earl intensified in the open Atlantic. Earl never affected land and dissipated on July 22nd. While Earl traversed the Atlantic, Hurricane Fiona developed close to Bermuda. Taking on an unprecedented north-to-south track, Fiona intensified to become a major hurricane before striking Hispaniola as a Category 3 and Jamaica as a Category 4. Fiona caused severe damage and loss of life on the two islands, with a death toll of over 5,000 and a damage toll of 14 billion. Later on July 26th, Hurricane Gaston developed in roughly the same area as Fiona did earlier. Gaston went on to travel northwards, before stalling near Bermuda, peaking as a Category 3 hurricane. Afterwards, Gaston travelled south and dissipated on August 1st.

August
On August 1st, the remnants of Hurricane Gaston dissipated in the Atlantic.

August featured copious activity, and was the most active month of the season. On August 2nd, one day after Gaston dissipated, Hurricane Hermine formed. During the storm's long lifetime, Hermine slowly moved just off coast of the US, dropping tremendous amounts of rainfall in the process. On the same day as Hermine, Hurricane Ian formed. Ian went on to affect the northern Leeward Islands, briefly reaching Category 5 intensity. Ian was the first Category 5 storm of the season.

On August 3rd, three new tropical depressions formed. One quickly spun up into Hurricane Julia, which then went to affect the Lesser Antilles. Tropical Depression Twelve never got above the intensity of a depression due to shear and proximity to land. The last storm that formed on that day intensified into Hurricane Karl, a major hurricane that never affected any major landmasses and moved on an unusual track, reaching as far as the north of Scandinavia.

On the next day, two more tropical cyclones formed. Hurricane Lisa was a Category 2 storm that never affected land. Tropical Depression Fifteen was a weak depression that never intensified into a tropical storm and dissipated in the Atlantic. On August 5th, Hurricane Martin formed. Martin was a slow-moving and extremely long lived hurricane that peaked as a high-end Category 4. The storm lasted whopping 41 days, during which it demolished portions of the Lesser and Greater Antilles. The storm then slowly moved across the Antlanic, before making its final landfall on Scotland.

September
TBD

October, November & December
TBD

Tropical Storm Alex
On April 22, a tropical wave formed just north of the Lesser Antilles. It then slowly headed north-west, towards the US. Originally, it wasn't given much chance to develop, as it was located within unfavorable, colder waters. However, after encountering slightly warmer waters, it strengthened up, changing into a tropical depression. This was the first Atlantic tropical depression of the year, and marked the beginning of the season, despite it being almost a month before the official beginning on the first of June.

Tropical Depression One continued moving towards the US during the night and on April 23 at a brisk pace. After encountering yet another section of warmer waters, the depression rapidly intensified, and tropical storm strength winds of 40 mph were detected in the center. Thus, the storm was given the official name of Alex.

On the next day, the storm curved away from the US, now moving in the south-east direction. During the day, Alex reached his peak winds of 50 mph, before weakening over slightly colder waters. In the next few hours, the storm changed its direction again, now going north-west again. It encountered cold waters again, and Alex weakened into a tropical depression again.

Over the next few days, Tropical Depression Alex continued moving north-west, before changing its path again, now only going north. The storm continued weakening over cold waters, before it disappeared on April 26.

Alex caused no damage along its path. The storm spent its entire lifetime over sea, the closest land to it being the Lesser Antilles when it was just a tropical depression.

Tropical Storm Bonnie
On June 14th, an large area of low pressure developed in roughly the same area as Tropical Storm Alex did a month before. With favorable conditions ahead, it was given a large chance of developing. The area tracked roughly southwards towards the Lesser Antilles. With low wind shear and warm waters, circulation and convection developed and the area transformed into a tropical depression on June 15th, the second one of the season.

The depression curved westwards, now directly approaching the Lesser Antilles. With favorable conditions still ahead, the depression organized more over the next few day, with NHC's forecasts predicting that it would transform into a tropical storm just before landfalling on St. Lucia. This prediction proved to be true, as the depression intensified to a tropical storm on June 16th and was assigned the name Bonnie. Roughly a hour later, the storm made landfall on the island of Saint Lucia, also adversely affecting Barbados, Saint Vincent and Martinque. At landfall, the storm bore winds of 45 mph.

Interaction weakened the storm slightly. Upon moving over waters again, Bonnie bore winds of 40 mph. Bonnie curved southwards, now approaching Venezuela. Models predicted that the storm would either make landfall on the country and dissipate shortly after, or that it would parallel the coast of the country before curving north again. The latter prediction proved to be true, as the storm approached Venezuela and steadily intensified, reaching its peak intensity on July 18th off coast of the country. At peak, Bonnie had winds of 60 mph and a central pressure of 998 mb.

For the next day, Bonnie passed by the country, making landfall on the islands of Curaçao and Aruba along the way. The storm curved northwards on July 19th. It briefly moved south again, before turning north again. While moving north, Bonnie encountered stronger wind shear, which weakened the storm severely as a large part of its convection dissipated. It was downgraded to a tropical depression on July 20th. Later on that day, the storm curved eastwards as wind shear stripped the storm of most its convection. Bonnie's remnant circulation moved eastwards for the next day before it dissipated on July 21nd.

Bonnie caused 160 million dollars in damage, most of those in Venezuela. Along with that, Bonnie resulted in the deaths of 12 people.

Tropical Storm Colin
On July 3, the NHC observed a quick moving tropical wave in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, moving south. The wave kept its steady pace, until it moved over warmer waters on July 4. Within the next few hours the wave was upgraded into a tropical depression, the third one of the season.

Three continue moving over warmer waters, and in few more hours, Three was upgraded to a tropical storm and assigned the name Colin, as the third storm of the season.

Colin continued moving south. A few hours later, Colin made a sharp turn northwards, passing directly over the island of Barbados. The storm continued its movement north over the next day.



On July 5, Colin encountered colder waters, and weakened to a tropical depression again, still moving north. The remnants of Colin continued moving north, slowly falling apart until the entire thing dissipated on July 7 in the middle of the sea.

Colin caused very minor damage across the Lesser Antilles. Most of the storm's damage came from Barbados, where the storm made its only landfall. The storm's heavy rainfall peaked at 8 inches, causing mudslides. Reports indicated some downed trees and blown-over roofs, however damage was extremely minor. All in all, Colin caused no deaths and roughly 3 million dollars of damage.

Tropical Depression Four
On July 3rd, a small area of low pressure associated with a cluster of thunderstorm was observed just south of Hispaniola. Because of moderate wind shear it was not given a large chance of developing. The low pressure area persisted in roughly the same location for two days, mostly unchanged. On July 5th however, despite subpar conditions, convection developed and the area was marked for possible development. This prediction turned out to be true, as the area developed rotation overnight and intensified to a tropical depression on July 6th, the fourth one of the season.

The depression persisted in roughly the same area for one day. Slightly unfavorable conditions prevented any further development. Conditions became worse on July 8th, with increasing wind shear exposing the depression's circulation. On the same day, the depression moved over cooler waters, weakening it even more. On July 9th, wind shear increased even more, ripping the depression and it's remnants apart.

Hurricane Danielle
TBD

Tropical Storm Earl
TBD

Hurricane Fiona
On July 19, an area of low pressure formed just east of Bermuda. Due to favorable conditions such as low wind shear and warm water, the wave strengthened into a tropical depression just eight hours after it was first observed. The depression was given a high chance of development within the next 48 hours.

The predictions came true, as just five hours after being upgraded to a tropical depression, it was upgraded to a tropical storm, the sixth one of the season. On that basis it was given the name Fiona. Forecasters expected the storm to make landfall on the Dominican Republic, with a possible landfall on Venezuela. It was also expected that the storm would develop into a Category 2 or 3 hurricane before weakening due to moderate wind shear present in the expected path.

Over the next day, Fiona kept up its intensity. During that day, the storm maintained constant winds of 60 mph and an intensity of roughly 990 mbar. The storm was roughly 300 miles in diameter, and was still headed south towards Hispaniola. Tropical storm warnings were issued for the entire northern coast of the island.

On July 21, Tropical Storm Fiona encountered an area of low wind shear and warm waters of 29 °C. This fueled a period of explosive intensification, and Fiona's winds went from the steady 60 mph to 125 mph in just seven hours, and it's pressure dropped from 992 mbar to 947. During that period of time, Fiona's radius got smaller and more compact, and the storm developed a well defined but small eye with a radius of roughly 5 miles (8 km). Despite these drastic changes, Fiona's direction did not change, as it was still headed towards Hispaniola. Hurricane warnings were issued for the entire northern coast of the island on the same day.

Over the next day, Fiona continued moving towards the Dominican Republic. On the following day in the morning of July 23, Fiona made landfall on the eastern side of the Dominican Republic as a Category 3 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Scale, with winds up to 125 mph. The storm remained over the island for seven hours, and during its time over land, the storm weakened to a low-end Category 3, with winds of 115 mph.

After the storm entered the waters around the island again, it suddenly changed directions, now moving westwards at a steady pace. Over warm waters with little wind shear again, the storm underwent another period of rapid intensification. It's eye expanded outwards to a radius of over 56 miles, and the storm reached it's peak on July 25 as it was headed for Jamaica. At its peak, Fiona possessed winds of 150 mph and a central pressure of just 931 mbar. Just hours after peaking, the storm made landfall on Jamaica. F

In the evening of the same day, the storm exited the island, before abruptly turning northwards. Due to moderate wind shear and drier air present, the storm weakened slightly before making landfall on Cuba. The storm caused slight damage on the island, mostly due to flooding. Cuba's terrain and wind shear caused the storm to weaken to a low-end Category 3, at 115 mph. The storm's radius decreased rapidly, as it headed south towards Venezuela.

Fiona maintained it's strength while moving towards Venezuela. On July 28, the storm made landfall on the country as a Category 3. Over land, the storm rapidly fell apart. The eye collapsed in just three hours, with the outer rainbands splitting up and traveling further inland, while the central part stalled in one spot for a few hours. The storm fully dissipated later that day on July 28.

Along its path, Fiona caused catastrophic damage and destruction. Entire communities were wiped off the map and destroyed on Hispaniola. Mudslides, flooding and storm surge destroyed cities in the Dominican Republic. Some 700 deaths occurred in Haiti alone, along with around 1,200 in the Dominican Republic. However, the largest loss of life occurred on Jamaica, where the powerful winds and a 21 ft storm surge destroyed parts of Kingston, including the city's airport. Across the country, severe mudslides and rainfall killed over 3,300 people.

Overall, Fiona caused 5,358 deaths and 14 billion dollars of damage. It was the first major hurricane of the season and the strongest one until surpassed by Ian a few days later. It was also the costliest one of the season, until Martin caused more damaged to the Antilles around a month later.

Hurricane Gaston
TBD

Hurricane Hermine
TBD

Hurricane Ian
TBD

Hurricane Julia
TBD

Tropical Depression Twelve
TBD

Hurricane Karl
TBD

Hurricane Lisa
TBD

Tropical Depression Fifteen
TBD

Hurricane Martin
TBD

Tropical Storm Nicole
TBD

Hurricane Owen
TBD

Hurricane Paula
TBD

Hurricane Richard
TBD

Hurricane Shary
TBD

Tropical Depression Twenty-two
TBD

Hurricane Tobias
On September 2nd, a vigorous tropical wave emerged into the Atlantic from Africa. On the same day, the NHC began monitoring the wave for further development. With favorable conditions ahead, the wave was expected to intensify soon, the only hindrance being wind shear. On September 3rd, the wave passed south of the Cape Verde islands. On the same day, the area of thunderstorms associated with the wave became better organized, and soon coalesced into an area of low pressure.

With moderate wind shear ahead, the disturbance initially struggled to developed as it moved westwards. However, on late September 4th, wind shear weakened and the disturbance organized more. This lead to it being upgraded to a tropical depression. As the depression continued steadily moving across the ocean, shear diminished and the depression intensified into a tropical storm on September 5th. It was assigned the name Tobias, the first usage of the name in history. Soon afterwards, Tobias became a low-end hurricane on early September 6th.

Almost immediately after becoming a hurricane, Tobias encountered stronger wind shear which exposed the storm's center and Tobias weakened back to a tropical storm. The storm curved slightly northwards, now projected to approach the Bahamas instead of the northern Lesser Antilles. Even after wind shear diminished, cooler waters and dry air ahead of the storm prevented it from reaching hurricane status again. The storm briefly reached hurricane status again on September 8th, before wind shear strengthened again and Tobias weakened yet again.

On September 10th, Tobias abruptly curved northwards, forecast to pass over the Bahamas. With conditions perfect for development, strengthening was expected, with NHC forecasting that Tobias would become a Category 4 storm and pass south of Florida, possibly landfalling on Florida Keys. A day later, the storm passed north of the Bahamas and entered an area with conditions perfect for development; unusually warm waters of 34 °C, no wind shear and plenty of moisture provided by the remnants of Tropical Depression Twenty-three. Under these conditions, Tobias began to rapidly intensify, as the storm developed a pinhole eye and its central pressure dropped. Banding features became evident almost instantly, as deep convection developed. In just 4 hours, the storm's central pressure dropped to 884 mbar and it's winds increased to 190 mph. This set the record for the fastest intensification of a tropical cyclone ever recorded worldwide.

After this unusual feat, Tobias went on to intensify further, albeit at a slightly slower pace. Tobias reached peak intensity on September 11th, with a central pressure of 874 mbar and maximum 1 minute sustained winds of 210 mph. Afterwards, Tobias developed concentric eyewalls, marking the beginning of an eyewall replacement cycle. At roughly the same time, the storm made landfall of Florida with winds of 205 mph; this made it the strongest landfall worldwide.

Over land, Tobias weakened rapidly. The storm's pressure rose to 905 mbar, and its winds decreased to 175 mph. The storm moved off coast of Florida on September 13th, when it began intensifying again, albeit at a slower rate. The storm's gale wind radius expanded to over 600 miles, as the storm underwent a second eyewall replacement cycle. Tobias ultimately reached its second peak intensity on September 15th, with winds of 195 mph and a central pressure of 891 mbar. At this intensity, Tobias made landfall on Louisiana, its eye passing close to New Orleans. This landfall ultimately weakened the storm below Category 5 status, and when it moved over sea again, Tobias bore winds of 145 mph.

Under slightly stronger wind shear, the storm weakened very slowly, reaching its third and final peak of 155 mph. At this intensity, the powerful cyclone made landfall on Texas on September 16th. Instantly after landfall, the storm began weakening as it curved northwards, passing directly over the city of Houston. Tobias weakened below major hurricane status on the same day and turned extratropical on September 17th. The storm's barely recognizable remnants dissipated over Texas/Louisiana on September 18th.

Hurricane Virginie
TBD

Hurricane Walter
TBD

Hurricane Alpha
TBD

Hurricane Beta
TBD

Hurricane Gamma
TBD

Tropical Storm Delta
TBD

Tropical Storm Epsilon
TBD

Tropical Storm Zeta
TBD

Hurricane Eta
TBD

Hurricane Theta
TBD

Tropical Storm Iota
TBD

Tropical Storm Kappa
TBD

Hurricane Lambda
TBD

Hurricane Mu
TBD

Tropical Storm Nu
TBD

Tropical Depression Thirty-nine
TBD

Tropical Depression Forty
TBD

Season effects
This is a table of all the storms that have formed in the 2022 Atlantic hurricane season. It includes their duration, names, landfall(s), 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 2022 USD. All wind intensities are in mph, with the number in parentheses being the intensity in km/h. Areas in bold are landfalling areas.

Storm names
The following list of names will be used for named storms that form in the North Atlantic in 2022. The names not retired from this list will be used again until the 2028 season. This is the same list used in 2016 except for Martin and Owen, which replaced Matthew and Otto.

Due to extreme activity, the Greek alphabet had to be used for the second time in history, after the 2005 season. The first 13 letters of the Greek alphabet were used up during the season.

Retirement
Due to extensive damage and deaths, the names Fiona, Ian, Martin, Owen, Shary, Tobias and Virginie were officially retired, and will never be used again for an Atlantic hurricane. They were replaced by Frederica, Immanuel, Mitchell, Odell, Stephanie, Trevor and Veronica for the 2028 season. The name Beta was also retired, but will be reused when needed in the future.