Zero named storms in Atlantic basin during August for 1st time in 25 years
For the first time in 25 years, August has come and gone without a named tropical storm in the Atlantic Ocean Basin. Since the satellite era began in 1960, there have now been only three years -- 1961, 1997 and 2022 -- that there were no named systems during August.
According to AccuWeather forecasters, atmospheric conditions were too hostile to support tropical development across the basin during August. The emergence of Tropical Storm Danielle on Thursday, the first day of September, brought an end of a 60-day tropical storm drought, which started in early July after Tropical Storm Colin fizzled out.
A scientific parameter that measures the severity of a hurricane season, known as Accumulated Cyclone Energy, or ACE, was zero for the entire month of August. ACE tracks the combined strength and duration of all tropical storms and hurricanes. The stronger the tropical system is and the longer it lasts, the more energy it accumulates for the seasonal tally.
Since there have only been three short-lived tropical storms, Alex, Bonnie and Colin, earlier this season, this season's ACE was at a mere 2.8 by the time the calendar switched to September. But, almost as if right on cue, Tropical Storm Danielle formed in the north-central Atlantic on Sept. 1.
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AccuWeather forecasters were monitoring the tropics on Thursday, Sept. 1 for potential development. Newly formed Tropical Storm Danielle is pictured near the top of this satellite image. (NOAA) |
The tropics were much more active this time last year. In 2021, there were 10 named storms before the end of August. Five of those storms all formed in the month of August.
In mid-August, Hurricane Grace became the first major hurricane of the 2021 Atlantic hurricane season. As it made a second landfall in Mexico along the eastern Yucatán Peninsula, the storm became deadly, killing eight people.
During the last week of August, Hurricane Ida began to form, and later became one of the strongest storms of the year. Ida made landfall nearly 40 miles west of where Hurricane Katrina made landfall 16 years earlier to the date. Hurricane Ida dropped more than 10 inches of rain in portions of Louisiana and Mississippi before it wreaked havoc across the Northeast. According to a report from the National Hurricane Center (NHC), Hurricane Ida directly caused 55 deaths in the United States and 32 indirect fatalities.
From its landfall in Louisiana to its exit in the Northeast, Hurricane Ida is estimated to have caused between $70 billion and $80 billion in damages, according to AccuWeather Founder and CEO Dr. Joel N. Myers. Earlier this year, the name Ida was retired by the World Meteorological Organization and Louisiana residents were still picking up the pieces more than a year after Ida's landfall.
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The average date of the seventh named storm falls on Sept. 3, which is just seven days before the climatological peak of the season, Sept. 10. About 50% of all Atlantic hurricane seasons since the dawn of the satellite era in 1960 have had at least one hurricane spinning in the basin on Sept. 10, according to Colorado State meteorologist Philip Klotzbach.
The historic run of no named storms will likely come to an end this week, AccuWeather meteorologists say. According to forecasters, there are a few tropical trouble spots that could develop in the Atlantic in the coming days.
Despite the quieter start to the tropical season, AccuWeather's team of long-range forecasters still expects an active season, with a high chance for there to be 16 named storms, including the three that have already developed.
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