List of storms in the 2018 Atlantic hurricane season

The **2018 Atlantic hurricane season** officially began June 1, 2018 and officially ended on November 30, 2018. These dates conventionally delimit the period of each year when most tropical cyclones form in the Atlantic basin, although the season persisted into late December due to continued storm activity.

 Timeline of the 2018 Atlantic hurricane season

The 2018 season was the second most active season on record, shattering records on repeated occasions. 25 tropical and subtropical storms formed, of which a record seventeen became hurricanes. Of these, a record-breaking ten strengthened into major hurricanes; six became Category 4 hurricanes, three of which reached Category 5 strength, the highest categorization for North Atlantic tropical cyclones. Among these Category 5 storms was Hurricane Violet, the third-most intense hurricane ever recorded in the Atlantic.

The most notable storms of the season were six of the Category 4 and Category 5 hurricanes: Clarice, Faith, Hailey, Michaela, Sarah, and Violet, along with the Category 1 Hurricane Dale.

## **Subtropical Storm Adreanna**

 Duration
 Intensity

*Main article: Subtropical Storm Adreanna*
The first storm of the season, Subtropical Storm Adreanna, developed from a cold-core stationary upper-level trough that became established offshore in southeastern Georgia on April 28. A disturbance formed within the trough over land on May 3, and moved east-southeastward until the 6th, when a ridge to its southeast kept it stationary. With favorable upper level winds and sufficient water temperatures from 22 to 24 °C (72 to 75 °F), it gradually developed, eventually transitioning to a subtropical storm by the next day and being designated with the name Adreanna while located 135 mi (218 km) east-southeast of Savannah. Convection remained displaced to the system's eastern quadrant for most of its life, resulting in Adreanna's deterioration as it moved westward into an environment with higher wind shear. By the evening hours on May 9, the storm was found to have weakened to a subtropical depression, despite intermittent bursts of convection. Shortly after Adreanna's landfall in Georgia, the system degenerated into an extratropical cyclone, and quickly dissipated upon moving further inland.

## **Tropical Storm Blake**

 Duration
 Intensity

Tropical Storm Blake developed from a tropical wave on June 14 to the northwest of the Yucatán Peninsula. It quickly organized as it moved northward, and reached a peak of 65 mph (105 km/h) shortly before making landfall 10 mi (16 km) northeast of Grand Isle, Louisiana. Blake quickly weakened over land, weakening to a tropical depression 12 hours after coming ashore. Blake became extratropical on June 18, and its remnants accelerated to Atlantic Canada, where they were absorbed by a stronger extratropical system on June 22.

Two deaths were attributed to Blake, both occurring in Mississippi. Damage from the storm was relatively minor, resulting in only $320 million across its path.

## **Hurricane Clarice**

 Duration
 Intensity

*Main article: Hurricane Clarice*
Hurricane Clarice formed from Tropical Depression Three in the Main Development Region of the open Atlantic, west of the Lesser Antilles on June 30. As it traversed the Caribbean, the storm began intensifying rapidly; reaching Category 4 intensity on July 5. After passing just south of Jamaica and the Cayman Islands, Clarice broke the twelve year record of Hurricane Emily for the most intense storm to form prior to August when it reached a minimum pressure of 927 mbar, along with 160 mph (260 km/h) winds early on July 7, as well as becoming the earliest known Category 5 hurricane on record in the basin. The storm further strengthened to reach a peak intensity of 919 mbar with 175 (270 km/h) winds before making landfall on the Yucatán Peninsula near Tulum later that day. Clarice emerged over the Bay of Campeche and reorganized to attain a secondary peak intensity as a 130 mph Category 4 hurricane prior to its final landfall in northeast Mexico near Playa Bagdad, Tamaulipas.

71 deaths were blamed on Clarice following its passage through the Caribbean. The storm also caused an estimated $3.89 billion (2018 USD) in damages, almost entirely in Jamaica and the Mexican states of Quintana Roo and Tamaulipas. Some flooding occurred in northeastern Mexico and southern Texas as a result of Clarice's final landfall, with significant wind damage was reported in Matamoros due to the strength of the storm in this area.

## **Hurricane Dale**

*Main article: Hurricane Dale*

 Duration
 Intensity

A broad area of showers and thunderstorms with an embedded low developing potential organization in the western Caribbean was first noted by the JMC on July 11. Contrary to predictions, the system organized sufficiently to be categorized as Tropical Depression Four on July 12. The depression made landfall on the Yucatan with no change in structure, but eight hours prior to reemerging into the Bay of Campeche, while still over land, it strengthened into Tropical Storm Dale. As Dale tracked to the west-southwest over the warm waters, it quickly strengthened to reach hurricane intensity on July 15. It made landfall shortly thereafter on the coast of Veracruz at peak strength. The hurricane rapidly lost its identity upon moving inland, dissipating completely by July 17.

Dale was embedded within a large area of loosely organized but very heavy shower activity existing over Mexico and Central America during this time. Torrential rainfall in this area built upon the saturation caused by Hurricane Clarice just days prior, which helped to cause catastrophic flooding and mudslides which were responsible for nearly 1,000 deaths in six countries; many of these casualties occurring in Guatemala alone. Despite this, NOAA speculates that all but just over 100 of the deaths were more related to the larger weather event.

## **Tropical Storm Emma**

 Duration
 Intensity

A weak tropical wave emerged off the coast of Africa on July 3, and moved across the open Atlantic without incident. On July 12 an area of convection increased as it passed through the Bahamas, and while crossing Florida a circulation built toward the surface; it is estimated the system developed into Tropical Depression Five on July 14 about 150 mi (241 km) west-northwest of Naples, Florida. A strong ridge caused the storm to continue generally northwestward, and the system gradually strengthened and organized, becoming a tropical storm by noon on July 15. As Emma continued through the Gulf of Mexico, the convection began to organize into curved rainbands, and late in the day on July 16 an eye feature began developing on satellite imagery. Ultimately, the storm was just under Category 1 strength by the time of its landfall 35 mi (56 km) northeast of Port O'Connor, Texas the next day. The storm quickly weakened upon moving inland, becoming a tropical depression by that same evening, and dissipated entirely by July 18.

The storm dropped light to moderate rainfall along its path, causing some localized flooding through southern Texas, and helped to alleviate drought conditions inland. 3 indirect fatalities were reported in the storm due to a traffic accident.

## **Hurricane Faith**

*Main article: Hurricane Faith*

 Duration
 Intensity

A tropical wave developed into Tropical Depression Six in the southeastern Caribbean on the evening of July 16. In the afternoon of the next day, it strengthened into Tropical Storm Faith. The storm began moving rapidly to the west-northwest, and reached hurricane strength early on July 19 while approaching the Greater Antilles. Faith struck Jamaica as a category 2 hurricane later that evening. The next day it strengthened rapidly to become a Category 3 hurricane. Faith reached its initial peak intensity with a minimum central pressure of 943 mbar just south of Cuba. On July 8, Faith passed over Cuba close to the capital, Havana. A second episode of rapid intensification occurred on July 22 as it moved north toward the Gulf Coast of the United States. Faith made landfall as a Category 4 storm just southeast of Pensacola, Florida on July 23. The storm weakened quickly over land, falling to tropical storm strength by that evening. It further weakened to a tropical depression the next day, and eventually transitioned to an extratropical cyclone. Faith's remnants continued to the northeast, where they would be absorbed by another system around the Great Lakes region.

Faith claimed at least 63 lives: 35 in the U.S., 27 in Cuba and 1 in Jamaica. Total damages are estimated at US$39.6 billion, including $35 billion in the United States and the rest in the Caribbean. Faith was most damaging to Cuba, where the storm wiped out a significant portion of the citrus crop. As the storm struck near the end of Cuba's dry season, farmers were not yet prepared for the heavy rainfall brought by the storm.

## **Hurricane Gavin**

 Duration
 Intensity

On July 17, the JMC began monitoring a tropical wave and its associated convection over the western coast of Africa. As the disturbance tracked west, its structure changed little in organization, but environmental conditions were expected to support the formation of a tropical cyclone. As anticipated, the wave encountered favorable upper-level winds and began to show signs of organization east of the Leeward Islands. Following the formation of a well-defined circulation, the disturbance was upgraded to a tropical depression at 00:00 UTC on July 25 about 92 mi (148 km) northeast of Barbados; 24 hours later, it intensified into Tropical Storm Gavin. At 06:00 UTC on July 27, Gavin intensified to a Category 1 hurricane with sustained winds of 75 mph (120 km/h), making it the fourth hurricane of the season. Shortly thereafter, Gavin made landfall at Vieques, Puerto Rico, weakening to a tropical storm during its passage. The next day, Gavin once again achieved hurricane intensity. Around that time, a developing trough centered over the Eastern United States caused the storm to curve almost due northward and accelerate. Early on July 30, the hurricane brushed by Bermuda, though effects were minimal. Gavin peaked as a high-end Category 2 system several hours afterward, at a fairly high latitude of 34°N. Gavin maintained this intensity for 18 hours before it entered cooler waters. Rapid weakening ensued, and in just 6 hours Gavin weakened below hurricane status and degenerated to an extratropical cyclone well east of Nova Scotia.

## **Hurricane Hailey**

*Main article: Hurricane Hailey*

 Duration
 Intensity

A westward moving tropical wave developed into a tropical depression while located about 1,750 mi (2,760 km) east of the Lesser Antilles on August 6. The depression strengthened and was upgraded to Tropical Storm Hailey on the following day. Hailey became a hurricane on August 8, while its course shifted to a curved northwestward track. By noon on August 9, Hailey struck Guadeloupe as a minimal category 2 hurricane, weakening to a Category 1 during its passage. The storm resumed strengthening and reached its initial peak intensity Category 3 hurricane with 125 mph (201 km/h) sustained winds, and made landfall at Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic around 11:10 UTC on August 11. The mountainous terrain of Hispaniola significantly weakened Hailey to a minimal hurricane, and the disrupted system made an additional landfall in eastern Cuba before entering the Florida Straits on August 13, where it would resume intensification once again.

Significant intensification occurred late on August 14 and into August 15. At 12:00 UTC on the latter date, Hailey peaked with maximum sustained winds of 155 mph (250 km/h) and a minimum barometric pressure of 922 mbar (27.4 inHg). The storm held its strength as it later made landfall just west of Port Fourchon, Louisiana. Thereafter, the storm rapidly weakened and was a tropical storm by early on the following day. By August 17, the storm had transitioned to an extratropical cyclone and tracked across the Central and later Northeastern United States before the remnant system could no longer be identified on August 19.

The Mississippi and Alabama coastlines suffered heavy damage from the storm's 20-foot (6m) storm surge. New Orleans escaped the worst damage from the storm, as levees along the 17th Street and London Avenue Canals were only partially breached by storm surge, flooding about 5% of the city, a testament to the significant improvements to the flood control system in the years after Hurricane Katrina. 219 people were confirmed dead across four US states, and many more in the Caribbean. Preliminary estimates place the damage at a minimum of $35 billion USD.

## **Tropical Depression Nine**

 Duration
 Intensity

A tropical wave moved westward off the coast of Africa on August 2. After tracking steadily westward, an area of thunderstorms became more concentrated as its upper-level environment became more favorable, and late on August 9 the Jarrell Meteorological Center classified it as Tropical Depression Nine while it was located about 310 miles (498 km) northeast of the Lesser Antilles. Being classified as a tropical cyclone, the depression was originally forecast to attain hurricane status while passing north the Lesser Antilles. With warm waters and very light wind shear forecast, its environmental conditions met four out of five parameters for rapid intensification. Subsequently, convection diminished as the result of cold air inflow and instability from the nearby Hurricane Hailey, which had recently become a major hurricane.

Confirmation of a low-level circulation on August 10 became difficult. After it passed north of Barbados, a Hurricane hunters flight failed to report a closed low-level circulation, and it is estimated the depression degenerated into an open tropical wave in the afternoon hours of that day.

## **Tropical Storm Isaiah**

 Duration
 Intensity

The origins of Isaiah were non-tropical, developing on August 15 about 380 mi (611 km) south of Bermuda from an upper-level disturbance. Conditions were favorable for development, with low wind shear and warm waters being present. By that afternoon, the system was named Tropical Storm Isaiah while 130 mi (209 km) west of Bermuda. Moving northeastward, the storm began encountering increasing wind shear and decreasing ocean temperatures. Rapid deterioration of the storm's structure took place as environmental conditions became increasingly hostile, with convection being sheared well away from the center. Isaiah began acquiring extratropical characteristics and completed its transition into an extratropical cyclone late on August 17. The remnants struck Newfoundland before moving out into the open Atlantic, which would later degenerate into a trough of low pressure on August 21.

## **Tropical Storm Jade**

 Duration
 Intensity

A decaying cold front southeast of Bermuda resulted in the formation of a weak low pressure area on August 20. As the low moved in a easterly direction, it gained subtropical characteristics as the surrounding environment became favorable for tropical development. As such, it is estimated that Subtropical Depression Eleven developed at 1000 UTC on August 22, while located about 225 mi (362 km) east-southeast of Bermuda. A reconnaissance mission found that winds had increased in the system despite displaced convection, which resulted in the system being upgraded to Subtropical Storm Jade on August 24.

Deeper convection began to wrap around an increasingly better-defined circulation center, and it was determined that Jade transitioned into a tropical storm at approximately 1200 UTC on August 25. Jade moved almost due east for two days and maintained its tropical storm strength before the storm began weakening from colder ocean temperatures and increasing shear. At 0000 UTC August 27, Jade degraded to a tropical depression, as its low-level center circulation had become exposed from the hostile conditions. It subsequently transitioned to a extratropical cyclone the following day.

## **Hurricane Kristen**

 Duration
 Intensity

An area of persistent convection developed into a tropical depression in the central Caribbean on August 25. The depression strengthened into Tropical Storm Kristen twenty hours later. Initially traveling northwest, the system was rebounded after a short period of stalling from a weak trough. Kristen reached hurricane status on the afternoon of August 28 while curving north-northeast. The storm made landfall near Cabo Rojo, Dominican Republic, early on the following day as a minimal hurricane. Interaction with land caused Kristen to weaken back to a tropical storm during its passage across Hispaniola. After emerging into the open waters of the Atlantic, Kristen began to intensify once again as its movement accelerated, briefly becoming a Category 3 hurricane by August 31. Moving into a less favorable environment thereafter, the hurricane weakened faster than it had strengthened, becoming a tropical depression while undergoing extratropical transition late on September 1. Kristen completed this transition by September 2, and the remnant dissipated later that day.

## **Hurricane Lucas**

 Duration
 Intensity

A tropical wave exited the west coast of Africa on August 24, and gradually organized as it tracked across the Atlantic Ocean. After passing through the Leeward Islands, the wave had organized enough to be designated as a tropical depression on August 29; hours later the depression had reached tropical storm strength, receiving the name Lucas upon doing so. Contrary to JMC predictions, the unusual environment created by Hurricane Kristen just days before allowed for rapid intensification rather than weakening; and by August 31, Lucas had attained its peak strength as a major hurricane with sustained winds of 120 mph (195 km/h) and a minimum pressure of 945 mbar (27.85 inHg) before it made landfall in Haiti. Lucas weakened to a Category 2 hurricane over land, and maintained this strength before making landfall in eastern Cuba. Emerging into the Atlantic as a minimal hurricane late on September 1, Lucas initially tracked northeast before a building ridge forced the storm northwest. As the hurricane moved parallel to the Bahamas, it began to reorganize while also expanding in size from its disrupted inner core. Lucas again reached major hurricane status on September 3 shortly before making landfall at Grand Bahama. A Florida landfall was briefly considered a possibility as Lucas rounded the periphery of the ridge, but was not realized as the storm accelerated to the north and later east. Weakening ensued quickly as Lucas paralleled the southeastern US coast and lost its tropical characteristics. By midday on September 7, Lucas was declared post-tropical as it moved out into the Atlantic.

The impact of Lucas was widespread, though effects were felt worst in Haiti and the Bahamas. In Haiti, the rainfall from Lucas further compounded the saturated terrain of Haiti from several earlier tropical cyclones in the season: Clarice, Hailey, and Kristen. As a result, widespread flash flooding occurred, resulting in at least 188 fatalities across the nation. Lucas struck the Guantanamo Province of Cuba shortly thereafter, resulting in moderate damage, particularly around Imias. Further north in the Bahamas, significant damage occurred at Grand Bahama, with most structures across the island reporting some degree of damage. While the United States was not directly hit, Lucas' elongated wind field resulted in widespread power outages, particularly in Florida. Overall losses from the storm were an estimated $4.5 billion (USD) in damage and 204 fatalities.

## **Hurricane Michaela**

*Main article: Hurricane Michaela*

 Duration
 Intensity

Around 00:00 UTC on September 2, a tropical wave developed into Tropical Depression Fourteen, while located about 555 mi (893 km) west of the southernmost islands of Cape Verde. Moving west-northwestward, the depression strengthened into Tropical Storm Michaela later that day. Michaela reached hurricane status late on September 3 while curving northwestward. By September 6, the storm reached an initial peak intensity as a Category 4 hurricane with winds of 135 mph (225 km/h). The following day, Michaela weakened to a Category 3 hurricane during an eyewall replacement cycle. However, by September 8, the storm re-intensified into a Category 4 hurricane and attained its maximum sustained wind speed of 145 mph (230 km/h).

At 22:30 UTC that evening, the system passed north of the Lesser Antilles, making landfall at Anegada in the British Virgin Islands. By noon on September 10, Michaela maintained its strength as it moved through the Turks and Caicos Islands, making two landfalls in the area: one at Salt Cay and the other at Providenciales. That evening, another landfall occurred in southwestern Mayaguana in the Bahamas. Several hours later early on September 11, Plana Cays was also directly struck by the storm. Throughout the day, the hurricane made two additional landfalls at Rum Cay later that morning, as well as extreme southern Cat Island in the afternoon. By September 12, Michaela made another landfall on Grand Bahama with slightly weaker winds of 130 mph (209 km/h). Moving steadily northwestward, the hurricane regained its 145 mph strength before it made landfall in Cape Canaveral, Florida early on September 13. Rapidly weakening, Michaela fell to Category 1 intensity around midday and deteriorated to a tropical storm about six hours later. Around noon on September 15, Michaela weakened to a tropical depression over Alabama. Around the same time the next day, the system became extratropical, and the remnants were quickly absorbed into a passing cold front.

## **Tropical Storm Noah**

 Duration
 Intensity

Tropical Storm Noah originated from a tropical wave that exited the coast of Africa on August 29. It moved northwestward, passing through Cape Verde the following day. The system had most of the thunderstorms along the southern portion of the wave as it maintained a very large low-level circulation. Thunderstorms began developing on September 5, and the system organized into Tropical Depression Fifteen the following day about 530 mi (852 km) northeast of the Lesser Antilles. Initially the center was difficult to locate on satellite imagery, but despite the proximity with Hurricane Michaela to its south, conditions were generally favorable for intensification. By late on September 7, the depression had become much better organized, and based on satellite estimates the NHC upgraded it to Tropical Storm Noah.

Shortly after becoming a tropical storm, Noah began a motion to the northeast, extinguishing any chance that the system would either interact with Michaela or strike Bermuda. On September 8, the storm developed a central dense overcast as it attained its peak winds of 65 mph (105 km/h). It accelerated east-northeastward along the northern periphery of a ridge. By September 9, the convection had diminished, leaving the center exposed as Noah underwent extratropical transition. It weakened to a tropical depression before completing the transition into an extratropical cyclone in the afternoon hours of September 10. It dissipated later that day.

## **Hurricane Olivia**

 Duration
 Intensity

Tropical Depression Sixteen developed from a tropical wave about 518 mi (833 km) east of the Turks Islands on September 11. On the following day, the depression strengthened into Tropical Storm Olivia despite the unfavorable environment left behind by Hurricane Michaela, and became a hurricane by September 13. Conditions improved as the storm moved northwest, allowing for Olivia to strengthen into a Category 2 by September 15. Around this time, Olivia began to move parallel to the Southeastern United States. Early on the following morning, the storm peaked with maximum sustained winds of 110 mph (180 km/h) and a minimum barometric pressure of 968 mbar (28.8 inHg). The storm weakened as it turned east and encountered unfavorable wind shear. Steering currents collapsed and the storm interacted with a cold front (the same one that had absorbed Hurricane Michaela's remnants three days prior), causing Olivia to move erratically offshore North Carolina. Wind shear and cold air associated with the front further weakened Olivia to a tropical storm on September 18 and removed some of its tropical characteristics. Eventually, warmer ocean temperatures caused some re-strengthening, and the storm oscillated between hurricane and tropical storm status. By September 23, Olivia turned northwestward and made landfall in Cape Lookout, North Carolina, as a minimal category 2 hurricane. The storm quickly weakened inland, before transitioning into an extratropical cyclone over northern Virginia on September 26.

Olivia brought 6–8 ft (1.8–2.4 m) waves to the east coast of Florida, causing minor erosion and two drowning deaths. The waves left severe erosion and coastal flooding along the Outer Banks of North Carolina. In Carteret, Craven, and Dare counties, the storm damaged at least 5,000 homes and businesses to some degree. Heavy rainfall, peaking at 19.91 in (506 mm) at Ocracoke, fell in eastern North Carolina. Similar inland flooding occurred in northern and eastern Virginia, with precipitation reaching 10.21 in (259 mm) near Lawrenceville. Overall damage in North Carolina and Virginia totaled about $227 million. Generally minor flooding occurred in the Mid-Atlantic and New England.

## **Tropical Depression Seventeen**

 Duration
 Intensity

A tropical wave moved off the coast of Africa on September 10. On September 13 it formed into a tropical depression about 550 mi (885 km) southwest of Cape Verde. Upon developing, the depression had a small area of convection but remained otherwise ill-defined, and the JMC anticipated slow strengthening to tropical storm status. With a ridge to the north, the depression maintained a general westward track. Ultimately, the depression failed to organize significantly. By September 16, it had a broad and poorly organized circulation with only scattered convection. Due to cool water temperatures, the system was unable to maintain deep convection, and late on September 17 the depression degenerated back into a tropical wave about 770 miles (1239 km) east of the Lesser Antilles.

## **Hurricane Paige**

 Duration
 Intensity

A tropical wave exited the west coast of Africa and entered the Atlantic on September 15. It headed westward and after satellite imagery indicated a closed circulation, the wave was classified as a tropical depression on September 23, while located 445 mi (716 km) west-southwest of Cape Verde. The system quickly organized, and was upgraded to Tropical Storm Paige late the next day. Initially, Paige tracked northwestward before moving almost due west on September 25. Early the following day, a Hurricane Hunters flight noted flight-level winds of 81 mph, and a minimal central pressure of 988 mbar, indicating that Paige had strengthened to a minimal hurricane. Paige later peaked with winds of 85 mph (140 km/h), before wind shear began detaching deep convection from the center, resulting in weakening. Late that same evening, the storm passed between Martinique and St. Lucia before falling to tropical storm intensity twelve hours after its entry into the Caribbean Sea. An increasingly hostile environment with vertical wind shear continued to weaken Paige, which degenerated back into a tropical wave on the afternoon of September 28.

The storm was forecast to resume its initial trajectory after curving through the Leeward Islands, and possibly strengthen before affecting the Greater Antilles and potentially the Southeast U.S. The hurricane's relatively large size around the time it passed through the Windward Islands resulted in widespread but rather light damage across the islands. Winds primarily left power outages and downed trees, some of which fell onto buildings and vehicles. Flooding and fairly strong winds in other islands across the chain caused additional damage, but to a lesser extent. Two deaths were attributed to the storm, both of which were caused by the capsizing of a boat due to rough surf. Overall, Paige caused an estimated $5 million in damage throughout the Lesser Antilles.

## **Hurricane Ricky**

 Duration
 Intensity

A tropical wave developed into Tropical Depression Nineteen on September 25 while located near Cape Verde. The following day, the depression intensified into Tropical Storm Ricky while tracking west-northwest. Ricky continued to intensify slowly and was upgraded to a hurricane on September 28. The storm eventually reached its peak intensity as a Category 3 hurricane with winds of 120 mph (195 km/h) and a minimum barometric pressure of 955 mbar (28.1 inHg) on October 3. Between October 3-5, Ricky passed just north of the Lesser Antilles, bringing additional damage to areas battered by Hurricane Michaela just two weeks earlier. The storm weakened to a Category 2 hurricane during this passage, and began a prolonged weakening phase while curving northward. Shifting to a northeasterly track thereafter, Ricky began to accelerate as it started to transition to a extratropical cyclone over the cold waters of the North Atlantic. The storm continued northeast and lost tropical characteristics early on October 12.

## **Hurricane Sarah**

*Main article: Hurricane Sarah*

 Duration
 Intensity

Tropical Depression Twenty formed 190 mi (305 km) north of Saint Barthelemy on September 28, 2018. Later that day, it became the eighteenth tropical storm of the season. The newly-named system moved on a northwesterly path before eventually heading due west, tracking through the Bahamas as it did so. Sarah eventually intensified to become a hurricane on October 2. It was at Category 1 and later Category 2 intensity as it moved through the Florida Straits. Rapid intensification ensued as Sarah moved into the Gulf of Mexico later that day, and Sarah became a Category 5 hurricane on October 3, becoming at the time the tenth-most intense hurricane ever recorded in the Atlantic Basin with a minimum central pressure of 908 mbar, though it would later fall to eleventh following Hurricane Violet. However, as the storm moved slowly across the Gulf of Mexico it gradually weakened until landfall. Sarah made landfall as a strong Category 3 hurricane in Morgan City, Louisiana on October 5, 2018.

## **Hurricane Tyler**

 Duration
 Intensity

## **Hurricane Violet**

*Main article: Hurricane Violet*

 Duration
 Intensity

A low pressure area developed over the western Caribbean on October 11. Late on the following day, the system had organized enough to be declared Tropical Depression Twenty-two. Tracking slowly westward, the depression was upgraded to tropical storm strength early on October 14 as the banding of thunderstorms strengthened and wrapped more tightly into the low level circulation center. Violet thus the second Atlantic storm ever to use the 'V' name since Hurricane Vince in 2005. The pressure gradient in Violet became stronger, and Violet continued to steadily strengthen as its course shifted northwest along the into an environment with warm waters and favorable upper level winds, becoming a hurricane by the 16th; the fourteenth of the season. That same evening, Violet made landfall at the Yucatan Peninsula, just south of Cancun. Violet retained its hurricane strength as it crossed the peninsula and entered the Gulf of Mexico in just six hours. The storm stalled before looping to the southeast due to a strong ridge in the gulf. Strengthening into a Category 2 hurricane as it drifted, Violet again made landfall at the Yucatan, this time along undeveloped coastline between the cities of Progreso and Rio Lagartos. Violet reentered the Caribbean on October 19 and began to rapidly intensify.

Throughout that day and into October 20, Violet rapidly intensified from a tropical storm with 60 mph winds into a 185 mph Category 5 hurricane with a pressure of 890 milibars, becoming the third-most intense Atlantic hurricane on record. The rate of intensification was among the fastest ever recorded in a tropical system, intensifying to Category 5 just 18 hours after becoming a hurricane (for the second time in its life). Its 12-hour pressure drop from 5:00 am EDT to 11:00 pm EDT on October 15 was 99 mb, virtually on par with that of Hurricane Wilma in 2005, albeit over a slightly longer time span. With a 12 mi (19 km) eye, the compact nature of the system allowed for such a rate of rapid deepening.

An eyewall replacement cycle weakened Violet to a high-end Category 4 on the 21st, a strength which it maintained until it made landfall in Cuba later that day. The storm emerged over the Atlantic as a weakened Category 3 hurricane five hours later. Violet moved generally eastward, quickly weakening from its major hurricane status. Stalling out in the waters of the Atlantic, increased wind shear removed deep convection from Violet's increasingly elongated center, and the storm subsequently dissipated 164 mi (263 km) north of Puerto Rico early on October 25.

## **Subtropical Depression Twenty-three**

 Duration
 Intensity

Subtropical Depression Twenty-three formed from a non-tropical area of low pressure forming along a trough of low pressure 175 miles (261 km) northeast of the Lesser Antilles on October 25. The system encountered unfavorable conditions, and advisories were discontinued on the evening of the 26th as the system dissipated at 8 p.m. EDT (0000 UTC October 27). The JMC continued to monitor the remnant as it headed north and merged with the remnant of Hurricane Violet. The resultant extratropical system continued to pull tropical moisture northward and was absorbed by a frontal system on October 28, which eventually developed into Hurricane William several days later.

## **Hurricane William**

*Main article: Hurricane William (2018)*

 Duration
 Intensity

## **Hurricane Alpha**

 Duration
 Intensity

A tropical wave merged with a broad low pressure area and an upper trough near Honduras. The system quickly organized into Tropical Depression Twenty-five on November 8. The depression brushed Central America before curving northward, where it strengthened into Tropical Storm Alpha on October 9. Alpha posed a threat to Cuba and the Cayman Islands, which briefly prompted the issuance of a tropical storm warning and a hurricane watch. However, a high pressure system forced Alpha to track generally westward, which prevented it from significantly affecting the aforementioned islands. After becoming a hurricane on November 11, Alpha began to rapidly strengthen. Later that day, the storm peaked as a minimal Category 3 hurricane, with winds of 110 mph (175 km/h). By 12:00 UTC on November 12, Alpha made landfall just south of Belize City, Belize at peak strength. The storm rapidly weakened as it tracked further inland, being last noted as a tropical depression over the mountainous terrain of Chiapas.

Hurricane Alpha was the 22nd named system in the 2018 Atlantic hurricane season, breaking the 1933 season's record of the second-most named storms in a season. This also made Alpha the second tropical storm to be named using the Greek Alphabet after the list of names had been exhausted in a Atlantic hurricane season, an occurrence not seen since the 2005 season.

## **Tropical Storm Beta**

 Duration
 Intensity

Tropical Storm Beta formed with tropical-storm-force winds on November 17, when a strong non-tropical low near the Azores slowly drifted eastward and attained tropical characteristics while entering increasingly warmer waters.

Beta moved steadily north-eastwards then eastwards towards the Iberian Peninsula. During this period, it once approached hurricane strength, although it never achieved this intensity. On November 20 it merged with a frontal system well to the northeast of the Canaries and became a vigorous extratropical storm. The system caused widespread damage in the Iberian Peninsula, including two deaths in Portugal. Power outages were reported across the region, most of which were restored the following day.

## **Tropical Storm Gamma**

 Duration
 Intensity

On November 18, a tropical disturbance developed in the north-central Atlantic. It quickly became more organized and was declared Tropical Depression Twenty-Seven on the afternoon November 19. The next day, the depression strengthened into Tropical Storm Gamma. The storm executed a counterclockwise loop that same day, and began to travel in a generally westward direction for several days before accelerating north-eastwards towards the Azores, steadily weakening before undergoing extratropical transition on November 27.

The only impact Gamma had on land was on the Flores and Corvo islands of the Azores, which were brushed by the storm's extratropical remnants. It caused no damage and was described as a "normal atmospheric disturbance."

## **Hurricane Delta**

 Duration
 Intensity

## **Storm names**

The following list of names was used for named storms that formed in the North Atlantic in 2018. The names not retired from this list will be used again in the 2024 season. It was the first (and only, in the cases of Clarice, Dale, Hailey, Michaela, Sarah and Violet) use for all of these names since the post-2016 naming change, except for Faith, which was used in 1966.

* Blake
* Clarice
* Dale
* Emma
* Faith
* Gavin
* Isaiah
* Jade
* Kristen
* Lucas
* Michaela
* Noah
* Paige
* Ricky
* Sarah
* Tyler
* Violet
* William

**Greek Names**

* Beta
* Gamma
* Delta
* Epsilon *(unused)*
* Zeta *(unused)*
* Eta *(unused)*
* Theta *(unused)*
* Kappa *(unused)*
* Lambda *(unused)*
* Mu *(unused)*
* Nu *(unused)*
* Xi *(unused)*
* Omicron *(unused)*
* Pi *(unused)*
* Sigma *(unused)*
* Tau *(unused)*
* Upsilon *(unused)*
* Phi *(unused)*
* Chi *(unused)*
* Psi *(unused)*
* Omega *(unused)*

### **Retirement**

On March 20, 2019, at the 41st session of the RA IV hurricane committee, the World Meteorological Organization retired seven names: Clarice, Faith, Hailey, Michaela, Sarah, and Violet from its rotating naming lists due to the number of deaths and amount of damage they caused, and they will not be used again for another Atlantic hurricane. They will be replaced with Candice, Douglas, Frieda, Harmony, Morgan, Sabrina, and Virgo, respectively, for the 2024 season. This surpassed the previous record for the number of hurricane names retired after a single season, five, held by the 2005 season.

## **Season effects**

This is a table of all the storms that have formed in the 2018 Atlantic hurricane season. It includes their duration, names, landfall(s), denoted in parentheses, damages, and death totals. Deaths in parentheses are additional and indirect (an example of an indirect death would be a traffic accident), but were still related to that storm. Damage and deaths include totals while the storm was extratropical, a wave, or a low, and all the damage figures are in 2018 USD.