According to USA Today's latest hurricane news, Matthew Rosencrans, head of the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, said that the hurricane season lasts from June 1 to November 30. However, this period includes 95% of all hurricane season activity, while May 10 to November 30 is 99% of hurricane season activity.
Most of the hurricane season activity occurs before November 30, but about once a decade, a storm can occur in December.
In 2024, NOAA forecasts 17 to 25 named storms and 8 to 13 hurricanes. “We end up with 18 named storms and 11 hurricanes, which is right in the middle of the forecast,” he said.
As for the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season, the weather expert noted that there was a distinct lull in September — a contrast to the peak of the season, which has typically occurred in September over the past 100 years. Hurricane researchers are working to understand this unique pattern so that it can be incorporated into future hurricane forecasts.
During the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season, one of the most intense storms was Hurricane Beryl — setting a record as the earliest Category 5 hurricane to form in the Atlantic.
Hurricane Beryl made landfall on Carriacou Island in Grenada as a Category 4 storm on July 1, before strengthening to a Category 5 storm in the eastern Caribbean Sea. Beryl passed south of Jamaica as a Category 4 storm on July 3. The storm made a second landfall on the Yucatan Peninsula as a Category 2 storm on July 5.
Rosencrans also noted that Hurricane Milton set a record for the fastest-intensifying storm in the Atlantic during the 2024 hurricane season. Hurricane Milton “just sucked all the energy out of the ocean and turned it into storm surge and wind,” he said.
And then Hurricane Helene devastated Florida, USA. The storm caused power outages and claimed more than 300 lives.
Forecaster Rosencrans said hurricane models predict no more tropical storms this season. The most notable weather event expected across the U.S. and Caribbean in the coming days will be a strong cold front.
NOAA's Climate Prediction Center predicts below-normal temperatures for the first week of December. A large low pressure system could move through and push a cold air mass down, leading to heavy rain or possibly a sharp drop in temperatures.
