When does hurricane season end in Florida? Storms may ignore calendar this year

Florida could use a break from hurricanes.

Not even two weeks after Hurricane Helene tore through the Panhandle to flood large areas of the southeastern U.S., Hurricane Milton slammed into the Florida west coast and barreled across the state with life-threatening storm surge, massive rainfall, widespread flooding and power outages, and at least 17 deaths.

And we're not done yet. This season could "rank among the busiest on record," NOAA said in its August forecast, and while tropical activity traditionally slows down after mid-October, storms could continue developing into December this year.

NOAAAccuWeather and Colorado State University have all predicted the number of storms could be higher than average, with AccuWeather predicting this season has the potential to break the all-time record of 30 named storms in one season.

Mark your calendars or set an alert, here's when hurricane season (hopefully) ends.

What's out there now and how likely are they to strengthen?

Systems currently being monitored by the National Hurricane Center include:

When will hurricane season end?

The Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1 through Nov. 30. The Atlantic basin includes the Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico.

Countdown clock: How much longer will hurricane season last?

What are the remaining names for 2024 Atlantic hurricane season?

Names for the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season were last used in 2018 and will be used again in 2030 unless any are retired and replaced by the WMO.

Here are the remaining 2024 hurricane names after Milton:

  • Alberto

  • Beryl

  • Chris

  • Debby

  • Ernesto

  • Francine

  • Gordon

  • Helene

  • Isaac

  • Joyce

  • Kirk

  • Leslie

  • Milton

  • Nadine

  • Oscar

  • Patty

  • Rafael

  • Sara

  • Tony

  • Valerie

  • William

When is the busiest part of the Atlantic hurricane season?

Historically, the most active period of the Atlantic hurricane season has been from mid-August through mid-October. The peak hits Sept. 10.

How many named storms historically develop each year?

Based on a 30-year average from 1991 to 2020, the average number of named storms in the Atlantic hurricane season is 14, with seven hurricanes and three major hurricanes.

A major hurricane has sustained winds of at least 111 mph, so Category 3, 4 and 5 storms are considered major hurricanes.

The first named storm typically forms in mid to late June, the first hurricane tends to form in early to mid-August, and the first major hurricane forms in late August or early September.

Major hurricanes so far in 2024

So far there have been nine hurricanes in the Atlantic. Four were major hurricanes this year, but only three have made landfall.

  • Hurricane Beryl became the first hurricane on record to reach major hurricane status before July 1 (it hit Cat 3 on June 20), it was the first to do so that quickly before Sept. 1, and it was the earliest-forming Category 5 hurricane on record, among other things.

  • Hurricane Helene spun up into a Category 5 hurricane in just over 24 hours when it exploded from the Gulf of Mexico to flood the west coast of Florida on the way to landfall in the Big Bend.

  • Hurricane Kirk strengthened into a Category 4 hurricane but weakened as it traveled northeast in the Atlantic to threaten western Europe as a windstorm.

  • Hurricane Milton whipped up to a Category 5 in the warm waters of the Gulf before weakening to a Cat 3 when it made landfall at Siesta Key.

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How many tropical storms or hurricanes have occurred in November, December and January?

Over the past 10 years, there have been 14 named storms between November and January, including

This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: When is 2024 Atlantic hurricane season over? Americans tired of storms