2024 Atlantic hurricane season

The 2024 Atlantic hurricane season was an Atlantic hurricane season in the Northern Hemisphere. The season began on June 1, and will end on November 30. These days, chosen by convention, describe the usual points in each year when most subtropical or tropical cyclogenesis occurs in the Atlantic Ocean. The first system, Tropical Storm Alberto, developed on June 19, making it the latest first named storm since 2014.

The second storm of the season, Hurricane Beryl, was a rare June major hurricane, the earliest Category 5 Atlantic hurricane on record, and only the second recorded in July. Next came Tropical Storm Chris, which formed on the last day of June and quickly made landfall in Veracruz. Activity then quieted down across the basin for most of July after Beryl died out, with no new tropical cyclones forming due to the presence of the Saharan air layer across much of the Atlantic. In early August, Hurricane Debby developed in the Gulf of Mexico before making landfall in Florida and South Carolina. Shortly thereafter came Hurricane Ernesto, which impacted the Lesser Antilles, Puerto Rico, Bermuda, and parts of Atlantic Canada in mid-August. After a pause in activity in late August and September, Hurricane Francine formed in the Gulf, and made landfall in Louisiana, shortly afterwards.

On September 24, Hurricane Helene formed over the western Caribbean before moving toward the Big Bend region of Florida. It made landfall there on September 26, at Category 4 strength, before moving inland and dissipating over central Appalachia. Three days later, Hurricane Kirk formed in the Eastern Atlantic and rapidly intensified into a Category 4 hurricane before striking Europe as a post-tropical cyclone on October 9. On October 5, Hurricane Milton formed in the Gulf of Mexico and explosively intensified into the second Category 5 hurricane of the season, becoming the most intense Atlantic hurricane since Wilma in 2005 by pressure and the most intense since Dorian in 2019 by wind speed. Milton later made landfall near Siesta Key, Florida, on October 9, as a Category 3 hurricane. On October 19, both Tropical Storm Nadine and Hurricane Oscar formed. Nadine quickly made landfall in Belize while Oscar rapidly intensified into a Category 1 hurricane, becoming the smallest hurricane on record. It then made landfall in Cuba. 

As of October 28, the storms of this season have collectively caused at least 372 fatalities and more than $190 billion in damage. Most of the fatalities are due to Beryl and Helene, while most of the damage is due to Helene and Milton.

Seasonal summary