Florida - Wednesday October 18, 2023: The National Hurricane Center reports that tropical cyclone activity in the Atlantic basin was generally above normal in September for the North Atlantic, Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico.
Seven named storms formed in September, three of which became hurricanes, and one was a major hurricane - Lee. It became a category 5 hurricane in the central tropical Atlantic and later on its large wind field affected portions of coastal New England in the United States, and Nova Scotia and New Brunswick in Canada as the hurricane became post-tropical.
In addition, Tropical Storms Gert and Jose, and Hurricane Franklin all completed their life cycle early in September. And later in the month, Ophelia made landfall in North Carolina as a strong tropical storm.
Based on a 30-year climatology from 1991 to 2020, between 4-5 named storms typically develop in September, with three of them becoming hurricanes, and one of those becoming a major hurricane.
In terms of Accumulated Cyclone Energy (ACE), which measures the strength and duration of tropical storms and hurricanes, activity in the basin so far in 2023 has been about 33 percent above average compared to the long-term, 1991-2020, mean.
17 Named, and One Un-Named Storm in the 2023 Hurricane Season, So Far
Reports on individual cyclones, when completed, are available at the National Hurricane Center website at: www.hurricanes.gov/data.