1994 Atlantic hurricane season (Sass's version)

The 1994 Atlantic hurricane season was an active year in tropical cyclone formation. With all 15 tropical depressions developing into named storms, this was the highest seasonal total since 1969. A further seven of these became hurricanes. Of the seven hurricanes this year, three of them intensified to major hurricanes, which, according to the Saffir-Simpson Scale, has winds of at least 111 miles per hour or greater. While no storms made landfall at major hurricane intensity, two storms (Hurricanes Ernesto and Oscar) became category 4 hurricanes, which have winds of at least 130 miles per hour. Two storms in particular (Alberto and Oscar) had a calamitous impact across the Greater Antilles and southeast United States.

Seasonal activity typically starts on June 1st each year, and ends on November 30th. No tropical activity occurred until June 28th, when a tropical disturbance in the central Caribbean Sea developed and was named Alberto. Alberto, a very weak hurricane, dropped rain across Cuba and caused heavy flooding in Florida and Georgia. Tropical Storm Beryl formed in early July and made landfall in Nova Scotia. Tropical Storm Chris formed off the coast of South Carolina, bringing heavy rain to the state. In August, Hurricane Debby made landfall in Florida and was sustained over land due to the brown ocean effect. Heavy rainfall and multiple tornadoes were reported from the Florida Keys to upstate New York. Later that month gave way to the first Cape Verde hurricane of the season, Ernesto, a powerful category 4 hurricane that dropped heavy rain on Bermuda and lashed the United States East Coast with strong waves. At the end of August came Tropical Storm Florence, a storm that rapidly intensified in the Bay of Campeche and made landfall in eastern Veracruz.

September kicked off with Hurricane Gordon, a major hurricane that formed just east of the Lesser Antilles. Gordon's track brought it across Jamaica, Cozumel, the Yucatán Peninsula, and Texas. Heavy wind shear plagued the storm, preventing it from becoming as powerful as initially predicted, lessening impacts. The refinery capacity in the Gulf of Mexico was still heavily impacted by the storm, however. Tropical Storm Helene followed, meandering aimlessly near Cape Verde. Later that month, Tropical Storm Isaac brought heavy rain to Central America, particularly Belize and Honduras. Hurricane Joyce followed, bringing heavy rain and strong waves to much of the Eastern United States (North Carolina in particular) as it moved northeast, just offshore. Tropical Storm Kirk was a weak storm that briefly attained storm-force winds as it moved to the north of Cape Verde.

In October, Tropical Storm Leslie formed off the coast of Nicaragua and brought flooding rains to several areas in the region, extending over to El Salvador and Guatemala in the East Pacific. Leslie later dissipated over the Mexican state Campeche. Tropical Storm Michael then formed in the central Caribbean, bringing heavy rain, high winds, and even tornadoes to the historic city of La Habana. November was unusually active, featuring Hurricane Nadine, a high-end category 2 hurricane that had absolutely no impact on land. The season closed out with Hurricane Oscar, a destructive category 4 hurricane whose long-lived track brought absolute destruction to endless Caribbean islands, U.S. territories, and southeast United States. Particularly hard-hit was the Republic of Haiti, where rain-induced flooding and storm surge insinuated a humanitarian crisis. Over 1200 people lost their lives in that country alone. Recovery is predicted to take years, potentially decades, to fully recover, as the country remained impoverished and desperately in need of resources long before Oscar's arrival. Collectively, the storms of 1994 caused TBD in damage and TBD deaths.