No Atlantic Hurricane Forms in September 2026, First Time in Over 30 Years

No Atlantic hurricane has formed in September 2026, marking the first time in more than three decades that the month has been hurricane‑free. The Atlantic hurricane season now has only two months left and could finish without any hurricanes, a scenario not seen in the satellite era that began in the 1960s. The quiet spell is linked to a strong El Niño, which usually suppresses Atlantic storms while energising the eastern North Pacific. In May, the US National Hurricane Center forecast eight to fourteen named storms for the Atlantic season, of which three to six would become hurricanes and one to three major hurricanes. So far September produced four named tropical storms—Edouard, Fay, Gonzalo and Hanna—yet all but Edouard stayed out in open Atlantic waters and none reached hurricane strength. The National Hurricane Center sees no sign of further tropical storm or hurricane development in the coming week. Forecasters at Colorado State University say the intense El Niño is likely to keep wind shear high over the Atlantic, further lowering the chance of storms in the next two weeks. While the Atlantic remains quiet, the eastern North Pacific has been unusually active, with daily sea‑surface temperatures breaking records set in the strong 2015 El Niño. Seventeen named storms have formed there, including nine hurricanes, seven of them major, giving the basin an accumulated cyclone energy about two and a half times the normal level. El Niño is expected to strengthen further and peak in November or December, keeping the Atlantic environment hostile to hurricane formation. ## Context El Niño heats the central‑eastern Pacific and raises upper‑level winds over the Atlantic, creating wind shear that tears apart developing storms. This pattern explains why the Atlantic can be unusually quiet even when the Pacific is very active.