July’s Hurricane History - 2024
Bottom Line: There are six months to hurricane season but as you're aware, there's nothing even about the activity within them. For the third consecutive year we entered July with three named storms. Of course, one of those named storms, Hurricane Beryl, is currently wreaking havoc have impacted the Windward Islands as a major hurricane with a second landfall expected in Mexico later this week (and potentially a third landfall thereafter). Beryl briefly became the earliest category 4 storm on record.
Here’s a look at where we stand historically entering July based on recorded activity. Record keeping for the Atlantic hurricane season officially began in 1851. By looking at how many storms have formed in each month, here's how far through hurricane season we typically are by July:
- 7.5% of all tropical storms have occurred prior to July
- 4% of all hurricanes have occurred prior to July
Based on typical activity we have well over 90% of what will develop during hurricane season in front of us. July is the 4th most active month for tropical storm development and 5th most active for hurricane formation. So, what typically happens in July?
- We average .7 tropical storms & .3 hurricanes
For the entire month of July, we only average one named tropical system. It's worth noting that with a La Nina weather pattern in place above average activity is expected. However, a strong layer of Saharan dust continues to kick off the coast of Africa, which can help inhibit tropical formations – though it didn’t inhibit Hurricane Beryl from developing into a major hurricane.