The 2024 Atlantic hurricane season is like a speedboat trip that no one wants to participate in.
The 2024 hurricane season has fundamentally broken all the rules and there will be more major storms in October and through the end of the season, said Colorado State University hurricane researcher Phil Klotzbach.
The latest hurricane information from the US National Hurricane Center (NHC) on October 5 said that tropical storm Milton has formed in the Gulf of Mexico and is expected to strengthen into a major storm heading towards Florida (USA) with the possibility of affecting the west coast.
Milton is expected to undergo rapid intensification and " poses a life-threatening threat to parts of Florida's west coast next week," the NHC said.
Milton is expected to become a major hurricane in the central and eastern Gulf of Mexico. A major storm is defined as a Category 3 or larger storm with winds of 178 km/h or more.
This year's Atlantic hurricane season has had an incredible journey over the past few months. Although the peak of the season has passed, October could still bring major storms.
Since the beginning of the year, the 2024 hurricane season has been organized by many organizations such as the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Colorado State University and many other agencies to predict a season of active storms, "above average".
And as expected, the hurricane season is starting to get busy with Superstorm Beryl. The storm devastated parts of Texas with flooding, power outages and several deaths.
In early August, Hurricane Debby not only affected Florida when it made landfall but also made a second landfall in South Carolina a few days later. Hurricane Debby caused heavy rain and heavy damage.
Ernesto is another notable storm, but after Ernesto, the hurricane season has calmed for several weeks, causing some to wonder whether this year's "above average" prediction is correct.
All that ended when Hurricane Francine formed and made landfall in Louisiana on September 11.
Then, the unimaginable happened. Hurricane Helene is developing and could make history as one of the deadliest storms ever to hit the United States.
The impact of Hurricane Helene was catastrophic, killing at least 227 people. Busick, North Carolina, has received more than 760mm of rain from Helene. Floods and landslides have submerged communities.
The peak of the Atlantic hurricane season typically occurs around September 10. But as history has shown, October could see many major storms.
In fact, in terms of climate, there was a secondary peak in mid-October. That peak is mainly in the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico.
One of the biggest reasons is that water temperatures remain very warm in October in this area, helping to fuel storms. That also means that hurricanes could form near the United States at this time of year.
The Atlantic hurricane season officially ends on November 30.
