Atlantic May End Season Without a Hurricane — SkimNews
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- The 2026 Atlantic hurricane season saw no hurricane form during September for the first time in 30+ years, despite September typically being the most active month for tropical activity.
- El Niño is suppressing Atlantic storms by increasing upper-level wind shear that tears apart developing thunderstorms before they can organize.
- The US National Hurricane Center had predicted in May a season of 8-14 named storms and 3-6 hurricanes; only four named tropical storms (Edouard, Fay, Gonzalo, Hanna) formed in September, with all but Edouard remaining in open waters.
- The eastern North Pacific has produced 17 named storms, 9 hurricanes, and 7 major hurricanes this year, with Accumulated Cyclone Energy running 2.5 times above normal for this point in the season.
- Central-eastern Pacific sea surface temperatures have broken records, exceeding the previous high set during the very strong 2015 El Niño, with El Niño forecast to peak in November or December.
- The last Atlantic season without a recorded hurricane was 1914, pre-satellite monitoring—leaving open the possibility that 2026 would be the first confirmed hurricane-free season on record.
Why it matters: If no Atlantic hurricanes form in the remaining two months of the 2026 season, it would break a 112-year record (1914, the last documented hurricane-free season) and mark the first confirmed instance in the satellite era—forcing forecasters to reckon with how completely a strong El Niño can shut down Atlantic activity.
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