August Hurricane History - 2024
Bottom Line: If you're familiar with the Atlantic hurricane season, you're aware that entering August we're just beginning to enter the peak time of it. There’s plenty of good news as we wade into what’s historically the 2nd busiest month of hurricane season. Due to regular and significant Saharan dust plumes that have been crossing the Atlantic, what had been predicted to be a historically active hurricane season this year has only been average. There have been three named systems, one less than a year ago entering August and two fewer if you include a preseason unnamed storm last year – which is right in line with a historically average hurricane season. Also, notably, there were no named storms for the month of July.
The last year we entered August with three named systems was 2022 when we finished the season with a total of 14 named storms. Currently the National Hurricane Center is tracking a disturbance in the Atlantic that could develop into a tropical depression over the next few days with the potential to be a rain event for Florida. The system currently has a 60% chance of development.
Since tracking began in 1851:
- 14% of all tropical storms happened prior to August
- 10% of all hurricanes have formed prior to August
While a third of hurricane season is behind us based on dates on a calendar, about 90% of what’s historically happened is ahead of us. As we advance through the month, hopefully free from the threat of hurricanes, we'll enter peak hurricane season. The peak has historically been the final two weeks of August and first two weeks of September. For perspective, there have been more tropical storms and hurricanes in August, than the first seven months of the year combined.
Here's what we average:
- 2.4 tropical storms & 1.6 hurricanes (four named systems per year, half of which are hurricanes).
An average of one storm or hurricane makes landfall in the US every other year. So, here we go – right into the heart of season. Fingers crossed.