The quiet 2024 Atlantic hurricane season
The 2026 Atlantic hurricane season set a record for the longest wait for a first hurricane in the satellite era, with 103 days into the season passing with zero hurricanes -- surpassing the prior record dates of September 11 held by Gustav (2002) and Humberto (2013) -- and none expected in the foreseeable future even as the season passed its statistical peak. With only five short-lived tropical storms so far, 2026 is now the least active Atlantic season since 1950, according to Colorado State University hurricane expert Phil Klotzbach; overall storm activity is running at just 7% of normal for this point in the year. The sole system that neared hurricane strength, Tropical Storm Edouard, was 14 mph short when it made landfall near the Texas-Louisiana border on September 1. Experts attributed the shutdown to an unusually powerful El Nino generating record-strong wind shear across the Atlantic's main development region between Africa and the Caribbean -- about 45 mph stronger than a tropical cyclone can withstand, according to University at Albany atmospheric scientist Kristen Corbosiero -- compounded by dry, dust-laden air and sinking high-pressure air, even though ocean waters remain record-warm.
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