Hurricane forecasters were right when they predicted that 2024 had the ingredients necessary to fuel an extremely active Atlantic hurricane season, but no one could have foreseen just how historic the season would turn out to be.
Unusually warm sea-surface temperatures and the end of El Ni?o conditions helped a total of 18 named storms form in the Atlantic basin this season, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Eleven of those were hurricanes, five of which intensified to major hurricanes of Category 3 strength or higher.
That's well above the 14 named storms, seven hurricanes and three major hurricanes produced in an average season, according to NOAA's definition.?
The 2024 Atlantic Hurricane Season in 60 seconds, from Alberto to Sara: pic.twitter.com/LdyZkLyUIk
— Jake Carstens (@JakeCarstens) November 20, 2024
While only Hurricane Francine made landfall in Louisiana, four others hit elsewhere in the U.S., with two storms?— Helene and Milton — making landfall as major hurricanes. Along with those notable storms, several others shattered records and carved out places in history in their own right.?
Here's a look back at the events that stood out in a highly eventful year.?
Hurricane Beryl?
After developing as a tropical wave off the coast of Africa and hitting parts of the Caribbean at Category 4 strength in June, Beryl made history in early July as the earliest Category 5 hurricane ever to form in the Atlantic, according to the NOAA.?
After weakening some on its way through the Caribbean Sea and over the Yucatan Peninsula, Beryl brought significant storm surge and flooding to parts of Texas and the Louisiana coast.?
Residents as far inland as Houston, Texas, reported widespread power outages and street flooding on July 8.?
A vehicle is stranded in high waters on a flooded highway in Houston, on Monday, July 8, 2024, after Beryl came ashore in Texas as a hurricane and dumped heavy rains along the coast. (AP Photo/Juan A. Lozano)
Hurricane Helene
Hurricane Helene hit Florida's Big Bend region as a Category 4 storm with winds of 140 mph on Sept. 26 after rapidly intensifying over the Gulf of Mexico.
The monster storm, which was among history's largest hurricanes in physical size, brought catastrophic flooding and widespread wind damage along its path, from the Gulf Coast to southern Appalachia and North Carolina.?
NOAA officials said preliminary data indicate Helene was the deadliest hurricane to affect the U.S. since Katrina in 2005. Helene caused more than 150 direct fatalities, the majority of which occurred in the Carolinas, according to NOAA.
Hurricane Helene made history in another way, too: It was the first time ever that the National Hurricane Center predicted a system to become a major hurricane before it had even developed into a tropical depression, according to NOAA.?
Hurricane Milton?
Hurricane Milton made a name for itself in October as one of the most intense storms ever to form after intensifying at a rate that stunned hurricane researchers — one to the point of tears — and spawned debate over whether there's a limit to how strong such storms can get.?
A satellite image of Hurricane Milton on Wednesday, October 9, 2024.?
NOAA said Milton's rate of rapid intensification was among the highest ever observed, with a 90 mph increase in wind speed during the 24 hours from early Oct. 6 to Oct. 7. A hurricane is considered to be rapidly intensifying if its wind speeds rise by 35 mph in a day, according to the National Hurricane Center.
The storm peaked as a Category 5 storm with rarely seen winds of 180 mph before weakening during an eyewall replacement cycle and hitting Siesta Key, Florida, on Oct. 9 at Cat 3 strength.
A Lee County Sheriff's officer patrols the streets of Cape Coral, Fla., as heavy rain falls ahead of Hurricane Milton, Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2024.
Milton's landfall?resulted in a tornado outbreak that produced 46 tornadoes and caused torrential rainfall and localized flooding with total rainfall amounts of 10-15 inches, NOAA officials said. The storm also produced destructive storm surge along Florida's Gulf Coast between Siesta Key and Ft. Myers Beach.
3 October hurricanes?
Milton made history in another way when it reached hurricane strength, marking the first time in recorded history that the Atlantic basin has hosted three active hurricanes simultaneously in the month of October.
Milton formed alongside Kirk and Leslie, two hurricanes that developed west of Africa and continued swirling at sea without doing much damage to nearby lands.?
A satellite image of hurricanes Milton, Kirk and Leslie on Sunday, October 6, 2024.?
Philip Klotzbach, a senior hurricane research scientist at Colorado State University, said that in the 170 years before the 2024 season, there have never been three simultaneously active hurricanes recorded after September.?
Hurricane Rafael
Rafael wasn't an unusually formidable storm, but its time as a late season hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico was rare.?
After hitting Cuba as a Category 3 storm on Nov. 6, the storm maintained much of its strength for a few days as it moved through the Gulf.?
November hurricanes represent just 8% of all hurricanes that formed in the Atlantic Ocean from 1994 to 2023, according to Klotzbach, and late hurricanes in the Gulf are even less common.
Data collected by the National Hurricane Center shows historical hurricane points of origin and their tracks in early September, generally considered to be the peak of the Atlantic season, compared to early November.?
Since 1980, Klotzbach said, only four hurricanes before Rafael have been present in the Gulf in November: Jeanne in 1980, Kate in 1985, Ida in 2009 and Eta in 2020.?
Before that, only two other November hurricanes were recorded in the Gulf, according to the NHC: 1870 and 1935.
Busy end to the season?
Rafael was one of 12 named storms to form after what is historically considered to be the peak of the season, according to NOAA. Seven hurricanes formed in the Atlantic after Sept. 25 — the most on record for this time period, NOAA said.?