NOAA forecasts an abnormally active Atlantic hurricane season

The National Weather Service is predicting there will be 17-24 named Atlantic storms this year, much higher than historical averages.

A bar chart showing that the National Weather Service is predicting a higher-than-averge number of Atlantic storms and hurricanes this year.

(Please use a modern browser to see the interactive version of this visualization)

Note: Figures updated by NOAA in August 2024. The ‘typical season’ represents the average number of storms in each category from 1991 to 2020. Tropical cyclones are named when they become tropical storms with sustained winds of 39 mph. Hurricanes are characterized by winds of 74 mph and major hurricanes are those with sustained winds of 111 mph.

Source: NOAA Graphic: Curt Merrill and Matt Stiles, CNN