The 2003 Atlantic hurricane season was a very active Atlantic hurricane season with tropical activity before and after the official bounds of the season—the first such occurrence since the 1970 season. The season produced 21 tropical cyclones, of which 16 developed into named storms; seven of those attained hurricane status, of which three reached major hurricane status. The strongest hurricane of the season was Hurricane Isabel, which reached Category 5 status on the Saffir–Simpson hurricane scale northeast of the Lesser Antilles; Isabel later struck North Carolina as a Category 2 hurricane, causing $3.6 billion in damage and a total of 51 deaths across the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States.
The 1965 Atlantic hurricane season was the first to use the modern-day bounds for an Atlantic hurricane season, which are June 1 to November 30. These dates conventionally delimit the period of each year when most tropical cyclones form in the Atlantic basin. It was a slightly below average season, with 10 tropical cyclones developing and reaching tropical storm intensity. Four of the storms strengthened into hurricanes. One system reached major hurricane intensity – Category 3 or higher on the Saffir–Simpson hurricane scale. The first system, an unnamed tropical storm, developed during the month of June in the southern Gulf of Mexico. The storm moved northward across Central America, but caused no known impact in the region. It struck the Florida Panhandle and caused minor impact across much of the Southern United States. Tropical cyclogenesis halted for over two months, until Anna formed on August 21. The storm remained well away from land in the far North Atlantic Ocean and caused no impact.
The 1968 Atlantic hurricane season was a below average hurricane season during which only seven named storms developed. The season officially began on June 1 and lasted until November 30, dates which conventionally delimit the period of each year when most tropical cyclones form in the Atlantic basin. Of the named storms, five strengthened into hurricanes; none however intensified into a major hurricane. Only four other seasons since the start of the satellite era—1972, 1986, 1994, and 2013—did not feature a major hurricane. The first system, Hurricane Abby, developed in the northwestern Caribbean on June 1. Abby moved northward and struck Cuba, bringing heavy rainfall and flooding to western portions of the island. Making landfall in Florida on June 4, Abby caused flooding and spawned four tornadoes, but left behind little damage. Overall, the hurricane resulted in six deaths and about $450,000 (1968 USD) in damage. In late June, Tropical Storm Candy brought minor flooding and spawned several tornadoes across portions of the Southern United States. Overall damage from the cyclone reached approximately $2.7 million. 1968 featured two simultaneously active tropical storms during the month of June, a phenomenon that would not occur again until 2023.
The 1969 Atlantic hurricane season was the most active Atlantic hurricane season since the 1933 season, and was the final year of the most recent positive ("high-quality") Atlantic multidecadal oscillation (AMO) era. The hurricane season officially began on June 1, and lasted until November 30. The season had the highest number of systems reach hurricane status – twelve – in a single season, until that record was surpassed in 2005. The season was above-average despite an El Niño, which typically suppresses activity in the Atlantic Ocean, while increasing tropical cyclone activity in the Pacific Ocean. Activity began with a tropical depression that caused extensive flooding in Cuba and Jamaica in early June. On July 25, Tropical Storm Anna developed, the first named storm of the season. Later in the season, Tropical Depression Twenty-Nine caused severe local flooding in the Florida Panhandle and southwestern Georgia in September.
The 1971 Atlantic hurricane season was fairly active with several notable storms. Hurricane Edith, the strongest of the season, was a Category 5 on the Saffir-Simpson scale, the highest category on the scale, even though it was the least intense for that category on record, at 943 mbar. It struck Nicaragua at peak intensity, killing dozens, and later hit southern Louisiana. Until 2003, Hurricane Ginger held the record for the longest known duration of a North Atlantic tropical cyclone, lasting 27.25 days from early September to early October; it is currently the second longest-lasting Atlantic hurricane. Ginger moved ashore in North Carolina, producing heavy rains and damaging winds. An unnamed storm in August attained hurricane status further north than any other Atlantic hurricane. On 11 September, seven tropical cyclones were active at the same time, the record for the Atlantic basin.
The 1973 Atlantic hurricane season was the first season to use the Saffir–Simpson hurricane scale, a scale developed in 1971 by Herbert Saffir and Robert Simpson to rate the intensity of tropical cyclones. The season produced 24 tropical and subtropical cyclones, of which only 8 reached storm intensity, 4 became hurricanes, and only 1 reached major hurricane status. Although more active than the 1972 season, 1973 brought few storms of note. Nearly half of the season's storms affected land, one of which resulted in severe damage.
The 1978 Atlantic hurricane season was a slightly above average hurricane season in terms of number of named storms. Eleven tropical cyclones were named in all, and five of these became hurricanes; two of the five became a major hurricane. This was also the last Atlantic hurricane season to use an all-female naming list. The season officially began on June 1, 1978, and ended on November 30, 1978. These dates, adopted by convention, denote the period in each year when most tropical cyclogenesis occurs in the Atlantic basin. However, the formation of subtropical or tropical cyclones is possible at any time of the year, as shown by the formation of an unnamed subtropical storm on January 18.
The 1955 Atlantic hurricane season was, at the time, the costliest season ever recorded, just ahead of the previous year. The hurricane season officially began on June 15, 1955, and ended on November 15, 1955. It was an extremely active season in terms of accumulated cyclone energy (ACE), but slightly above average in terms of tropical storms, with 13 recorded tropical cyclones. The first storm, Alice, had persisted since December 30, 1954. Alice caused relatively minor impact as it tracked through the Lesser Antilles and eastern Caribbean Sea in early January. Tropical Storm Brenda caused two deaths and minor damage along the Gulf Coast of the United States in early August. The quick succession of Hurricanes Connie and Diane caused significant flooding in the Northeastern United States, with nearly $1 billion in losses and at least 232 fatalities. The next three storms – Hurricanes Edith and Flora and Tropical Storm Five – caused very minor or no impact. In early September, Hurricane Gladys caused severe localized flooding in Mexico, primarily in Mexico City. Additionally, an offshoot of Gladys inflicted minor impact in Texas.
The 1956 Atlantic hurricane season featured a decent number of tropical cyclones, although most tropical storms and hurricanes affected land. There were twelve tropical storms, a third of which became hurricanes. One of the hurricanes strengthened to the equivalent of a major hurricane, which is a Category 3 or greater on the Saffir–Simpson scale. The strongest hurricane of the season was Betsy, which was also the most damaging storm of the season: it destroyed 15,000 houses and left $40 million in damage in Puerto Rico. Betsy was also the deadliest of the season, having killed 18 people in the French West Indies, two from a shipwreck in the Caribbean Sea, and 16 in Puerto Rico. Tropical Storm Dora struck Mexico in September and killed 27 people.
The 1954 Atlantic hurricane season was an above-average Atlantic hurricane season in terms of named storms, with 16 forming. Overall, the season resulted in $751.6 million in damage, the most of any season at the time. The season officially began on June 15, and nine days later the first named storm developed. Hurricane Alice developed in the Gulf of Mexico and moved inland along the Rio Grande, producing significant precipitation and record flooding that killed 55 people. Activity was slow until late August; only Barbara, a minimal tropical storm, developed in July. In the span of two weeks, hurricanes Carol and Edna followed similar paths before both striking New England as major hurricanes. The latter became the costliest hurricane in Maine's history.
The 1950 Atlantic hurricane season was the first year in the Atlantic hurricane database (HURDAT) that storms were given names in the Atlantic basin. Names were taken from the Joint Army/Navy Phonetic Alphabet, with the first named storm being designated "Able", the second "Baker", and so on. It was a very active season with sixteen tropical storms, with eleven of them developing into hurricanes. Six of these hurricanes were intense enough to be classified as major hurricanes—a denomination reserved for storms that attained sustained winds equivalent to a Category 3 or greater on the present-day Saffir–Simpson scale. One storm, the twelfth of the season, was unnamed and was originally excluded from the yearly summary, and three additional storms were discovered in re-analysis. The large quantity of strong storms during the year yielded, prior to modern reanalysis, what was the highest seasonal accumulated cyclone energy (ACE) of the 20th century in the Atlantic basin; 1950 held the seasonal ACE record until broken by the 1995 Atlantic hurricane season. However, later examination by researchers determined that several storms in the 1950 season were weaker than thought, leading to a lower ACE than assessed originally. This season also set the record for the most tropical storms, eight, in the month of October.
The 1951 Atlantic hurricane season was the first hurricane season in which tropical cyclones were officially named by the United States Weather Bureau. The season officially started on June 15, when the United States Weather Bureau began its daily monitoring for tropical cyclone activity; the season officially ended on November 15. It was the first year since 1937 in which no hurricanes made landfall on the United States; as Hurricane How was the only tropical storm to hit the nation, the season had the least tropical cyclone damage in the United States since the 1939 season. As in the 1950 season, names from the Joint Army/Navy Phonetic Alphabet were used to name storms this season.
The 1952 Atlantic hurricane season was the last Atlantic hurricane season in which tropical cyclones were named using the Joint Army/Navy Phonetic Alphabet. It was a near normal Atlantic hurricane season, although it was the least active since 1946. The season officially started on June 15; however, a pre-season unnamed storm formed on Groundhog Day, becoming the only storm on record in the month of February. The other six tropical cyclones were named using the Joint Army/Navy Phonetic Alphabet, the first of which formed on August 18. The final storm of the season dissipated on October 28, two and a half weeks before the season officially ended on November 15.
The 1953 Atlantic hurricane season was the first time an organized list of female names was used to name Atlantic storms. It officially began on June 15, and lasted until November 15, although activity occurred both before and after the season's limits. The season was active with fourteen total storms, six of which developed into hurricanes; four of the hurricanes attained major hurricane status, or a Category 3 or greater on the Saffir-Simpson scale.
Tropical Storm Odette was a rare off-season tropical cyclone that hit the island of Hispaniola in early December 2003. As the fifteenth named storm of the 2003 Atlantic hurricane season, Odette formed near the coast of Panama a few days after the official end of the Atlantic hurricane season ended on November 30, and ultimately made landfall on the Dominican Republic as a moderate tropical storm, before becoming extratropical on December 7, dissipating two days later.
Hurricane Lili was an erratic tropical cyclone which was the third of only four Atlantic tropical cyclones on record to reach hurricane status in the month of December with the others being an unnamed hurricane in 1887, December 1954's Alice, and 2005's Epsilon. The final of thirteen tropical storms in the 1984 Atlantic hurricane season, Lili developed as a subtropical cyclone which originated from a frontal trough to the south of Bermuda on December 12. It tracked southeastward, then northward, slowly attaining tropical characteristics and becoming a hurricane on December 20. Lili turned to the south and southwest, briefly threatening the northern Caribbean islands before weakening and dissipating near the coast of the Dominican Republic. The storm produced light rainfall but no damage.
Hurricane Erika was the strongest and longest-lasting tropical cyclone in the 1997 Atlantic hurricane season. It developed from a tropical wave on September 3 and moved west-northwestward across the tropical Atlantic Ocean, steadily intensifying until it attained hurricane status on September 4, becoming the fifth named storm and third hurricane of the season. Erika passed a short distance to the north of the Lesser Antilles, and later turned to the north in response to an approaching trough. The hurricane quickly strengthened to become the only major hurricane of the season, reaching maximum sustained winds of 125 mph (201 km/h) on September 8; after maintaining its peak strength for 24 hours, Erika began to weaken as it passed over cooler waters. It turned to the east, weakened to a tropical storm, and became extratropical after passing near the Azores archipelago.
Hurricane Klaus was a North Atlantic hurricane that hit the Leeward Islands from the west in November of the 1984 Atlantic hurricane season. Forming from a broad area of low pressure on November 5, Klaus maintained a northeast movement throughout much of its path. After making landfall on extreme eastern Puerto Rico, it passed to the north of the Leeward Islands, resulting in strong southwesterly winds and rough seas. Klaus attained hurricane status and reached peak winds of 90 mph (145 km/h) before becoming extratropical over cooler waters on November 13. The storm dropped heavy rainfall in Puerto Rico, causing minor flooding and light damage. Klaus caused heavy marine damage in the Leeward Islands, including wrecking at least three ships. The Virgin Islands experienced heavy damage as well.
Tropical Storm Olga was an off-season tropical cyclone that impacted the Greater Antilles. The fifteenth named storm of the 2007 Atlantic hurricane season, Olga developed from a low developed east of the northernmost Lesser Antilles. It slowly acquired tropical characteristics, and late on December 10, the NHC declared it Subtropical Storm Olga while just north of Puerto Rico. It was the first post-season storm since Tropical Storm Zeta in the 2005 season, making the 2007 season one of the few with activity both before and after the official bounds of the hurricane season. Olga was only one of a few out of season tropical cyclones to make landfall. The storm made landfall on December 11 on the eastern tip of the Dominican Republic. Later that evening, Olga transitioned into a tropical storm just after making landfall. Olga tracked over Hispaniola and emerged in the Caribbean Sea. Strong wind shear and dry air caused Olga to weaken into a remnant low early on December 13.
The 2019 Atlantic hurricane season was the fourth consecutive above-average and damaging season dating back to 2016. However, many storms were weak and short-lived, especially towards the end of the season. Six of those named storms achieved hurricane status, while three intensified into major hurricanes. Two storms became Category 5 hurricanes, marking the fourth consecutive season with at least one Category 5 hurricane, the third consecutive season to feature at least one storm making landfall at Category 5 intensity, and the seventh on record to have multiple tropical cyclones reaching Category 5 strength. The season officially began on June 1 and ended on November 30. These dates historically describe the period each year when most tropical cyclones form in the Atlantic basin and are adopted by convention. However, tropical cyclogenesis is possible at any time of the year, as demonstrated by the formation of Subtropical Storm Andrea on May 20, making this the fifth consecutive year in which a tropical or subtropical cyclone developed outside of the official season.
