Where have all the Atlantic hurricanes gone? El Niño might bring record slow storm season
On Saturday, 2026 set a record for the longest a season has begun without a storm that has reached winds of 74 mph to qualify as a hurricane — at least in the satellite era, said Nick Novella, a meteorologist at the government's Weather Prediction Center.
The Atlantic hurricane season has set a record for being the quietest in the modern era, with no storms reaching winds of 74 mph to qualify as a hurricane. According to Nick Novella, a meteorologist at the government's Weather Prediction Center, this marks the longest a season has begun without such a storm, at least in the satellite era.
The record quiet season is attributed to an enormous El Nino, which crushes storms before they get going, as reported by the Winnipeg Free Press.
As of September 11, 2026, the Atlantic hurricane season broke the satellite-era record for the latest formation of the first hurricane, previously held by Hurricanes Gustav in 2002 and Humberto in 2013, both of which formed on September 11 of their respective years, according to EarthSky.
Brief written by urgent.news from PBS NewsHour Science, Winnipeg Free Press, EarthSky — 3 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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