2017 Atlantic hurricane season (Gift Season - HHW Users)

'''Note: This overall season is dedicated to CycloneRyne94 - however, each friend of mine will receive a named storm in this season. :D'''The 2017 Atlantic hurricane season was a hyperactive, record-breaking season. It was the first Atlantic hurricane season in which almost all named storms became hurricanes. 2017 was also the first season in which the first Hypercane appeared - having been the final storm of the season, and ultimately the strongest and most destructive tropical storm in human history; the storm having been named Thomas.

The season eventually shattered records for most hurricanes on record and most major hurricanes on record. In addition, this season was the first Atlantic season in which pre-season activity outmatched actual seasonal activity, with storms forming year-round. More than seventy-five percent of the tropical cyclones in this season impacted land, mainly the Antilles, United States, or the Yucatán, with some landfalling at peak intensity. In addition to featuring the first hypercane on record, the first Atlantic Category 6, Hurricane Ryne, formed during the season with 205 MPH winds, the fastest of any storm in the Atlantic, surpassing Hurricane Allen's record of 190 MPH. In addition, Ryne became the most intense tropical cyclone in the world in terms of pressure, with the lowest pressure recorded measuring 867 millibars (that is, until Thomas shattered every record ever set). Unlike 2005, 2017 featured five Category 5 hurricanes, all of which but one made landfall at at least Category 4 (130+ MPH) intensity. In addition, a record number of hurricanes formed, with that amount being 18. Following this, an astonishing 14 became major hurricanes (Category 3 - 115 MPH+). Also, Hurricanes Anthony and Bob became the strongest pre-season storms ever recorded, with Hurricane Bob taking the windspeed record until Hurricane Ryne (and later Hypercane Thomas). Category 5 Hurricane Bumblebee also became the most intense Atlantic February tropical cyclone, with Hurricanes Collin and Floyd becoming the most intense March and May hurricanes on record, respectively. The season's activity and intensity of its storms was a result of one of the strongest and long-lived La Niña events ever witnessed in history, having frozen parts of the East Pacific, resulting in the least active season on record. Wind shear in the Atlantic hit record low levels - the lowest in centuries. In addition, sea surface temperatures hit their warmest ever recorded - with the warmest parts being in the Caribbean and along the East Coast of the United States, with water temperatures as hot as 124 degrees Fahrenheit, resulting in a multitude of intense storms capable of inflicting massive destruction. Following the dissipation of Hypercane Thomas, which became the first storm to traverse the entire world, 2017 became the costliest and deadliest hurricane season on record of all basins on Earth.

January & February
The season started right away with the formation of several tropical waves near Cape Verde in late December 2016. A plethora of these waves merged on December 31 over Cape Verde, resulting in the formation of Tropical Depression One on January 1, 2017, ultimately becoming the first depression of 2017. This later came to be known as Hurricane Anthony, an extremely destructive and powerful Category 5 hurricane. Anthony wrought serious damage across the Leeward Islands as a Category 5 near peak intensity, followed by massive destruction in the Greater Antilles and Puerto Rico as a Category 3. Anthony then shifted northwest and strengthened back to 155 MPH as it leveled Turks & Caicos and made its final landfall in South Carolina as a mid-grade Category 4, becoming the first major hurricane landfall in the United States since 2005's Hurricane Wilma. Hurricane Bob developed a day after Anthony's formation as Tropical Depression Two from the remnants of the tropical wave merger that produced Hurricane Anthony. Bob would also go on to attain Category 5 status and surpass Anthony in strength and take the wind speed record from 1980's Hurricane Allen when Bob peaked at 195 MPH, with its lowest pressure being 4 millibars short of Wilma's, making Bob the second most intense Atlantic hurricane, until Hurricane Ryne in September. Bob would later make landfall in Turks & Caicos as a low-end Category 5 just days after Hurricane Anthony leveled the islands, further hampering rescue efforts following Anthony's landfall. In addition, Bob struck the northern end of the Bahamas, causing extreme damage, especially on the Grand Bahama. Bob then weakened to a Category 3, striking North Carolina directly, making Bob the most intense hurricane landfall in the state since 1996's Hurricane Fran, though Bob would become even costlier and deadlier than Hazel in 1954. Throughout the time of Anthony's and Bob's existence, they were often considered twin hurricanes due to the fact they often made landfall in similar places, sometimes within days or even hours of each other. Though Bob became the stronger of the two, Anthony would far outlast it, with Bob turning extratropical on January 11, while Anthony dissipated on January 22. Anthony would also become the first pre-season Category 5 major hurricane and the most intense January tropical cyclone, though the latter record would eventually be taken by Hurricane Bob. The final January storm was a minimal tropical storm that formed the same day of Hurricane Bob's dissipation, January 11. The storm, later to be known as Tropical Storm Billy, became the first system since 2015's Fred to make landfall over Cape Verde, followed by a shift northward, with landfall in Portugal as a weak extratropical low. Following Billy's dissipation, 2017 became the first Atlantic season to have three named storms in the month of January, along with having two hurricanes and two major hurricanes in the month.

The first half of February remained inactive as the tropical wave production in Africa stalled as a shaft of dry air circulated around the northern part of the continent. The next storm formed a month after the dissipation of Tropical Storm Billy, with the formation of Hurricane Bumblebee on February 17. Bumblebee would later become the strongest February tropical cyclone in Atlantic history, with peak recorded at 160 MPH, 918 millibars. Bumblebee never affected land directly, but produced exceedingly strong swells along the shores of the Greater Antilles, United States, and Bermuda. The remnants of Bumblebee later dissipated over Ireland, causing minimal damage. Bumblebee would become the only named storm to form in February during the season.

March & April
March was another active month, with the formation of two major hurricanes: Category 4 Hurricane Collin and Category 3 Hurricane Darren. Hurricane Collin was an intense Category 4 hurricane that formed west of Barbados and later tracked northwest as it made landfall on Cuba as a Category 3 hurricane, causing extensive damage. Collin then began tracking northeast, retaining intensity prior to explosive strengthening into a high-end Category 4 hurricane that made a devastating landfall in Tampa; the first hurricane landfall in Florida since 2005's Hurricane Wilma. Collin weakened to a Category 2 after exiting Florida, but re-intensified into a 125 MPH Category that brushed Bermuda, causing widespread damage, becoming the most intense hurricane landfall there since 2014's Gonzalo. Collin became extratropical south of Iceland while retaining Category 1 equivalent strength. Collin further weakened back to an extratropical storm, making landfall over the UK, causing considerable damage. Following Collin's dissipation, the storm became the third costliest in Atlantic history, behind Hurricanes Bob and Anthony, respectively. Five days after Collin's formation, the precursor disturbance to Hurricane Darren developed over Turks & Caicos. Darren tracked across nearly all of the Bahamas in addition to the Turks & Caicos due to sporadic movements until the storm gained a westward track, eventually becoming a large, annular Category 3 hurricane that retained intensity as it made landfall over Cocoa Beach, Florida as a major hurricane simultaneously as Hurricane Collin made landfall in the other side of the state at nearly the exact time Darren made landfall. The two hurricanes combined produced devastating effects across all of mainland Florida, including one of the worst tornado outbreaks in Florida history. It was also the first time in the Atlantic that two major hurricanes made landfall in the same state simultaneously - though Collin was the stronger of the two. While Collin later tracked northeast, Darren continued to track WNW across Florida, with its large circulation absorbing a portion of Collin's. Darren later entered the Gulf of Mexico at a secondary peak intensity of 115 MPH, 951 mbar that caused severe damage in Pensacola, Florida, followed by a NNE track across the United States as a powerful and large extratropical storm that resulted in severe flash flooding across a multitude of states due to excess rainfall.

April was more relaxed than the previous months, despite two named storms forming, though neither would go on to attain hurricane status. The first was Tropical Storm Dane, a weak tropical storm that produced flooding rains across Veracruz and Tabasco, causing devastating mudslides and catastrophic flash flooding due to the storm's release of nearly all its moisture as it moved over land. Dane was unusual due to it being seventh named storm in the pre-season, and that it formed in the Gulf and made landfall over Mexico. The next storm to form was Tropical Storm Destiny, which later formed off the coast of Eastern Florida and followed the track of Hurricanes Anthony and Bob up the East Coast, blasting several of the affected areas, which remained in ruin from the previous hurricanes, causing damage with 60 MPH gusts and heavy rain. Destiny then turned northeast and impacted Nova Scotia as a weak post-tropical system, causing widespread tree damage.

May & June
A week into May, an organized tropical wave later developed into Hurricane Floyd, which fell just short of Category 5 status. Floyd peaked in intensity over the Bahamas, causing the worst destruction since Joaquin in 2015, though the north end of the Bahamas were not directly impacted by Floyd as they were by Bob in January. Floyd continued to track west as it made landfall over southern Florida a day later, with winds exceeding 150 MPH. Florida, still reeling from the catastrophic impacts from Hurricanes Collin and Darren in March, was not adequately prepared for another devastating landfall, which resulted in an additional sixty lives claimed and nearly $25.9 billion in damages. Due to the three hurricanes, the orange crop was nearly wiped out due to the massive damage inflicted upon the orange trees across the state, resulting in a quadruple increase of the prices that did not subside until the following year. The most notable thing about Floyd's landfall was the massive damage inflicted upon Miami, with the extremely strong winds resulting in the collapse of the Wells Fargo Center, which collapsed as a result of the high storm surge and powerful winds compromising the building's stability. Floyd weakened to a Category 1 as it traveled up the East Coast of the United States, following Hurricanes Anthony and Bob, in addition to Tropical Storm Destiny. Floyd became the fourth storm of the season to impact the area, especially in North Carolina and Virginia, both which sustained the most severe of damages this season than any other hurricane to landfall there in history combined. May continued to be exceptionally active as Tropical Storm Hunter developed out of a subtropical low off the coast of Florida and later made landfall in South Carolina and North Carolina a week after Floyd, dropping excessively heavy rainfall, with Wilmington reporting nearly eight inches of rain fell during Hunter. While rainfall and flooding during Floyd was severe, the saturation of the ground from the rainy weather and amount of hurricanes affecting the area during the season coupled with Hunter's rainfall triggered the worst flooding event in North Carolina since Hurricane Floyd of 1999, which was nearly identical to Floyd of 2017. Following Hunter was Category 3 Hurricane Hypothetical - the first storm of the season to not directly impact land while tropical since Hurricane Bumblebee in February. Hypothetical became the most easternward forming Category 3 since Hurricane Fred of 2009, eventually weakening to an extratropical low while passing over the Azores, causing minimal damage. Hypothetical then re-attained Category 1 intensity while remaining extratropical, eventually making landfall over the UK at that strength. Following a week after Hypothetical's formation, Hurricane Jack began to develop into a tropical depression east of the Lesser Antilles. Passing over Dominique as a weak tropical depression, Jack soon began to track northwest as it entered a very favorable Carribean, strengthening to a tropical storm, eventually peaking at 70 MPH over Cuba. Jack weakened slightly as it entered the Gulf of Mexico, but later acquired a new peak intensity with winds over 100 MPH prior to landfall in New Orleans, Louisiana as an 80 MPH Category 1 hurricane. Jack caused extensive wind damage and was responsible for one of the worst tornado outbreaks of the season, having spawned nearly seventy tornadoes across Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi, 90 percent of which caused severe damage. Jack, after transitioning into an extratropical depression, dropped locally heavy rainfall over four states as it tracked northeast across the United States. Catastrophic flooding occurred along river valleys as rivers overturned their banks from the excess rainfall.

The only June storm was a mid-grade tropical storm - Tropical Storm Jason.  This was due to a large increase in shear, leading to little tropical development until the end of the month, leading many meterologists to think that the activity of the season would finally slow down and take on a near-normal pattern. Jason formed in the Gulf of Mexico and later peaked at 55 MPH prior to weakening. Jason's remnants lost moisture and circulation as it made landfall in Cedar Key, Florida, bringing gusty winds. Damage from the storm was minimal.

July, Part 1...
On July 9, acitvity once again soared with the formation of twin hurricanes. A fairly large and initially well-developed tropical wave later split in two to the west of Cape Verde. The bottom half later became a depression the same day - soon developing into Category 4 Hurricane Joshua.  Joshua would go on to peak with wind speeds in the 140-145 MPH range, causing enormous destruction across the Greater Antilles and Cuba as a Category 3 hurricane. Joshua, by Cuban landfall, had weakened to a C2, but entered the Gulf and soon re-intensified back to a mjaor hurricane and slammed Florida in nearly the exact location Hurricane Collin had plowed through in March. Joshua then tracked northeast, attaining a secondary peak intensity of 135 MPH near Bermuda, causing extensive structural failure and tree damage, later tracking ENE across the Northern Atlantic. A day after Joshua's formation, the top half of the split tropical wave devloped into Hurricane Keranique. Like Joshua, Keranique would attain Category 4 status, though it would be slightly weaker in intensity. Unlike Joshua, Keranique tracked due west for 35 miles prior to shifting north and attaining 135 MPH winds, becoming the most easternward Category 4 ever to form, even more than Julia in 2010. Several days later, tracking very slowly nothward while maintaining intensity, Keranique became a compact, annular Category 4 with a decrease in circulation size as it made a direct hit on the Azores while an extremely large and damaging Category 2 Hurricane Joshua approached from the west, with both Keranique making landfall only ten minutes prior to Joshua plowing the same area. However, Keranique, traveling directly north with an increase in forward speed resulted in massive devastation across São Miguel, having become the strongest hurricane landfall in the Azores in Atlantic history, with a massive death toll due to lack of adequate preparation. Meanwhile, Joshua first hit Flores as its outer bands approached, having udergone massive swelling prior to landfall, making Joshua the second-largest storm in Atlantic history, only behind 2012's Sandy. Joshua's wind field expanded to a radius extending over 880 miles, having engulfed all of the islands under its massive circulation. Joshua wrought enormous damage across the archipelago, despite being only half the strength Keranique was at the time. However, Joshua's size contributed, in addition to merging with Keranique as the storm's eyewal became entrained in Joshua's. As Joshua continued to track northeast towards the UK, a trough wind shear in addition to instability along a frontal boundary allowed one Joshua's outer bands to become attached. Another shift in wind direction resulted in an explosion of catastrophic weather across much of western Europe, including hail, rain, thunderstorms, tornadoes, and gale-force winds. The following day, July 21, Hurricane Keranique could not be identified within the massive storm system, leading to its dissipation as Joshua re-intensified back to C3, though it had taken on subtropical characteristics due to disorganization. Joshua then turned westward and weakened back to a subtropical storm south of Iceland. The storm then continued to track west, eventually transitioning into an extratropical cyclone with 45 MPH winds spread across a large area as it made landfall in Atlantic Canada.

July, Part 2...
Later the same month, a new storm would also go on to attain major hurricane status, later peaking as a 175 MPH Category 5. This storm, better known as Hurricane Layten, would form from an extremely large and well-organized Cape Verde tropical wave, eventually reaching Category 5 status as it made landfall over Turks & Caicos as well as the Bahamas, already taken devastating hits from Hurricanes Bob and Floyd earlier in the season, both of which hit at or near peak intensity. Just east of South Carolina, Layten attained its peak intensity of 175 MPH. Layten then slammed into Wilmington as a Category 5 hurricane, having become the strongest hurricane landfall in North Carolina history. Layten wrought enormous damage across the state, having become the new most deadliest and devastating storm in the state's history. Layten then transitioned into an extratropical cyclone retaining 150 MPH winds as it moved inland, later turning northeast and making a direct hit on Manhattan as a Category 4 extratropical cyclone, with New York City bearing the brunt of the storm's wrath. Layten then turned northwest as it engulfed the entire state of New York, much like Sandy did in October 2012. The storm, producing winds of 115 MPH, wrought serious damage across the entire state, with the storm being directly responsible for the worst tornado outbreak in the state's history. Layten later dissipated over rural Quebec, having persisted 14 days into August.

August
August started off with the intensification of Hurricane Layten into a Category 4 hurricane north of Puerto Rico. The first August storm developed on August 4 after a wayward subtropical low developed west of the Azores and later rapidly developed into Category 1 Hurricane Logan.  Hurricane Logan brought hurricane-force winds to Ponta Delgada only weeks after being devastated by Hurricane Keranique. Logan inhibited ongoing re-building efforts across the island, and areas that had power just restored after Keranique once again lost it as high winds blew down newly-erected power lines. Soon after, Logan weakened to an extratropical low that made landfall in Spain, bringing gusty winds and moderate rainfall, though overall damage was minimal. On August 26, a tropical wave split in two over the Central Atlantic, with the bottom portion moving into the Caribbean and developing into an extremely large tropical system that later became Hurricane Ryne, the most intense Atlantic hurricane to ever form, with the lowest pressure and highest wind speeds ever observed in the Atlantic basin, making it the first officially operationally classified Category 6 hurricane on record. Ryne slowly organized over Aruba as it steadily grew while enormous layers of convection built up a shredded eyewall that would soon become well-organzed and tightly compact. As an extremely large tropical storm, Ryne dropped nearly fifteen inches of rain from its outer bands as they gradually tightened around the slow-churning convection. By the time it made landfall in Cuba, its size had grown to nearly 1100 miles, with hurricane-force winds extending nearly 950 miles from the center.

September & October November & December

Storm Names
The following names were used in the 2017 Atlantic hurricane season. The original list was discarded and replaced with the names of all users at Hypothetical Hurricanes Wiki. Names are based on a user's real or given name.