Mid-Season Hurricane Update: All But Two Systems Have Impacted Land in Busy Start

Jonathan Belles
Published: September 13,2016
The statistical peak of the hurricane season in the Atlantic basin came on Sept. 10, which means we are now more than past the half way point through the season that provides some of the world's biggest beasts.
So far, it has been a busy season.
There have been four hurricanes, eight tropical storms, and one additional tropical depression before Sept. 10. All but two of these systems impacted land: Tropical Storm Fiona and Tropical Depression Eight. Tropical Depression Eight indirectly impacted the Carolina coast by bringing breezy weather and adding to the waves that then Hurricane Gaston created and pushed west.
The season started off with a bang, too.

Tracks of the first nine tropical cyclones in 2016.

Four Hurricanes
Right off the bat, Hurricane Alex formed before you dropped your New Year's resolutions. As a hurricane, Alex brought tropical storm-force winds and several inches of rain to the Azores archipelago.

Hurricane Alex is seen here on January 14, 2016 in the North Atlantic with winds of 85 mph.
(TERRA/NASA)

In late July, it appeared that there might be a "Caribbean Cruiser" type of storm form that would transit the entire Caribbean as a tropical storm, but pre-Earl had other things in mind. The cruising part of this title is correct though — Earl crossed the length of the Caribbean Sea often at speeds of more than 20 mph.
(MORE: Earl Impacts Felt Across the Caribbean)
Tropical storm-force winds were felt on numerous islands even before it technically became a tropical storm with a close circulation. It became the first of two hurricanes that maxed out with sustained winds of 80 mph just before making it's landfall in Belize and first of two interactions with in Mexico. Rainfall flooding from Earl killed more than three dozen people in Mexico.
Gaston was the only Category 3 or stronger storm to form in the Atlantic during the first half of the 2016 season. Gaston's maximum sustained winds peaked at 120 mph on two separate occasions before weakening to a tropical storm as it neared the Azores.

Hurricane Hermine before landfall near St. Marks, Florida.

Nobody will forget about Hermine. Hermine was tracked all the way across the Atlantic in August as a struggling tropical low. The area of low pressure was finally able to close of a tight circulation center in the Gulf of Mexico, and quickly developed after that.
(PHOTOS: Hermine's Wrath Felt From Florida Up the East Coast)
Hurricane Hermine was the second hurricane this season to make landfall with sustained winds of 80 mph, but this one did so in the Florida Big Bend south of Tallahassee. Widespread power loss was reported across three counties, and scattered power losses were reported into the Mid-Atlantic as Hermine moved northeastward across the Southeast.
As the table below illustrates, we are ahead of pace so far this hurricane season. All of the named storms in 2016 have formed before their historical average formation dates.

Hurricane Season 2016 Compared to Average Formation Times
From the National Hurricane Center
(Pink = Storms That Formed Ahead of the Historical Average)

Storm Name	Average Formation Date For Tropical Storms	Actual Formation Date in 2016
Alex	July 9	January 13
Bonnie	August 1	May 28
Colin	August 13	June 5
Danielle	August 23	June 20
Earl	August 31	August 2
Fiona	September 8	August 17
Gaston	September 16	August 22
Hermine	September 24	August 31
	^^ First Half of Hurricane Season ^^
Ian	October 4	September 12
Julia	October 19	Not Yet Formed
Karl	November 23	Not Yet Formed

More Seasonal Highlights So Far 

• Tropical Storm Colin and Hurricane Hermine made landfall within 50 miles of each other. Colin made landfall in June near Dekle Beach, Florida, in rural Taylor County. Hermine made landfall just east of St. Marks, Florida. 
• Hurricane Hermine busted a more than 1000 day hurricane drought in the Gulf of Mexico. 
• Hermine was the first Florida hurricane since 2005's Hurricane Wilma. 
• Gaston currently holds the record for lowest pressure so far this season with a minimum pressure of 956 millibars. 
• Gaston also holds the record for highest winds speeds so far with season with a maximums sustained wind of 120 mph. 
• Colin and Danielle became the earliest third and fourth named storms in recorded history. 

As always, we remind you that hurricane continues through the end of November (even though storms can happen at any time of year). Always be prepared.
MORE: Hurricane Hermine's Life