The 2024 Atlantic Hurricane Season was a hyperactive tropical cyclone season, featuring 18 named storms, 9 hurricanes, and 4 major hurricanes. These systems collectively caused $60.79 billion in damages, and 367 deaths. The season officially started on June 1, 2024, and ended on November 30, 2024 - however, the season is not bound to those dates, demonstrated by Subtropical Storm Alberto forming in mid-April and Hurricane Sara forming in late-December.
This season would see many systems impacting land, including six landfalls in the continental United States. In early September, Hurricane Helene would cause extensive flooding and heavy damage in Florida and Georgia. In late September, Hurricane Milton would cause widespread damage throughout Louisiana, and less than three weeks later, Hurricane Oscar would exacerbate the damage in Louisiana.
Most forecasting groups predicted generally average to slightly-above average activity, due to the forecasted continuation of ENSO-neutral conditions from the previous season, along with slightly warmer than average sea surface temperatures in the Atlantic. Generally, the forecasts were largely accurate, though the season slightly exceeded most predictions. This was due to the development of a weak La Niña during the month of August, which contributed to increased activity in the months of September and October.
Seasonal Forecasts[]
Pre-Season Outlooks[]
| Source | Date | Named storms |
Hurricanes | Major hurricanes |
| Average (1981–2010) | 12.1 | 6.4 | 2.7 | |
| Record high activity | 28 | 15 | 7† | |
| Record low activity | 4 | 2† | 0† | |
| ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– | ||||
| TSR | December 12, 2023 | 14 | 6 | 3 |
| CSU | April 2, 2024 | 15 | 6 | 2 |
| TSR | April 5, 2024 | 15 | 6 | 3 |
| NCSU | April 16, 2024 | 12–15 | 4–6 | 1–2 |
| TWC | April 19, 2024 | 16 | 7 | 4 |
| NOAA | May 24, 2024 | 16 | 8 | 3 |
| UKMO | May 25, 2024 | 14* | 6* | 3* |
| CSU | July 2, 2024 | 16* | 6* | 2* |
| TSR | July 5, 2024 | 15 | 8 | 3 |
| CSU | August 2, 2024 | 17 | 9 | 3 |
| TSR | August 5, 2024 | 16 | 7 | 4 |
| NOAA | August 9, 2024 | 14–18 | 5–7 | 1–3 |
|
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– | ||||
| Actual activity |
18 | 9 | 4 | |
| * June–November only. † Most recent of several such occurrences. | ||||
The first forecast for the season, as always, was released by TCR on December 12, 2023 - which called for an average season. Specifically, with a total of 14 named storms, 6 hurricanes, and 3 major hurricanes. On April 2, CSU also had released their forecast, calling for 15 named storms, 6 hurricanes, and 2 major hurricanes. Three days later, on April 5, TSR would release their second forecast for the season, increasing the named storm count to 15 but maintaining all other values (6 hurricanes and 3 major hurricanes). On April 19, North Carolina State University (NCSU) released their first forecast for the season, calling for 12-15 named storms, 4-6 hurricanes, and 1-2 majors (including Subtropical Storm Alberto). The following day, on April 20, The Weather Company (TWC) also released their forecast, predicting a slightly-above average season with 16 named storms, 7 hurricanes, and 4 major hurricanes.
On May 24, NOAA would release their first forecast for the season, calling for 16 named storms, 8 hurricanes, and 3 major hurricanes. The following day, the UK Met Office (UKMO) would release their forecast for the season, calling for an average season of 14 named storms, 6 hurricanes, and 3 majors with an Accumulated Cyclone Energy (ACE) of approximately 130 units.
Mid-Season Outlooks[]
One month into the official start of the season, on July 1, CSU would update their forecast again to 16 named storms, 6 hurricanes, and 2 major hurricanes - citing signs of a potential weak La Niña for the main cause of the increased storm count. On July 5, a mere three days later, TSR released their third forecast for the season, raising the number of hurricanes to 8, but maintaining all other parameters (15 named storms and 3 major hurricanes).
In early August, the final three forecasts would be made for the season - the first being from CSU, on August 2, as their last forecast, calling for 17 named storms, 9 hurricanes, and 3 major hurricanes. Following that, on August 5, would come TSR's last forecast calling for 16 named storms, 7 hurricanes, and 4 major hurricanes. And on August 9, NOAA would release its final forecast for the 2024 season - calling for 14-18 tropical storms, 5-7 hurricanes, and 1-3 major hurricanes.
Seasonal Summary[]
The 2024 season officially began on June 1 and saw the development of 20 tropical depressions, 18 tropical storms, 9 hurricanes, and 4 major hurricanes. In addition, It was the most recent hyperactive season since 2020. Tropical cyclogenesis began in April with the formation of Subtropical Storm Alberto, marking the first system in the month of April since Tropical Storm Arlene in 2017.
Activity would pick up again in the month of June when Tropical Storms Beryl and Chris both formed in the Caribbean and the Gulf Stream, respectively. After a brief lull, Hurricane Debby would form in mid-July wherein it would become the first hurricane of the season, and become a rare July hurricane in the MDR. A few days later, Tropical Storm Ernesto would form and make a landfall in Belize as a moderate tropical storm. As the month turned to August, activity began to pick up, fueled by warming ocean temperatures and the development of a weak La Nina from the cool ENSO-neutral that had persisted from April onwards. Early in August, Tropical Storm Francine would develop in the Gulf Stream and quickly become post-tropical and Tropical Depression Seven would make a weak landfall in Texas at the same time. Another lull persisted, but by mid-August, Hurricane Gordon had formed and became the season's second hurricane and impacted no landmasses. As August dragged onwards, Hurricane Helene would form late in the month and caused extensive damage throughout portions of the Lesser Antilles, the Bahamas, and the Southeastern United States. In addition, Helene would also mark the first major hurricane of the season and its only Category 5 storm. In addition, it was also the first system on record to make landfall in Volusia County, Florida, which contains Daytona Beach. To finish off the month, Tropical Storm Isaac developed east of the Lesser Antilles.
Three active tropical cyclones active over the Atlantic on September 2, 2024. From left to right, there is Helene, Eleven, and Joyce all active.
As the month transitioned to September, activity picked up at a quick pace with Tropical Depression Eleven forming as soon as the month began, on September 1, while impacting no landmasses. The following day, Hurricane Joyce would form at an unusually low latitude, breaking the record set by Hurricane Isidore of 1990. In addition, Joyce would become the season's second major hurricane and have a fujiwhara interaction with Hurricane Kirk. On that note, two days later, Hurricane Kirk would develop south of the Azores and interact with Hurricane Joyce, taking a very erratic track before degenerating into a remnant low in mid-September, only to regenerate once more but die two days later. During Kirk's lifespan, Tropical Storm Leslie would develop in the Bay of Campeche and cause moderate impacts in Texas and portions of Mexico. As September began to reach a close, Hurricane Milton would develop east of Florida before entering the Gulf of Mexico and becoming the season's third major hurricane. Following that, Milton would continue to rapidly intensify all the way up to landfall in Louisiana, tying the record set by Hurricane Laura of 2020 and the 1856 Last Island Hurricane for the strongest Louisiana landfall. To close off of the month of September, Tropical Storm Nadine would form west of Bermuda and only cause minor impacts to the island.
October saw reduced activity, but started off with Hurricane Oscar becoming the season's fourth and last major hurricane in the Northwest Caribbean before meandering northwards and making a landfall in Louisiana. Around the same time as Oscar making landfall in Louisiana, Tropical Storm Patty would develop over the eastern Atlantic and rush generally east where its extratropical remnants would cause light damage in the Iberian Peninsula. To conclude the month of October, Hurricane Rafael would develop southeast of Bermuda and move in an erratic track, reaching Category 1 status on three separate occasions and crossing over into November; generating the most Accumulated Cyclone Energy (ACE) for any Category 1 hurricane since Hurricane Leslie of 2018. As November came and went, there was no additional activity in the Atlantic, but in late December, Hurricane Sara would develop over the subtropical Atlantic and briefly become a Category 1 hurricane, the season's ninth and last, before dissipating on December 27, concluding the season.
Graph showing the distribution of ACE among the storms of the 2024 season.
The Accumulated Cyclone Energy (ACE) for the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season, tallied up, is 162.0675 units. This qualifies the season to be a hyperactive season, which is 153 units or more. Broadly speaking, Accumulated Cyclone Energy is the measure of the power of a tropical system (using knots) of a tropical or subtropical storm multiplied by the length of time it existed - thus making stronger and long-lived systems, like Helene, generate more ACE than weaker and short-lived systems, like Francine. In addition, it is only calculated for full 6 hour advisories and only applies when the system is tropical storm force or above.
Systems[]
Subtropical Storm Alberto[]
| Subtropical storm (SSHWS) | |
  | |
| Duration | April 16 – April 19 |
|---|---|
| Peak intensity | 50 mph (85 km/h) (1-min) 1001 mbar (hPa) |
On April 15, an area of disorganized thunderstorms developed south of Bermuda, which headed generally east. At 0:00 UTC on April 16, a low pressure area developed within the system, and six hours later, the system would turn slowly to the northeast. Moving over waters 2 degrees Celsius warmer than usual for the time of year, the system quickly coalesced, and at 18:00 UTC that day, a subtropical depression formed. The depression would continue heading on its general northeastwards track, changing little in intensity. By 6:00 UTC on April 17, the system curved to the southeast due to an interaction with a trough approaching quite distantly from the northwest. This dip to the southeast would prove brief, and the system turned back to the northeast by 18:00 UTC that day as it intensified into a subtropical storm. As it paced to the northeast, it would steadily strengthen, reaching its peak intensity at 0:00 UTC on April 19. At this time, an oncoming trough would force the system to accelerate and begin to undergo extratropical transition starting at 6:00 UTC. Due to the system's small size, it would complete its transition six hours later, at 12:00 UTC that day. Its extratropical remnants would continue heading generally east-northeast and dissipate over the open Atlantic by 12:00 UTC on April 20.
Tropical Storm Beryl[]
| Tropical storm (SSHWS) | |
  | |
| Duration | June 11 – June 17 |
|---|---|
| Peak intensity | 65 mph (100 km/h) (1-min) 998 mbar (hPa) |
An area of low pressure developed southwest of Jamaica at 0:00 UTC on June 11. The low travelled generally northwest and steadily coalesced in a favorable environment and developed into a tropical depression at 18:00 UTC that day. The newly formed depression would continue its northwestwards track towards the Yucatan peninsula, changing little intensity. By 12:00 UTC the following day, the system turned to the north, and at 0:00 UTC on June 13, the system intensified into a tropical storm, receiving the name Beryl. A fujiwhara interaction with the system that would later become Tropical Storm Chris brought Beryl to the northeast, and over the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico, it steadily intensified. It would near the Floridian coast, but by 6:00 UTC June 14, Beryl would slow down and turn northwest as it encountered weak steering currents. Six hours later, at 12:00 UTC, Beryl would also attain its peak intensity of 65 mph and 998 mb, as a sheared system due to moderate wind shear over the Gulf of Mexico. However, it would not maintain its peak intensity as it moved northwest towards the Florida panhandle, and at 0:00 UTC June 15, it had begun to weaken. At this time, Beryl also began to make a turn to the southwest - however, its weakening trend would continue as it entered into an environment of higher wind shear. This more hostile environment would cause Beryl to weaken down to tropical depression status at 0:00 UTC June 17 as it continued heading towards the Mexican coast. Despite forecasts of a landfall in Mexico, Beryl would dissipate at 0:00 UTC on June 18 off of the coast of Mexico.
With Beryl having not made landfall anywhere throughout its life, it is one of very few systems to enter the Gulf of Mexico and not make landfall - the most recent of which is Tropical Storm Olga of 2019. Tropical Storm Beryl also caused $500 million in damage throughout its lifespan, which the majority being in Florida and Louisiana where the system passed near to. In addition, Beryl also caused 4 deaths and 1 indirect death.
Tropical Storm Chris[]
| Tropical storm (SSHWS) | |
  | |
| Duration | June 16 – June 19 |
|---|---|
| Peak intensity | 70 mph (110 km/h) (1-min) 994 mbar (hPa) |
At 12:00 UTC on June 15, an area of low pressure formed just off of the coast of Virginia. This area of low pressure would head generally southeast wherein it would enter the Gulf Stream's anomalously warm waters for this time of year and steadily organize, becoming the season's third tropical cyclone at 6:00 UTC the following day. The newly formed depression began to slow down not too long after it formed and made a small anti-cyclonic loop east of the Carolinas due to an interaction with a low pressure area over the Gulf of St. Lawrence. By 6:00 UTC on June 17, Chris had turned to the north, having seen little change in strength over the 24 hours since it had formed. Six hours later, at 12:00 UTC, however, the depression intensified into a tropical storm, receiving the name Chris. The newly-upgraded tropical storm would continue to quickly strengthen as it continued on a general northwards path, reaching 50 mph in about 12 hours. However, the system would make a turn more to the northeast as an upcoming trough picked up the system, causing it to begin to accelerate as well. Chris would intensify further during this time, and ultimately peaked at 70 mph at 18:00 UTC on June 18 - at which time it also began to undergo extratropical transition. The system began to turn to the east as well, and it finished its extratropical transition by 6:00 UTC the following day. After transitioning into an extratropical system, the remnants of Chris would continue to race east before dissipating southeast of Nova Scotia by 18:00 UTC that day.
Overall, Chris caused minimal damage due to it staying out to sea, but did cause 1 death when a 41-year old man drowned off of Cape Cod on June 18 due to rip currents caused by the system.
Hurricane Debby[]
| Category 1 hurricane (SSHWS) | |
  | |
| Duration | July 15 – July 19 |
|---|---|
| Peak intensity | 80 mph (130 km/h) (1-min) 988 mbar (hPa) |
A tropical wave emerged off of the coast of Africa on July 11 - this wave and the associated thunderstorm activity were initially disorganized due to hostile conditions, namely cooler SSTs (sea surface temperatures) and increased wind shear. However, as the system generally trekked west, it gradually became more organized as it encountered less wind shear and warmer SSTs for the region. By 12:00 UTC on July 14, a low pressure area had developed within the organizing tropical wave, and organization continued for the system. This organization would culminate with the formation of a tropical depression at 0:00 UTC July 15, which continued its westwards course it had maintained for several days now. Twelve hours after it had formed, the nascent depression intensified into a tropical storm, receiving the name Debby. Following Debby being named, it began to intensify quickly over the warm waters of the Main Development Region (MDR). As a result, it attained hurricane status at 18:00 UTC on July 16, where it would simultaneously reach peak intensity as a 80 mph hurricane. The system lacked much of a visible eye, though microwave and infrared imagery showed the system did have an eye. Shortly after peaking, the system began to turn northwest into an environment of increased wind shear; this would cause the system's eye to collapse due to the system's small size and by 12:00 UTC on July 17, it had fallen to tropical storm status. Debby would continue to weaken as it headed northwest and then west, falling further to tropical depression status by 0:00 UTC on July 19. The system would then make another turn back to the northwest and succumb to the hostile conditions, degenerating into a remnant low at 12:00 UTC that day. Its remnants would continue heading northwest, bringing light rain and minimal damage to the Lesser Antilles. Finally, the remnants of Debby would fully dissipate by 18:00 UTC on July 20, northeast of Puerto Rico.
Tropical Storm Ernesto[]
| Tropical storm (SSHWS) | |
  | |
| Duration | July 22 – July 25 |
|---|---|
| Peak intensity | 60 mph (95 km/h) (1-min) 997 mbar (hPa) |
On July 9, a tropical wave came off of the coast of Africa - this wave would traverse the Atlantic quickly, lagging behind Hurricane Debby and seeing little development over the Atlantic. At 18:00 UTC on July 19, a low pressure area formed within the tropical wave north of Panama as the system began to slow down as it neared the coast of Nicaragua. From there, it would turn south and then east, slowly organizing as time went on, before developing into a tropical storm at 6:00 UTC on July 22 as it turned north. After forming, newly-formed Ernesto began to curve to the west as it slowly intensified. Ernesto would pass near to the coast of Honduras the following day. At 6:00 UTC on July 24, Ernesto would attain its peak intensity - which it would maintain until landfall south Mahahual, Mexico at 11:30 UTC that day. 30 minutes later, at 12:00 UTC, Ernesto would make a secondary landfall near Sarteneja, Belize. Following landfall, Ernesto would weaken quickly as it dived southwest into Guatemala, falling to tropical depression status by 6:00 UTC on July 25. Upon weakening to a tropical depression, Ernesto would again shift course, this time south, and dissipate over the rugged terrain of Guatemala by 18:00 UTC that day. The mid-level circulation and associated thunderstorm from what was Ernesto would cross into the Eastern Pacific basin and be absorbed by the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) on July 26.
Throughout most of its life and as a precursor, Ernesto would affect land. Overall, Ernesto caused $700 million in damage throughout Central America and 33 deaths, mostly from Honduras and Guatemala.
Tropical Storm Francine[]
| Tropical storm (SSHWS) | |
  | |
| Duration | August 4 – August 6 |
|---|---|
| Peak intensity | 50 mph (85 km/h) (1-min) 1004 mbar (hPa) |
An area of disorganized thunderstorms and showers moved off of the coast of the Carolinas on August 2. This area of thunderstorms would move steadily east and steadily organized. At 0:00 UTC on August 4, a low pressure area formed within the thunderstorms and the system continued to organize northwest of Bermuda. At 18:00 UTC that day, the low pressure area coalesced into another tropical depression for the season as it headed generally northeast. Upon forming, the new depression would slowly intensify and intensified into a tropical storm at 6:00 UTC that following day as it headed east due to an interaction with an oncoming front. It would continue to intensify and Francine attained its peak intensity at 0:00 UTC on August 6 as it turned northeast as it began to merge with the front and begin extratropical transition. Twelve hours later, Francine finished extratropical transition, and continued to head northeast. The remains of Francine would then dissipate south of Newfoundland by 6:00 UTC on August 7.
Tropical Storm Francine never impacted any landmasses, and thus caused only minimal damage. In addition, there were no deaths associated with Francine.
Tropical Depression Eight[]
| Tropical depression (SSHWS) | |
  | |
| Duration | August 5 – August 6 |
|---|---|
| Peak intensity | 35 mph (55 km/h) (1-min) 1007 mbar (hPa) |
At 12:00 UTC on August 3, a low pressure area formed over the eastern Gulf of Mexico. The system moved steadily west-southwest and steadily organized over the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico, however, it only slowly organized over the Gulf of Mexico. By 12:00 UTC the following day, the low shifted to a northwestwards track and continued to organize further - developing into the seventh tropical depression of the season at 12:00 UTC on August 5. The system remained disorganized and did not strengthen further, attaining its peak pressure just 6 hours later which it would hold up until landfall on Padre Island, Texas at 00:15 UTC on August 6. Upon making landfall, the depression would assume a southwestwards course and began to weaken as it trekked over land. The system would ultimately dissipate over the mountainous terrain of Mexico by 18:00 UTC that same day (August 6).
The depression never matured into a strong system, and impacted Kennedy County, one of the most remotely populated counties in Texas. Therefore, the system did not cause as much damage as it possibly could have and only cause $200 million in damages along with one fatality - a 33 year old who was electrocuted after touching a downed electrical tower.
Hurricane Gordon[]
| Category 2 hurricane (SSHWS) | |
  | |
| Duration | August 14 – August 23 |
|---|---|
| Peak intensity | 105 mph (165 km/h) (1-min) 972 mbar (hPa) |
On August 10, a tropical wave emerged off of the coast of Africa and moved generally westwards at a brisk pace. On August 13, a low pressure area developed within the tropical wave and it continued to steadily organize and head west-southwest. By 18:00 UTC that day, the system bottomed out latitude-wise and began to curve northwest. Twelve hours later (at 6:00 UTC on August 14), the wave developed into a tropical depression as it headed northwest and began to curve to the west. Over the following day, the system changed little in intensity and finished its turn to the west. However, at 6:00 UTC on August 15, the system intensified into a tropical storm, receiving the name Gordon. Gordon would slowly intensify as the days went on, and by 18:00 UTC the following day, Gordon began to turn northwest as it simultaneously attained its initial peak intensity of 65 mph in a somewhat favorable environment over the open Atlantic. It would hold its intensity for about 18 hours as it entered a more hostile environment of increased shear before weakening again by 12:00 UTC on August 17. As Gordon began to move out of the area of increased shear, it would bottom out at 50 mph on August 18. Later that day, in a more favorable environment, Gordon began to restrengthen, gaining hurricane status by 12:00 UTC on August 19. Gordon would continue to strengthen as it began to near Bermuda from the southeast, and by 12:00 UTC on August 20, it began to curve northeast. At 0:00 UTC the following day, Gordon would gain Category 2 status south of Bermuda. At 18:00 UTC the same day, Gordon would attain its peak intensity of 105 mph and 972 mb. Gordon would then accelerate southeast due to an interaction with a trough several hundred miles to the northwest. It would fall to Category 1 status at 12:00 UTC on August 22. Beginning six hours later, Gordon would begin to undergo extratropical transition - a transition it would complete at 6:00 UTC on August 23. The extratropical remnants would curve to the north and then to the east before dissipating by 18:00 UTC on August 24.
Hurricane Helene[]
- Main article: Hurricane Helene (2024)
| Category 5 major hurricane (SSHWS) | |
  | |
| Duration | August 20 – September 2 |
|---|---|
| Peak intensity | 165 mph (270 km/h) (1-min) 922 mbar (hPa) |
On August 17, a tropical wave came off of the coast of Africa and headed west through Cape Verde. The wave steadily organized as it passed through Cape Verde, and by 6:00 UTC on August 20, it organized into a tropical depression - the ninth of the year. The nascent depression would continue its westwards track upon forming and slowly deepen before intensifying into a tropical storm at 0:00 UTC on August 21. Upon becoming a tropical storm, Helene would steadily intensify over the warm waters of the eastern Atlantic before intensifying into a Category 1 hurricane at 0:00 UTC on August 23. As Helene began to near the Lesser Antilles, tropical storm watches would be issued in the northern portion of the Lesser Antilles as it was forecast to move just north of the Lesser Antilles, in a track similar to Hurricane Irma. In addition, Helene would move over even warmer waters about 1 degree Celsius above average for the time of year, fueling continued intensification - reaching Category 2 status at 6:00 UTC on August 24. Beginning at 12:00 UTC that day, just 6 hours after becoming a Category 2 hurricane, Helene would begin to undergo rapid intensification, attaining major hurricane status at 18:00 UTC, and then Category 4 status at 6:00 UTC on August 25. Upon attaining Category 4 status, Helene would slow down on its intensification, due to a structural re-organization of the system from a more compact system to a more broad system. As Helene began to bear down on the Lesser Antilles, Helene would continue to intensify. At 6:00 UTC on August 26, Helene would intensify to a Category 5 hurricane a mere 150 miles northeast of Barbuda - simultaneously, it would also shift on a more northwestwards track as well. After reaching Category 5 status, Helene began to bottom out and would maintain its intensify of 160 mph until 0:00 UTC on August 27, when it would attain its peak winds of 165 mph and six hours later it would peak in pressure. By August 28, Helene began to weaken again as land interaction began to degrade its structure. At 12:00 UTC that day (the 28th), Helene fell to Category 4 status as it continued to barrel towards the Bahamas. Starting at 0:00 UTC on August 29, Helene would shift to a northwestwards track while maintaining a general intensity of 150 mph. However, starting at 12:00 UTC that day, Helene began to undergo an Eyewall Replacement Cycle (EWRC), and thus began to weaken as it continued heading northwest to the east of the Bahamas. On August 30, Helene made yet another shift in direction, this time to the west-northwest, as it moved north of the Bahamas and finished its EWRC, temporarily bottoming out at 130 mph. Helene would continue to rush towards Florida, and made landfall near Daytona Beach, Florida at 0:00 UTC on August 31, as it simultaneously weakened to Category 3 status - making landfall at 125 mph.
Interaction between two high pressure areas would then cause Helene to slow down and turn north over Florida, falling to Category 2 status six hours later, and then again to Category 1 status at 12:00 UTC, by which point it was near Gainesville. Helene would then press northwards towards Georgia, entering Georgia as a minimal Category 1 hurricane at 18:00 UTC. At 0:00 UTC on September 1, Helene would weaken further to a tropical storm and then further to tropical depression status at 12:00 UTC on September 1. At this time, Helene stopped gaining latitude and made a small anti-cyclonic loop near the border with South Carolina before heading west-southwest. At 6:00 UTC on September 2, Helene would degenerate into a remnant low over Georgia. The remnants of Helene would then curve east-southeast before re-emerging off of Georgia and into the open Atlantic at 18:00 UTC on September 3; which would then subsequently recurve north before moving over South Carolina and dissipating by 6:00 UTC on September 5, over North Carolina.
Tropical Storm Isaac[]
| Tropical storm (SSHWS) | |
  | |
| Duration | August 24 – August 27 |
|---|---|
| Peak intensity | 50 mph (85 km/h) (1-min) 1000 mbar (hPa) |
A large area of disorganized thunderstorms developed over the Main Development Region (MDR) on August 22 which moved steadily west. Over the following days, the system began to slowly develop and at 0:00 UTC on August 24, a low pressure area developed within the system and twelve hours later, a closed and defined circulation had developed, and thus a tropical depression had formed east of the Lesser Antilles. The new tropical depression moved west-southwest and passed just south of Barbados at 18:00 UTC on August 24, and then just south of St. Vincent and the Grenadines at 0:00 UTC the following day. By this point, the depression's direction shifted to the west and then the northwest and it had intensified into a tropical storm at 12:00 UTC on August 25. The system would receive the name Isaac and would steadily intensify over the warm waters of the eastern Caribbean. By 12:00 UTC the following day, Isaac would attain its peak intensity south of Hispaniola. Light upper level wind shear would limit further intensification and outflow from nearby Hurricane Helene would cause it to weaken prior to making landfall at 3:00 UTC on August 27 near Enriquillo, in the Dominican Republic, as a 45 mph system. Upon making landfall, it would quickly weaken over the rugged terrain of Hispaniola and would fall to tropical depression status at 12:00 UTC on August 27. It would continue to weaken due to land interaction and shear from Hurricane Helene and dissipate over Haiti by 0:00 UTC on August 28. The mid-level circulation and remnant moisture would continue to head northwest and would be absorbed by Hurricane Helene by 18:00 UTC that day as it neared the Bahamas.
Tropical Depression Twelve[]
| Tropical depression (SSHWS) | |
  | |
| Duration | September 1 – September 2 |
|---|---|
| Peak intensity | 35 mph (55 km/h) (1-min) 1008 mbar (hPa) |
An area of disorganized thunderstorms moved across the northern Atlantic in late August. At 6:00 UTC on August 31, an area of low pressure formed within the thunderstorm activity. However, marginal conditions and wind shear over the northern Atlantic led to forecasters believing that it would not develop and the low pressure area remained disorganized. However, by 18:00 UTC, a large convective blow up led to a large area of thunderstorms developing over the eastern side of the system - six hours later, at 0:00 UTC on September 1, the system developed into a tropical depression. Six hours later, the depression would reach its peak intensity over the open Atlantic as it began to curve northeast and to execute a cyclonic loop. As it moved northeast, the system would struggle to maintain its organization, and as it curved northwest on September 2 wind shear began to tear the system apart as it fell to 30 mph. By 6:00 UTC, it curved southwest, and increasing wind shear along with upwelled cooler waters led to the system degenerating into a remnant low at 18:00 UTC on September 2. The remnants of Twelve would continue to produce intermittent convection as it moved southwest and then east by September 3, however it did not redevelop back into a tropical cyclone - instead dissipating by 6:00 UTC on September 4.
Hurricane Joyce[]
| Category 3 major hurricane (SSHWS) | |
  | |
| Duration | September 2 – September 11 |
|---|---|
| Peak intensity | 115 mph (185 km/h) (1-min) 959 mbar (hPa) |
On August 27, a tropical wave emerged unusually far south off of the coast of Africa from Sierra Leone. The wave would track generally west-southwest and remain disorganized for the next few days. By August 31, however, the system began to organize further and a low pressure area would develop within the wave at 18:00 UTC on September 1, however its circulation would be elongated and poorly defined. An unusually favorable environment for this latitude would allow the system to maintain its organization as it began to form a more defined center and have its circulation be less elongated. These trends would continue up until 12:00 UTC on September 2, when a tropical depression formed from the tropical wave at a mere 5.9 degrees north, breaking the old record set by Hurricane Isidore of 1990, which formed at 7.2 degrees north. Upon forming, the new depression would shift away from its west-southwestwards course and to a northwestwards course. Over the following day, the system would change little in strength due to the negative impacts of the Coriolis Effect as it rushed northwest, but at 18:00 UTC on September 3, the depression would intensify into a tropical storm - receiving the name Joyce. The newly upgraded tropical storm would subsequently curve northwards and slowly intensify. Starting at 6:00 UTC on September 5, Joyce began to execute a small anti-cyclonic loop as both it and Kirk slowed down in gaining latitude. Joyce would then turn west after completing the loop at 0:00 UTC on September 6; and it would intensify into a minimal hurricane six hours later. At 12:00 UTC, Joyce would reach its initial peak intensity but it would also begin to enter an area of increased wind shear, causing the small eye it had to collapse and for it to fall to tropical storm status at 0:00 UTC on September 7. Around this time, Joyce would curve to the northeast and begin to move out of the environment of shear, regaining hurricane status at 6:00 UTC the following day. 18 hours later, at 0:00 UTC on September 9, Joyce would gain Category 2 status as it continued to intensify. At 15:00 UTC that same day, Joyce would reach its peak intensity as a minimal Category 3 hurricane over the open Atlantic. However, as Joyce continued to move northeast, cooler waters would begin to take their toll of Joyce as well, causing it to fall below major hurricane status just 3 hours later, at 18:00 UTC. An interaction with a trough to the northwest as well would cause Joyce to begin to accelerate, falling to Category 1 status at 12:00 UTC on September 10. Also at that time, Joyce began to undergo extratropical transition, a transition it would complete at 6:00 UTC on September 11. The extratropical remnants of Joyce would continue to head generally northeast, passing through the Azores later that day before being absorbed by a larger extratropical system by 6:00 UTC on September 12.
Hurricane Kirk[]
| Category 1 hurricane (SSHWS) | |
  | |
| Duration | September 4 – September 23 |
|---|---|
| Peak intensity | 75 mph (120 km/h) (1-min) 986 mbar (hPa) |
Late during the month of August, an area of disorganized thunderstorms moved over the central Atlantic. This set of disorganized thunderstorms would begin to organize as September began, developing an area of low pressure within the system at 12:00 UTC on September 3 - however, it lacked a defined center. The low pressure area would continue to organize further, and ASCAT data confirmed that it had developed a defined center at 12:00 UTC on September 4, leading to the formation of a tropical depression at that time (though it wouldn't be designated operationally until 15:00 UTC as the ASCAT pass occurred at around 13:00 UTC). Shortly after forming into a tropical depression, however, the nascent system would enter into a fujiwhara interaction with Hurricane Joyce to the south. This fujiwhara interaction would cause the system to move to the north, where the depression would strengthen into a tropical storm at 6:00 UTC on September 5, receiving the name Kirk. Kirk would steadily strengthen throughout the day and into September 6. On September 6, Kirk would begin to show hints at a visible eye and reconnaissance data would confirm that Kirk had strengthened into a hurricane at 12:00 UTC on September 6.
Upon becoming a hurricane, Kirk would make a somewhat abrupt shift to the east as it encountered weak steering currents alongside its continued interaction with Hurricane Joyce, now to the southwest of the system. Late on September 6, however, Kirk's eye had begun to become disheveled and disappeared entirely from visible imagery by 22:00 UTC that day. This degradation of the system's appearance would lead to it weakening to tropical storm status at 0:00 UTC on September 7. As September 7 came and went, Kirk would enter into a more hostile environment, and thus began to weaken as it continued to head east. By September 8, Kirk had made a turn south; caused by Hurricane Joyce curving northwards and then northeastwards in its continued Fujiwhara Interaction with Kirk. Kirk would continue to weaken as it passed to the west of the Canary Islands, and later turned westwards on September 9, as Hurricane Joyce became the dominant system in the Fujiwhara interaction and as it moved closer to Kirk. This westward turn into an environment of increased shear would cause Kirk to weaken steadily as it began to execute an anti-cyclonic loop. Kirk would then weaken to a tropical depression at 18:00 UTC on September 10, and it would make its closest approach to Hurricane Joyce at 0:00 UTC on September 11, just 6 hours later. As Joyce accelerated away and became extratropical later that day, Kirk began to be steered only by the already somewhat weak steering currents. Thus, Kirk would turn sharply to the east at 12:00 UTC on September 11. Upon making its turn to the east, Kirk would enter into a slightly more conducive environment, allowing it to regain tropical storm status at 0:00 UTC on September 12. Steering currents would then bring Kirk to a southeast and later southern direction on September 12 and 13, where Kirk would reach a secondary peak intensity of 60 mph at 12:00 UTC on September 12. However, at 12:00 UTC on September 13, Kirk would again weaken to tropical depression status, and by September 14, steering currents collapsed. This would cause Kirk to meander slowly in a generally westward course, which could then turn to a southward motion as September 15 began. However, a dry air intrusion on September 15 would disrupt the already weak system's circulation, causing it to degenerate into a remnant low at 12:00 UTC on September 15.
The remnant low of Hurricane Kirk would continue to head southward before turning west on September 16, as it continued to weaken in terms of wind speed. In fact, its wind speed would ultimately fall as low as 10 mph on September 17, before reversing course and restrengthening, caused by a more favorable environment. On September 18, the low would curve northwestwards as it began to interact with a cold front to the northwest of the system. The low would subsequently merge with the cold front at 12:00 UTC on September 19, causing the system to turn extratropical, shortly after it had regained gale-force winds just 6 hours prior. The now extratropical system would turn northeast and gain hurricane-force winds at 6:00 UTC on September 20. Late on September 20, the system began to move over warmer waters again and into a more favorable environment for regeneration, as it simultaneously turned south and then southwestwards. The system would ultimately regenerate into a subtropical storm at 18:00 UTC on September 21, though as a weaker system than it was the day prior. Upon regenerating into a subtropical cyclone, Kirk would move west-southwestward as it steadily began to slowly restrengthen. At 12:00 UTC on September 22, Kirk would transition over to a tropical cyclone as data showed it had attained a warm core and the gale-force wind field of the system shrank considerably. In addition, at 0:00 UTC on September 23, Kirk's regeneration would peak at 65 mph and 994 mb - though it would weaken from its peak just six hours later. Throughout September 23, Kirk would head quickly westwards into cooler waters, and it began to interact with a trough to its northwest. Cooler waters would take its toll on the system, and it would transition into an extratropical cyclone at 0:00 UTC on September 24. The interaction with the trough would cause the extratropical system to turn northeast later that day. By 18:00 UTC on September 25, the remnants of Hurricane Kirk would be absorbed by the trough, ending its 22 days as a tropical or non-tropical system.
Tropical Storm Leslie[]
| Tropical storm (SSHWS) | |
  | |
| Duration | September 11 – September 15 |
|---|---|
| Peak intensity | 65 mph (100 km/h) (1-min) 995 mbar (hPa) |
A tropical wave entered the Caribbean on September 7 and quickly moved across the Caribbean. By September 9, the system slowed down and began to organize steadily as it moved northwest towards the Yucatan peninsula. At 6:00 UTC on September 10, the relatively well-organized system moved over the Yucatan peninsula without having formed into a tropical cyclone. However, the system remained unusually well organized over the Yucatan peninsula - and when it emerged over the Bay of Campeche shortly before 6:00 UTC on September 11, it was almost a tropical depression. At 6:00 UTC on September 11, the system developed into a tropical depression just off of the Yucatan peninsula as it continued heading west-northwest. Upon developing into a tropical depression, the system moved steadily westwards and intensified into a tropical storm at 18:00 UTC on September 11, where it would receive the name Leslie. Leslie would head generally west until it neared the coast of Mexico where it slowed down and began to do a cyclonic loop off of the Mexican coast. Upon finishing this loop at 0:00 UTC on September 13, Leslie would assume a northwards track and later a northeastwards track. At 0:00 UTC the following day, Leslie would attain its peak intensity of 65 mph and 995 mb. Leslie would maintain this intensity for another 6 hours, but its structure began to degrade from southwesterly wind shear and it began to weaken as it rushed northwest towards the coast of Texas. At 18:30 UTC that day (September 14), Leslie would make landfall near Port O'Connor, in Texas as a 60 mph storm. Once over land, Leslie began to weaken quickly, falling to tropical depression status at 0:00 UTC on September 15 and dissipating completely six hours later over Texas.
Over all, Leslie would cause 32 deaths (12 direct, 20 indirect), mostly in Texas and Mexico and would cause $2.5 billion in damages.
Hurricane Milton[]
| Category 4 major hurricane (SSHWS) | |
  | |
| Duration | September 18 – September 26 |
|---|---|
| Peak intensity | 150 mph (240 km/h) (1-min) 941 mbar (hPa) |
An area of disorganized thunderstorms associated with a tropical wave developed north of Puerto Rico on September 15. This area was slow to organize due to land interaction with Puerto Rico but headed generally west-northwest. An area of low pressure would form in association with this on September 17, north of Hispaniola before coalescing into a tropical depression at 6:00 UTC the following day. The nascent depression slowly headed northwest through the Turks and Caicos Islands, seeing little change in intensity. As it moved over the Bahamas, however, the wind shear lessened from circa 15 knots to circa 5 knots. This new environment fueled by warm sea surface temperatures would enable Milton to achieve tropical storm status at 12:00 UTC on September 19. Over the following day, Milton would undergo rapid intensification before making landfall near Miami, Florida as a minimal Category 1 hurricane at 12:00 UTC on September 20. Moving over Florida would cause Milton to weaken back to tropical storm status six hours later, at 18:00 UTC. Six hours after that, at 0:00 UTC on September 21, Milton emerged over the Gulf of Mexico where it would cease weakening from there. Milton then began to steadily re-intensify over the Gulf of Mexico while heading steadily west-southwest; it would re-attain hurricane status at 18:00 UTC on September 21. On September 22, Milton began a prolonged stint of rapid intensification, attaining Category 2 status at 12:00 UTC that day, and then major hurricane status 12 hours later at 0:00 UTC on September 23. Around this time, Milton had curved northwestwards into a more favorable environment, hence what caused the rapid intensification. Six hours after attaining Category 3 status, Milton would attain Category 4 status as it began to turn northwards towards Louisiana, at 6:00 UTC. Once a Category 4 hurricane, Milton's intensification began to slow down, but it continued to steadily intensify nonetheless as it put its eyes directly on Louisiana. At 1:30 UTC on September 24, Milton would make landfall near Cameron, Louisiana at peak intensity with winds of 150 mph and a pressure of 941 mb. After making landfall, Milton would weaken quickly, falling to Category 3 status at 6:00 UTC, and then Category 1 status at 12:00 UTC. By 18:00 UTC, Milton had weakened even further to tropical storm status over the state of Arkansas. Interaction with an area of high pressure to the west would drag Milton northwestwards for a brief period of time. At 12:00 UTC on September 25, Milton had weakened to a tropical depression while over the state of Missouri and as it simultaneously turned northeastwards. The weak tropical depression would continue northeastwards before losing its tropical characteristics and degenerating into a remnant low at 6:00 UTC on September 26 whilst located over the state of Illinois. The remnants of Milton would continue trekking northeast and would later curve northwards before being absorbed by a larger extratropical system over the state of Michigan by 6:00 UTC on September 27.
Overall, Milton caused extensive damage throughout Louisiana and portions of Texas; resulting in $7.5 billion in damage and 50 deaths.
Tropical Storm Nadine[]
| Tropical storm (SSHWS) | |
  | |
| Duration | September 24 – September 29 |
|---|---|
| Peak intensity | 40 mph (65 km/h) (1-min) 1005 mbar (hPa) |
An area of disorganized shower activity developed over Florida on September 23, to the east of Hurricane Milton which had become a Category 3 in the Gulf of Mexico by this time. The disorganized showers moved quickly east-northeast and moved off of the coast by 12:00 UTC that day. The system saw little organizational develop, but at 0:00 UTC on September 24, an area of low pressure developed within the showers. This, followed up with the development of a defined circulation and an increase in organization around mid-September 24, allowed the system to develop into a tropical depression at 18:00 UTC on September 24. Upon forming, the nascent depression did not intensify much due to only a marginally conducive environment. However, a burst of organization mixed with reconnaissance data confirmed that the depression intensified into a tropical storm at 18:00 UTC on September 25, situated west-northwest of Bermuda. However, shortly after developing into a tropical storm, the system entered into an environment of heavy wind shear due to an upper-level jet stream, which caused the system to get much less organized and have most of its thunderstorms sheared to the northeast. Around this time (0:00 UTC on September 26), Nadine would attain its peak intensity of 40 mph and 1005 mb. Nadine would hold onto this intensity for an additional 6 hours before its pressure began to rise again at 12:00 UTC that day as it made a dive to the south due to weak steering currents. The weak system would make its closest approach to Bermuda at 18:00 UTC on September 26 and subsequently weaken back to tropical depression status at 0:00 UTC on September 27. At this time, the weakened Nadine would adjust itself and head northeast before turning east-northeast as wind shear continued to plague the system. Nadine would move generally east and would be kept alive by bursts of convection that would last circa 18 hours and dissipate before returning again. However, by September 28, wind shear would abate slightly from 40-50 knots to about 25-30 knots; this weakened wind shear would allow Nadine to restrengthen back into a tropical storm at 12:00 UTC that day. However, this haven from the wind shear would quickly collapse due to outflow from an extratropical cyclone - causing Nadine to bear the brunt of the wind shear again. This would cause Nadine's already extremely sheared thunderstorm pattern to become even more sheared; completely collapsing in the northeastern quadrant and causing Nadine's thunderstorm's to exist solely in the southeastern quadrant. This would cause Nadine to weaken back into a tropical depression at 0:00 UTC on September 29, whereas it would simultaneously curve to the north. This would cause the intermittent burst of convection that kept Nadine alive to become significantly weakened as wind shear began to plague the southern quadrants as well, and such bursts ceased after 6:00 UTC; of which Nadine would degenerate into a remnant low at 12:00 UTC that day. Six hours later, the system would turn extratropical and its remnants would head northwards and then curve east before being absorbed by the nearby extratropical system by 12:00 UTC on September 30.
Hurricane Oscar[]
| Category 4 major hurricane (SSHWS) | |
  | |
| Duration | October 6 – October 13 |
|---|---|
| Peak intensity | 140 mph (220 km/h) (1-min) 949 mbar (hPa) |
A tropical wave moved off of the coast of Africa on September 27; this wave would move generally westwards but unfavorable conditions would prohibit anything other than marginal developments which would be quickly undone. By 12:00 UTC on October 2, the wave entered the Caribbean where it encountered a more favorable environment for cyclogenesis. The wave would slowly organize, and at 0:00 UTC on October 5, an area of low pressure developed within the tropical wave. The system would continue to organize before coalescing into a tropical depression at 6:00 UTC on October 6 as it turned northwestwards. The system also entered into a more favorable environment with lessened wind shear (from 10 knots to 5 knots), which would allow the system to continue to organize as it shifted westwards - intensifying into a tropical storm at 6:00 UTC on October 7. Upon attaining tropical storm status, the system quickly intensified as microwave imagery began to show the development of an eyewall and later an eye. At 0:00 UTC on October 8, just 18 hours later, Oscar intensified into a Category 1 hurricane - the seventh hurricane on the season. Simultaneously, using the very warm waters of the northwestern Caribbean and wind shear dropping to near zero, Oscar would undergo a period of explosive intensification over the following 24 hours. Six hours after becoming a Category 1 hurricane, Oscar would intensify into a Category 2 hurricane, and six hours after that (at 12:00 UTC), Oscar would skip Category 3 status and jump straight to Category 4 status. Upon attaining Category 4 status, Oscar's intensification slowed, though its pressure would continue to rapidly fall. At 18:00 UTC on October 8, Oscar would reach its peak winds of 140 mph as its eye began to clear out fully. Six hours later, Oscar would finish bottoming out, reaching its lowest pressure of 949 mb. However, Oscar would begin to undergo an eyewall replacement cycle (EWRC) shortly after attaining its peak intensity, which caused it to weaken; along with increased wind shear. Oscar would weaken to Category 3 status due to this at 12:00 UTC on October 9, and to Category 2 status twelve hours later. At 12:00 UTC on October 10, Oscar would finish its weakening trend having fallen to 105 mph and a pressure of 968 mb. At this time, Oscar would also curve northwest due to an interaction with an area of low pressure over the Bay of Campeche. From there, Oscar would slowly re-intensify as it raced towards landfall in Louisiana; Oscar would intensify into a Category 3 hurricane again at 10:00 UTC on October 11, as it simultaneously made landfall at the mouth of the Mississippi River. Upon making landfall, Oscar would hold on to Category 3 status for a few hours, including the 12:00 UTC point, but would fall back to Category 2 status at 18:00 UTC that day (October 11). From there, Oscar would swiftly weaken as its eye collapsed, falling to Category 1 status at 0:00 UTC on October 12, and tropical storm status six hours later. Around this time, Oscar would curve eastwards and it fell to tropical depression status at 18:00 UTC on October 12. Oscar would then continue onwards, heading east before degenerating into a remnant low at 12:00 UTC on October 13 over the state of Tennessee. The remnants of Oscar would continue eastwards before dissipating completely over West Virginia by 6:00 UTC on October 14.
Overall, Oscar would cause $5.02 billion in damages along with 65 deaths, distributed between the United States, Cuba, Mexico, and Honduras. In addition, Oscar from 0:00 UTC on October 8 to 0:00 UTC on October 9, would intensify 65 mph in that 24 hour period and its pressure would fall from 986 mb to 949 mb, a drop of 37 mb.
Tropical Storm Patty[]
| Tropical storm (SSHWS) | |
  | |
| Duration | October 11 – October 15 |
|---|---|
| Peak intensity | 70 mph (110 km/h) (1-min) 991 mbar (hPa) |
At 18:00 UTC on October 8, an area of low pressure pressure developed as a non-tropical system. This system was also largely attached to a front over the central Atlantic. This system would head southeast and later south before recurving northeast on October 10. Trekking over waters 0.5C warmer than usual, the system began to steadily organize and a tropical depression form at 6:00 UTC on October 11. The newly formed depression continued to head generally east-northeast and did not change much in intensity throughout the day. At 6:00 UTC on October 12, the depression intensified into a tropical storm, receiving the name Patty; and late on October 12, Patty began to dive southwards due to a trough to the northwest and it would subsequently curve east. Patty would begin to accelerate eastwards, attaining its peak intensity of 70 mph and 991 mb at 6:00 UTC on October 14, located far to the south of the Azores. Patty would enter into an environment of increased wind shear later that day, and it would subsequently begin to weaken later that day. Also on that day, Patty began to undergo extratropical transition due to an interaction with a trough to the northwest, a process it would complete at 12:00 UTC on October 15, located northwest of the Canary Islands. The extratropical remnants of Patty would curve northwards and near the coast of Spain before curving southwards again. Patty's remnants would then be absorbed by a larger extratropical system by 0:00 UTC on October 18 west of Spain.
Hurricane Rafael[]
| Category 1 hurricane (SSHWS) | |
  | |
| Duration | October 26 – November 6 |
|---|---|
| Peak intensity | 85 mph (140 km/h) (1-min) 982 mbar (hPa) |
An area of disorganized thunderstorms related to an area of low pressure developed over the Atlantic far to the east of the Bahamas at 18:00 UTC on October 25. This area of low pressure would move into an environment of lessened shear and begin to steadily organize, culminating with the formation of a tropical storm at 18:00 UTC on October 26; receiving the name Rafael. Upon forming, the system headed generally northeast and steadily strengthened over the still decently warm waters of the open Atlantic. Moderately strong ridging over the open Atlantic began to push further south on October 28, push the system onto a more eastwards course, where Rafael would gain hurricane status at 0:00 UTC the following day. However, this intensification wouldn't last long, as Rafael began to curve south due to continued ridging, it would encounter a small environment of increased shear; which would cause it to weaken below hurricane status at 18:00 UTC on October 29. Throughout October 30, Rafael began to curve west in reaction to relatively weak steering currents and began to move back into a more favorable environment for strengthening. At 0:00 UTC on October 31, Rafael would regain hurricane status as it headed northwestwards, and Rafael's eye on visible imagery began to become more apparent shortly afterwards, allowing it to reach its peak intensity of 85 mph and 982 mb six hours later, at 6:00 UTC. Rafael would hold its peak intensity for roughly 12 hours before sea surface temperatures began to be unable to sustain its intensity, and it began to weaken slowly. Steering currents would continue to drive Rafael northwest before collapsing, causing Rafael to move significantly slower on November 1, located to the north-northeast of Bermuda. Rafael's slow motion over the next day or so would cause it to upwell cooler waters, causing it to weaken below hurricane status again at 12:00 UTC on November 1 before it curved south-southwestwards. As it headed southwestwards, Rafael would slowly weaken, bottoming out as 60 mph as it passed close to the east of Bermuda. On November 3, Rafael began to turn eastwards due to weak steering currents and it began to restrengthen over marginally more conducive conditions. Rafael would peak at 70 mph during this phase of intensification, at 12:00 UTC on November 3, before it began to weaken due to upwelling caused by its slow movement. Starting on November 3, Rafael would turn southeastwards and continue its weakening trend as it simultaneously moved into a less favorable environment. By November 4, Rafael turned east as a front began to approach the system far to the northwest and began to curve north, bottoming out at 50 mph at 18:00 UTC that day. Starting on November 5, Rafael began to turn northwards as it continued its interaction with a front, and simultaneously began to enter a more conducive environment for restrengthening - due to this, Rafael would also begin to steadily restrengthen throughout the day. On November 6, as it began to interact more deeply with the front, Rafael turned northeast and due to baroclinic forcing re-intensified back into a hurricane for its third time as one at 6:00 UTC on November 6. Shortly after becoming a hurricane, at around 7:00 UTC, Rafael began to initiate its extratropical transition, and it would continue to intensify as it underwent its transition. Rafael would complete its extratropical transition at 18:00 UTC on November 6, as an 80 mph extratropical system. The remnants of Rafael would continue heading northeast and began to slowly weaken before being absorbed by the front by 18:00 UTC on November 7.
Hurricane Sara[]
| Category 1 hurricane (SSHWS) | |
  | |
| Duration | December 23 – December 27 |
|---|---|
| Peak intensity | 75 mph (120 km/h) (1-min) 990 mbar (hPa) |
On December 20, an upper-level low began to interact with a cold front over the Central Atlantic. This interaction would eventually lead to the formation of an area of low pressure at 6:00 UTC on December 23. Over anomalously warm waters, the area of low pressure quickly consolidated and coalesced into a tropical depression at 18:00 UTC that day. Heading generally west-northwest to a decently favorable environment, the depression would intensify into Tropical Storm Sara at 0:00 UTC on December 24. Upon becoming a named storm, Sara would quickly intensify as it turned northwards, quickly developing a central dense overcast and hints of an eye appearing throughout the day. By 18:00 UTC on December 24, Sara had attained hurricane status as an eye began to become visible on visible imagery. Around this time as well, Sara would turn southwestwards and hold on to its peak intensity into the 25th of December. However, Sara would begin to move into a less favorable environment with increased wind shear, and would subsequently fall below hurricane status at 12:00 UTC on December 25. After falling below hurricane status, Sara would continue its jog to the west-southwest before recurving northwestwards on December 26, steadily weakening along the way as cooler waters and increased wind shear took its toll on the system. By late on December 26, Sara would assume a southwestwards course, where it would continue to weaken, before degenerated into a remnant low over the open Atlantic at 18:00 UTC on December 27; ending the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season. The remnants of Sara would head west southwest for some time before turning northwards on December 28 - where it would dissipate by 18:00 UTC that day.
Other Systems[]
Over the course of the season, two disturbances that were labelled as Potential Tropical Cyclones by the National Hurricane Center (NHC) failed to form into fully-fledged tropical cyclones. Those two systems are listed below:
Potential Tropical Cyclone Two[]
| Potential tropical cyclone | |
  | |
| Duration | May 25 – May 29 |
|---|---|
| Peak intensity | 50 mph (85 km/h) (1-min) 1001 mbar (hPa) |
The NHC began to track a disturbance just south of Cuba for potential tropical cyclone development at 12:00 UTC on May 25. The system headed north-northeast and its center moved over Cuba at around 21:00 UTC that day and the NHC upgraded its chances 3 hours later to a Medium chance of formation in 48 hours. The system emerged off the coast of Cuba shortly after 0:00 UTC on May 26 and made a turn to the northeast before moving over the Miami area at 15:00 UTC that day. Three hours after that, it was designated as Potential Tropical Cyclone Two as its chances of formation had risen to 70% in 48 hours and 80% in 5 days. The system then moved away from Florida off to the northeast and continued to slowly gain organization, eventually peaking in its formation chances at 12:00 UTC on May 27, when the NHC gave it a 90% chance of formation - even noting that any significant increase in its organization could lead to the formation of a tropical cyclone. However, the system ultimately failed to develop into a tropical cyclone as it meandered in place, and it began to become less organized on May 28 as it encountered a more hostile environment off the coast of the Carolinas. By 12:00 UTC on May 28, the disturbance began to race southeast as it paralleled the Carolinas and it began to interact with a cold front approaching from the north. It would continue to do so before being absorbed by said cold front by 12:00 UTC on May 29, having never formed into a tropical cyclone.
There were no deaths associated with the potential tropical cyclone and only minimal damage was recorded in Cuba.
Potential Tropical Cyclone Sixteen[]
| Potential tropical cyclone | |
  | |
| Duration | September 15 – September 18 |
|---|---|
| Peak intensity | 40 mph (65 km/h) (1-min) 1006 mbar (hPa) |
The NHC began to track a disturbance east of the Lesser Antilles for possible development at 12:00 UTC on September 15. The system was generally quite broad and disorganized, but quickly organized throughout the day, having its chances raised to 70% in 48 hours and 90% in 5 days by September 16. Its chances would peak at 12:00 UTC that day when the NHC upgraded it to 90% in both 48 hours and 5 days as it continued to organize further, with the NHC indicating that only a slight increase in organization could lead to the formation of a tropical cyclone. However, despite a relatively favorable environment having been forecast, the disturbance entered a pocket of increased wind shear of about 15 knots and began to lose organization on September 17. It would never regain its organization was it headed through the eastern Caribbean and steadily became more disorganized, with the NHC dropping its chances down to 40% in 48 hours and 40% in 5 days by September 17 and ultimately ceasing tracking it as it impacted Hispaniola on September 18, with the NHC having dropped its chances down to 0% in 48 hours and 5 days as it entered an increasingly hostile environment.
There were no deaths associated with Potential Tropical Cyclone Sixteen, though torrential rainfall associated with it did occur in portions of the Lesser Antilles, Puerto Rico, and Hispaniola, dealing $50 million in damages.
Storm Names[]
The following list of names was used for named storms that formed in the North Atlantic in 2024. The names not retired from this list will be used again in the 2030 season. This was the same list used in the 2018 season, with the exception of the names Francine and Milton, which replaced Florence and Michael, respectively. Sara would be used for the first time this year, having replaced Sandy, which was retired in 2012, but went unused in 2018. In addition, Francine and Milton would also be used for the first (and in the case of Milton, only) time this year.
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Retirements[]
On March 12, 2025, at the 46th session of the RA IV hurricane committee, the World Meteorological Organization retired the names Helene, Milton, and Oscar from its rotating naming lists due to the number of deaths and amount of damage they caused, and they will not be used again for another Atlantic hurricane. They will be replaced with Halley, Mathias and Oliver, respectively, for the 2030 season.
Accumulated Cyclone Energy[]
| 2024 Atlantic Hurricane Season ACE by Storm | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Helene | 52.3675 | 8 | Sara | 4.3425 | 15 | Isaac | 1.295 |
| 2 | Oscar | 17.7175 | 9 | Debby | 4 | 16 | Alberto | 1.1675 |
| 3 | Milton | 15.4275 | 10 | Beryl | 3.3725 | 17 | Nadine | 0.8575 |
| 4 | Rafael | 14.76 | 11 | Patty | 3.13 | 18 | Francine | 0.81 |
| 5 | Joyce | 13.465 | 12 | Leslie | 2.92 | |||
| 6 | Gordon | 13.4425 | 13 | Ernesto | 2.12 | |||
| 7 | Kirk | 9.115 | 14 | Chris | 1.7575 | |||
| Total = 162.0675 | ||||||||
The chart on the right shows the Accumulated Cyclone Energy (ACE) that each storm in the season produced ranked from most to least. The storm that produced the most ACE was Helene with 52.3675 units of ACE, and the storm that produced the least was Francine with 0.81 units of ACE. The median value each storm produced was 3.68625 units of ACE and the average was 9.00375 units of ACE.
Accumulated Cyclone Energy is the measure of the power of a tropical system (using knots) of a tropical or subtropical storm multiplied by the length of time it existed - thus making stronger and long-lived systems, like Helene, generate more ACE than weaker and short-lived systems, like Francine. In addition, it is only calculated for full 6 hour advisories.
Note: Tropical depressions are excluded from the ACE total of any given season.
Season Effects[]
This is a table of all of the storms that have formed in the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season. It includes their duration, names, landfall(s) – denoted by bold location names – 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 of the damage figures are in 2024 USD.
| Storm name |
Dates active | Storm category at peak intensity |
Max 1-min wind mph (km/h) |
Min. press. (mbar) |
Areas affected | Damage (USD) |
Deaths | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alberto | April 16 – April 19 | Subtropical storm | 50 (85) | 1001 | None | None | 0 | |||
| Beryl | June 11 – June 17 | Tropical storm | 65 (100) | 998 | Yucatán Peninsula, Cuba, Jamaica, Florida, Louisiana, Mexico | $500 million | 4 (1) | |||
| Chris | June 16 – June 19 | Tropical storm | 70 (110) | 994 | Nova Scotia | Minimal | 0 (1) | |||
| Debby | July 15 – July 19 | Category 1 hurricane | 80 (130) | 988 | None | None | None | |||
| Ernesto | July 22 – July 25 | Tropical storm | 60 (95) | 997 | Central America (especially Nicaragua and Honduras), Mexico, Belize | $700 million | 31 (2) | |||
| Francine | August 4 – August 6 | Tropical storm | 50 (85) | 1004 | None | None | None | |||
| Seven | August 5 – August 6 | Tropical depression | 35 (55) | 1007 | Texas, Mexico | $200 million | 1 | |||
| Gordon | August 14 – August 23 | Category 2 hurricane | 105 (165) | 972 | Bermuda | Minimal | None | |||
| Helene | August 20 – September 2 | Category 5 hurricane | 165 (270) | 922 | Cabo Verde, Lesser Antilles, Puerto Rico, Turks and Caicos Islands, The Bahamas, Florida, Georgia, The Carolinas, Virginia | $42.77 billion | 97 (56) | |||
| Isaac | August 24 11 – August 28 | Tropical storm | 50 (85) | 1000 | Lesser Antilles, Hispaniola | $1 billion | 11 (2) | |||
| Eleven | September 1 – September 2 | Tropical depression | 35 (55) | 1008 | None | None | None | |||
| Joyce | September 2 – September 11 | Category 3 hurricane | 115 (185) | 959 | Azores | Minimal | None | |||
| Kirk | September 4 - September 23 | Category 1 hurricane | 75 (120) | 986 | Azores, Cabo Verde | $100 million | 0 (2) | |||
| Leslie | September 11 – September 12 | Tropical storm | 65 (100) | 995 | Yucatán peninsula, Mexico, Texas | $2.5 billion | 12 (20) | |||
| Milton | September 18 – September 26 | Category 4 hurricane | 150 (240) | 941 | Hispaniola, Turks and Caicos Islands, The Bahamas, Florida, Cuba, Louisiana, Texas, Arkansas, Central United States | $7.5 billion | 31 (19) | |||
| Nadine | September 24 – September 29 | Tropical storm | 40 (65) | 1005 | Bermuda | Minimal | None | |||
| Oscar | October 6 – October 13 | Category 4 hurricane | 140 (220) | 949 | Jamaica, Yucatán peninsula, Cuba, Florida, Louisiana, Arkansas, Central United States | $5.02 billion | 53 (12) | |||
| Patty | October 11 - October 15 | Tropical storm | 70 (110) | 991 | Canary Islands, Madeira, Iberian peninsula | Minimal | 0 (1) | |||
| Rafael | October 26 - November 6 | Category 1 hurricane | 85 (140) | 982 | Bermuda | $500 million | 9 (2) | |||
| Sara | December 24 - December 27 | Category 1 hurricane | 75 (120) | 990 | None | None | None | |||
| Season aggregates | ||||||||||
| 20 systems | April 16 – December 27 | 165 (270) | 922 | $60.79 billion | 367 | |||||