Decade of hurricane seasons saw 7-year streak of early starts, Greek alphabet & January storms
When it comes to hurricanes, it's been a long 10 years. As the 2023 Atlantic hurricane season starts on June 1, we're taking a look back at the times hurricane season started early. In 2012, tropical activity occurred in May, followed by a seven-year streak from 2015 to 2021.
Hurricane season runs June 1 to November 30.
With the exception of the 2022 Atlantic hurricane season, which saw devastation in Southwest Florida, Florida has gotten a headstart on the season with tropical activity as early as January. What will 2023 bring?
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2023 hurricane season names: Did yours make the cut?
2012 hurricane season
The 2012 Atlantic hurricane season kicked off May 19 with Tropical Storm Alberto. (More on another Tropical Storm Alberto below.)
There were 19 named storms, and 10 of those strengthened into hurricanes: Hurricane Chris, Hurricane Ernesto, Hurricane Gordon, Hurricane Isaac, Hurricane Kirk, Hurricane Leslie, Hurricane Michael, Hurricane Nadine, Hurricane Rafael, and Hurricane Sandy.
There were two major hurricanes in 2012, including Hurricane Michael, a category 3; and Hurricane Sandy, a Category 3. (Scroll down for info about the Category 5 Hurricane Michael.)
In 2012, Hurricane Sandy, aka Super Storm Sandy, was the season's deadliest Atlantic storm, causing almost $68 billion in damage, with 286 deaths attributed to the storm. Sandy was officially retired from the hurricane names list for the deaths and destruction it caused.
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2013 hurricane season
The 2013 Atlantic hurricane season did not start early. The first system that formed was Tropical Storm Andrea on June 5, 2013. Of the 14 named storms, two strengthened into hurricane status. There were no major hurricanes − a Category 3 or more − for 2013. However, that year was an active season, with total damage estimated to be about $1.5 billion and 56 deaths attributed to the storms that year.
2014 hurricane season
While this story is a roundup of when hurricane season started early, the 2014 Atlantic hurricane season didn't see a system form until July 1, a month after the official start. Of the eight named storms, six reached hurricane status, and two were considered major. The major hurricanes of 2014 were Hurricane Edouard, a Category 3, and Hurricane Gonzalo, a Category 4. Total damages from the 2014 hurricane season estimated to be about $372 million with 21 deaths attributed to the storms that year.
2015 hurricane season
The 2015 Atlantic hurricane season (officially) kicked off May 8 with Tropical Storm Ana. The previous day, Ana had formed as a subtropical storm. Tropical Storm Ana made landfall May 10 near Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. According to the Weather Channel, Tropical Storm Ana was the second earliest U.S. tropical cyclone landfall on record, with the first an unnamed tropical storm in February 1952 in Southern Florida. (More on another Tropical Storm Ana below.)
There were 11 named storms and one tropical depression. Four of those named storms strengthened into hurricanes: Hurricane Danny, Hurricane Fred, Hurricane Joaquin and Hurricane Kate.
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2016 Atlantic hurricane season
The 2016 Atlantic hurricane season kicked off Jan. 12 with Hurricane Alex. According to the Weather Channel, Alex was the second Atlantic hurricane on record to start in January (Hurricane Alice formed on New Year's Eve 1954).
There were 15 named storms in 2016. Seven of those storms strengthened into hurricanes: Hurricane Alex, Hurricane Earl, Hurricane Gaston, Hurricane Hermine, Hurricane Matthew, Hurricane Nicole and Hurricane Otto. Fun fact: Hurricane Otto formed on a holiday, Thanksgiving 2016.
There were four major hurricanes of 2016: Hurricane Gaston, a Category 3; Hurricane Matthew, a Category 4; Hurricane Nicole, a Category 4; and Hurricane Otto, a Category 3. Hurricane Matthew devastated Haiti, with the death toll there at 546. At least 603 deaths were attributed to Hurricane Matthew. In Florida, Matthew left its mark in the First Coast and the Space Coast, causing at least $16.5 billion in damage.
In 2016, Hurricane Matthew, the season's deadliest Atlantic storm, was officially retired from the hurricane names list.
2017 Atlantic hurricane season
The 2017 Atlantic hurricane season kicked off April 19 with Tropical Storm Arlene.
There were 17 named storms in 2017. Ten of those storms strengthened into hurricanes: Hurricane Franklin, Hurricane Gert, Hurricane Harvey, Hurricane Irma, Hurricane Jose, Hurricane Katia, Hurricane Lee, Hurricane Maria, Hurricane Nate and Hurricane Ophelia.
The major hurricanes of 2017 were Hurricane Harvey as a category 4, Hurricane Irma as a category 5, Hurricane Jose as a category 4, Hurricane Maria as a category 5 and Hurricane Nate as a category 1 (at least 50 deaths were attributed to Nate).
In 2017, four storm names were retired from the hurricane names list because of the deaths and devastation caused: Harvey, Irma, Maria and Nate.
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2018 Atlantic hurricane season
The 2018 Atlantic hurricane season kicked off May 25 with Tropical Storm Alberto (for a recap on Tropical Storm Alberto of 2012, scroll up).
There were 15 named storms in 2018. Eight of those storms strengthened into hurricanes: Hurricane Beryl, Hurricane Chris, Hurricane Florence, Hurricane Helene, Hurricane Isaac, Hurricane Leslie, Hurricane Michael and Hurricane Oscar.
The major hurricanes of 2018 were Hurricane Michael, which made landfall in Mexico Beach as a category 5, and caused about $25 billion in damage. At least 64 deaths were attributed to Hurricane Michael. Hurricane Florence, which devastated parts of North Carolina and South Carolina as a category 4, caused $24 billion in damage. At least 54 deaths were attributed to Hurricane Florence.
In 2018, two storm names were retired from the hurricane names list because of the deaths and devastation caused: Florence and Michael.
2019 Atlantic hurricane season
The 2019 Atlantic hurricane season kicked off May 20 with Subtropical Storm Andrea.
There were 18 named storms in 2019. Six of those storms strengthened into hurricanes: Hurricane Barry, Hurricane Dorian, Hurricane Humberto, Hurricane Jerry, Hurricane Lorenzo and Hurricane Pablo.
The major hurricanes of 2019 were Hurricane Dorian, a category 5; Hurricane Humberto, a category 3; and Hurricane Lorenzo, a category 5. At least 70 deaths were attributed to Hurricane Dorian, which caused about $3.4 billion in damage.
2020 hurricane season
The 2020 Atlantic hurricane season was one active season. Not only did it break records with the number of storms during the season with 31 tropical depressions, but the world was also transformed by the coronavirus pandemic. There were so many systems, the Greek alphabet had to be used to name storms. From the Greek Alphabet, 2020 saw Subtropical Storm Alpha, Tropical Storm Beta, Hurricane Gamma, Hurricane Delta, Hurricane Epsilon, Hurricane Zeta, Tropical Storm Theta and Hurricane Iota. However, after the 2020 hurricane season, the use of the Greek alphabet for hurricane names was retired. The only other year the Greek alphabet was used during hurricane season was 2005.
The 2020 hurricane season kicked off May 16 with Tropical Storm Arthur.
There were 30 named storms in 2020, and 14 of those storms strengthened into hurricanes: Hurricane Hanna, Hurricane Isaias, Hurricane Laura, Hurricane Marco, Hurricane Nana, Hurricane Paulette, Hurricane Sally, Hurricane Teddy, Hurricane Gamma, Hurricane Delta, Hurricane Zeta, Hurricane Eta and Hurricane Iota.
There were seven major hurricanes of 2020 including Hurricane Laura, a Category 4; Hurricane Teddy, a Category 4; Hurricane Delta, a Category 4; Hurricane Epsilon, a Category 3; Hurricane Zeta, a Category 3; Hurricane Eta, a Category 4; and Hurricane Iota, a Category 4.
In 2020, three storm names were retired from the hurricane names list because of the deaths and devastation caused: Laura, Eta and Iota. Of course, the Greek names would permanently be retired from hurricane name lists after 2020.
2021 Atlantic hurricane season
The 2021 Atlantic hurricane season kicked off May 22 with Tropical Storm Ana. Coincidentally, this is the second time an Atlantic hurricane season started with the name Ana, and it's the second time a hurricane season started before June 1. The 2015 Atlantic hurricane season kicked off May 8 with Tropical Storm Ana (scroll above for a recap).
There were 21 named storms in 2021. Seven of those storms strengthened into hurricanes: Hurricane Elsa, Hurricane Grace, Hurricane Henri, Hurricane Ida, Hurricane Larry, Hurricane Nicholas and Hurricane Sam.
There were four major hurricanes of 2021 including Hurricane Grace, a Category 3; Hurricane Ida, a Category 4; Hurricane Larry, a Category 3; and Hurricane Sam, a Category 4. Hurricane Ida made landfall near Port Fourchon, Louisiana, causing extensive damage totaling about $55 billion for that state. The remnants of Hurricane Ida spawned several destructive tornadoes in New Jersey and New York. At least $75 billion in damage and 87 deaths were attributed to Hurricane Ida.
In 2021, only one storm name was retired from the hurricane names list because of the deaths and devastation caused: Ida.
Hurricane Nicole was a late one. Storm's impact in this Florida area saw a lot of damage
2022 Atlantic hurricane season
The 2022 Atlantic hurricane season did not start before June 1. So the streak of "early start to hurricane seasons" lasted for seven years, from 2015 to 2022. However, the 2022 hurricane season did start June 5 with Tropical Storm Alex (see above for a recap on Hurricane Alex of 2016). Fun fact: Hurricane Lisa, a category 1, formed on Oct. 31, 2022, aka Halloween.
There were 14 named storms in 2022. Eight of those storms strengthened into hurricanes: Hurricane Danielle, Hurricane Earl, Hurricane Fiona, Hurricane Ian, Hurricane Julia, Hurricane Lisa, Hurricane Martin and Hurricane Nicole.
The major hurricanes of 2022 were Hurricane Fiona, a category 4, and Hurricane Ian, a category 5.
In 2022, only one storm name was retired from the hurricane names list because of the deaths and devastation caused: Ian.
Sangalang is a lead digital producer for USA TODAY Network-Florida. Follow her on Twitter or Instagram at @byjensangalang. Support local journalism. Consider subscribing to a Florida newspaper.
This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Hurricane season oddities: Storms in May, pandemic record, retired names
