The hurricane season in 2024 brought devastation to the Atlantic coast of the United States, and things are expected to be just as bad this year.
What's happening?
AccuWeather explained in March that hurricane experts have warned of "several similarities to last year's historic and destructive" hurricane season as the temperature gets warmer. Hurricane season typically runs from June 1 to November 30, but some believe that early storms in May are possible due to "exceptionally warm water temperatures expected across much of the Atlantic basin."
"Everyone needs to start planning and preparing for hurricane season. Climatology, weather patterns, water temperatures, and many other factors all point to yet another active Atlantic hurricane season with more tropical storms and hurricanes forming, compared to the historical average," AccuWeather Chief Meteorologist Jonathan Porter said.
In 2024, there were 18 named storms, 11 of which strengthened to hurricanes and five to major hurricanes, meaning Category 3 or higher. All of those figures far exceeded the 30-year historical average from 1991 to 2020. AccuWeather predicted that the numbers this year could slightly fall short, but the impact can be just as destructive.
"We expect fewer named storms this year compared to last year. The total number of storms is not truly what defines a hurricane season; it is the impacts to land and populated areas," Porter added. "It only takes one landfall to create a devastating season."
Why is this important?
Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton headlined the major storms that made landfall in the U.S. in 2024, and AccuWeather experts estimated that the total damage and economic loss reached a combined $500 billion.
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"Extreme weather has taken a tremendous financial toll across the country," Porter told AccuWeather. "Thousands of families and small businesses across America are still struggling to recover from weather disasters over the past year. We estimate that hurricanes, wildfires, winter storms, and impacts from extreme temperatures over the past 13 months have had a combined total damage and economic loss estimated at $693 billion to $799 billion."
The changing climate was also named as a driving force behind extreme weather, as rising temperatures create favorable conditions for these storms to become more frequent and intense. AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist and Climate Expert Brett Anderson pointed to human-caused climate change, saying that "the burning of fossil fuels is contributing to the greenhouse effect, which results in oceans absorbing and storing more excess heat." Anderson warned that the warming climate can lead to rising sea levels, higher storm surges in coastal areas, and inland flooding.
"As air temperatures continue to rise, our atmosphere can hold more moisture. Hurricanes and tropical storms can bring tremendous amounts of rainfall hundreds of miles inland," Anderson explained. "Intensifying rainfall rates can overwhelm streams, rivers, and aging drainage systems. Helene, Ian, Harvey, Florence, Imelda and Katrina are just a few of the notable hurricanes over the past 20 years that caused catastrophic flooding. A warming future could support even wetter hurricanes in the next 20 years."
What's being done about this?
In addition to paying close attention to forecasts, alerts, and warnings, AccuWeather suggested that early preparation is necessary as the hurricane season draws nearer. Some experts even warned that "people in areas far from the Atlantic and Gulf coasts should prepare for potential tropical impacts this year," noting that tropical storms have tracked as far inland as states in the Midwest.
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