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Atlantic Hurricane Season 2026: Five Storms, Zero Hurricanes.
As of 12 September 2026, the Atlantic hurricane season has produced five named storms and not one hurricane. That makes it the latest any Atlantic season has gone without a hurricane in the satellite era. The old record was 11 September, shared by 2002 and 2014.
NOAA's 21 May outlook called for a below-normal season: 8 to 14 named storms, 3 to 6 hurricanes, 1 to 3 major hurricanes. Five named storms is inside that range. Zero hurricanes is not.
The spine
As of 12 September 2026 the Atlantic hurricane season has produced five named storms and zero hurricanes. That is the latest a season has ever gone without a hurricane in the satellite era — it passed the old record, 11 September, held jointly by 2002 and 2014.
Why
- A developing El Niño in the Pacific, which raises wind shear over the tropical Atlantic and brings dry, sinking air; shear tears a storm apart before it can organise.
- An unusual load of Saharan dust, which dries the air storms need.
In their words
"The Atlantic basin is as dead as it gets for early September." — Michael Lowry, hurricane specialist, WPLG-TV, South Florida
Lowry summed the outlook up in one word: "crickets."
How this was verified — the rest of the fact sheet
The caution
The season runs to 30 November. October has produced major hurricanes before. A quiet start has never guaranteed a quiet finish — this reel states the record, not a forecast.
Sources
- Yahoo/AccuWeather, "2026 Atlantic Hurricane Season Sets Record for Latest First Hurricane Formation", 13 September 2026.
- weather.com, "Atlantic hurricane season's least active start in 60 years", 4 September 2026.
- NOAA seasonal outlook, 21 May 2026; NOAA August update, 6 August 2026.
- Michael Lowry, WPLG-TV / "Hurricane-Less So Far in the Atlantic" (Substack).
- 2026 Atlantic hurricane season, storm-by-storm record (data through 12 Sept).
The numbers
- Average date of the first Atlantic hurricane: 11 August. This season is roughly a month past it and still counting.
- Named storms so far (5, none reached hurricane strength):
- Tropical Storm Arthur, 17–18 June, peak 45 mph
- Tropical Storm Bertha, 19–24 July, peak 60 mph
- Tropical Storm Cristobal, 12–13 August, peak 45 mph
- Tropical Storm Dolly, 27–28 August, peak 40 mph
- Tropical Storm Edouard, 31 August–3 September, peak 60 mph
- A storm becomes a hurricane at 74 mph. The strongest of the five reached 60.
- Accumulated Cyclone Energy (ACE) — the standard measure of how much storm energy a season actually produces — stands at about 4.4 units as of 12 September. Pre-season forecasts ranged from 66 to 155.
- weather.com: the least active start in 60 years.
References
Reporting drawn from AccuWeather · weather.com · NOAA · Michael Lowry · WPLG
What the reel says
Narration as scripted and voiced.
The Atlantic hurricane season is three and a half months old. Five storms have been named. Not one has become a hurricane. That is the longest any Atlantic season has ever gone without one
The old record was the 11th of September, shared by 2002 and 2014. This season passed it on the 12th.
In an average year, the first hurricane shows up on the eleventh of August. This one is already a month late
Arthur in June, Bertha in July, Cristobal and Dolly in August. Edward faded on the 3rd of September. The strongest peaked at 60 miles an hour. A hurricane starts at 74
One number measures how much storm energy a season actually makes. Accumulated cyclone energy. This season sits at four point four. Forecasters had predicted sixty-six to one fifty-five
Two things are doing it. A building El Nino, which throws wind shear across the Atlantic and tears a storm apart, and Saharan dust, which dries the air out
Michael Lowry, a hurricane specialist in South Florida, put it in one word, crickets. The basin, he wrote, is as dead as it gets for early September
NOAA had called for a below normal season, eight to 14 named storms, three to six hurricanes. Five named storms fits. Zero hurricanes does not
The season runs to the 30th of November. October has made major hurricanes before. A quiet start has never once guaranteed a quiet finish
All footage is licensed stock. No NOAA or NHC satellite imagery, and no footage of any 2026 storm.
