2023 Atlantic hurricane season

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2023 Atlantic hurricane season
Season summary map
Seasonal boundaries
First system formedMid-January
Last system dissipatedSeason ongoing
Strongest storm
NameUnnamed
Seasonal statistics
Total depressions1
Total storms1
Hurricanes0
Major hurricanes
(Cat. 3+)
0
Total fatalitiesNone
Total damageNone
Related articles
Atlantic hurricane seasons
2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025

The 2023 Atlantic hurricane season is the current hurricane season in the Atlantic Ocean. It officially begins on June 1, 2023, and ends on November 30, 2023. These dates, adopted by convention, historically describe the period in each year when most tropical cyclogenesis occurs in the Atlantic (over 97%). However, the formation of subtropical or tropical cyclones is possible at any time of the year, as shown by the formation of an unnamed subtropical storm in mid-January, the earliest start of an Atlantic hurricane season since Hurricane Alex in 2016.[1] The National Hurricane Center (NHC) began issuing regular Tropical Weather Outlooks on May 15; these detail areas of disturbed weather deemed to have some potential for tropical cyclone formation during the ensuing seven days, up from five in previous years.[2]

Seasonal forecasts

Predictions of tropical activity in the 2023 season
Source Date Named
storms
Hurricanes Major
hurricanes
Ref
Average (1991–2020) 14.4 7.2 3.2 [3]
Record high activity 30 15 7 [4]
Record low activity 4 2 0 [4]

TSR December 6, 2022 13 6 3 [5]
TSR April 6, 2023 12 6 2 [6]
UA April 7, 2023 19 9 5 [7]
CSU April 13, 2023 13 6 2 [8]
TWC April 13, 2023 15 7 3 [9]
NCSU April 13, 2023 11–15 6–8 2–3 [10]
PSU May 1, 2023 12–20 N/A N/A [11]
NOAA May 25, 2023 12-17 5-9 1-4 [11]

Actual activity 1 0 0
* June–November only
† Most recent of several such occurrences. (See all)

In advance of, and during, each hurricane season, several forecasts of hurricane activity are issued by national meteorological services, scientific agencies, and noted hurricane experts. These include forecasters from the United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)'s Climate Prediction Center, Tropical Storm Risk (TSR), the United Kingdom's Met Office (UKMO), and Philip J. Klotzbach, William M. Gray and their associates at Colorado State University (CSU). The forecasts include weekly and monthly changes in significant factors that help determine the number of tropical storms, hurricanes, and major hurricanes within a particular year. According to NOAA and CSU, the average Atlantic hurricane season between 1991 and 2020 contained roughly 14 tropical storms, seven hurricanes, three major hurricanes, and an accumulated cyclone energy (ACE) index of 74–126 units.[12] Broadly speaking, ACE is a measure of the power of a tropical or subtropical storm multiplied by the length of time it existed. It is only calculated for full advisories on specific tropical and subtropical systems reaching or exceeding wind speeds of 39 mph (63 km/h). NOAA typically categorizes a season as above-average, average, or below-average based on the cumulative ACE index, but the number of tropical storms, hurricanes, and major hurricanes within a hurricane season is sometimes also considered.[3]

Pre-season forecasts

On December 6, 2022, TSR released the first early prediction for the 2023 Atlantic season, predicting a slightly below average year with 13 named storms, 6 hurricanes, and 3 major hurricanes.[5] Their updated prediction on April 6, 2023, called for a similar number of hurricanes and major hurricanes, but reduced the number of named storms by one.[6] The following day, the University of Arizona (UA) posted their forecast for a very busy season featuring 19 named storms, 9 hurricanes, 5 major hurricanes, and an ACE index of 163 units.[7] On April 13, CSU researchers released their prediction of 13 named storms, 6 hurricanes, 2 major hurricanes, and an ACE index of 100 units.[13] Also on April 13, TWC posted their forecast for 2023, calling for 15 named storms, 7 hurricanes, and 3 major hurricanes.[9] On May 1, PSU released their forecast for 12–20 named storms.[11] While most organizations expressed growing confidence in the development of an El Niño, which typically suppresses Atlantic hurricane activity, TWC, UA, PSU and CSU noted that well above average ocean temperatures in the Atlantic basin could yield greater activity, particularly if a weaker El Niño event materializes.[8][11] On 25 May 2023, NOAA announced their predictions for the 2023 Hurricane Season, calling for 12 to 17 named storms, 5 to 9 Hurricanes and 1 to 4 Major Hurricanes, with a 40% chance of a near normal season, and 30% each for an above average season and a below average season.[14]

Systems

Unnamed subtropical storm

Subtropical storm (SSHWS)
 
DurationMid-January – Mid-January
Peak intensityWinds not specified;

On January 16, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) issued a special tropical weather outlook concerning a low-pressure area centered roughly 300 mi (480 km) north of Bermuda. The NHC noted that the low exhibited thunderstorm activity near its center but assessed its probability of transitioning into a tropical or subtropical cyclone as being near zero percent.[15] These thunderstorms may have developed due to the combination of the cyclone's position over the Gulf Stream, where sea surface temperatures were around 68–70 °F (20–21 °C), and cold air aloft, resulting in high atmospheric instability.[16] This tight cluster of storms was located within a broader storm system that brought snowfall to parts of coastal New England, including amounts of up to 4.5 in (11 cm) in portions of Massachusetts, and 3.5 in (8.9 cm) of snow in Boston.[17] The disturbance, designated Invest 90L by the NHC, brought wind gusts of near 60 mph (100 km/h)[18] to Nova Scotia's Sable Island on the night of January 16, while moving northward toward the Cabot Strait. This prompted Environment Canada to issue wind warnings for parts of Nova Scotia and Newfoundland. The next day, it crossed over extreme eastern Nova Scotia as a weakening storm, before dissipating over the western coast of Newfoundland late that same day.[18]

There was no storm related damage reported.[1] On May 11, following post-storm analysis, the NHC determined that 90L had been a subtropical storm, and was designated as the season's first storm.[19]

Storm names

The following list of names will be used for named storms that form in the North Atlantic in 2023. Retired names, if any, will be announced by the World Meteorological Organization in the spring of 2024. The names not retired from this list will be used again in the 2029 season. This is the same list used in the 2017 season, with the exceptions of Harold, Idalia, Margot, and Nigel, which replaced Harvey, Irma, Maria, and Nate, respectively.

  • Arlene (unused)
  • Bret (unused)
  • Cindy (unused)
  • Don (unused)
  • Emily (unused)
  • Franklin (unused)
  • Gert (unused)
  • Harold (unused)
  • Idalia (unused)
  • Jose (unused)
  • Katia (unused)
  • Lee (unused)
  • Margot (unused)
  • Nigel (unused)
  • Ophelia (unused)
  • Philippe (unused)
  • Rina (unused)
  • Sean (unused)
  • Tammy (unused)
  • Vince (unused)
  • Whitney (unused)

Season effects

This is a table of all of the storms that have formed in the 2023 Atlantic hurricane season. It includes their duration, names, intensities, areas affected, damages, and death totals. Deaths in parentheses are additional and indirect (an example of an indirect death would be a traffic accident), but were still related to that storm. Damage and deaths include totals while the storm was extratropical, a wave, or a low, and all of the damage figures are in 2023 USD.

Saffir–Simpson scale
TD TS C1 C2 C3 C4 C5
2023 North Atlantic tropical cyclone season statistics
Storm
name
Dates active Storm category
at peak intensity
Max 1-min
wind
mph (km/h)
Min.
press.
(mbar)
Areas affected Damage
(USD)
Deaths Ref(s)
Unnamed Mid-January Subtropical storm TBD TBD New England, Atlantic Canada None None
Season aggregates
1 systems Mid-January – Season ongoing   None None  

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Barker, Aaron (May 11, 2023). "First storm of 2023 hurricane season formed in January, NHC says". Fox Weather. Retrieved May 12, 2022.
  2. ^ Belles, Jonathan. "Changes You'll See In Tropical Forecasts This Hurricane Season | Weather.com". The Weather Channel. Retrieved May 16, 2023.
  3. ^ a b "Background Information: North Atlantic Hurricane Season". College Park, Maryland: Climate Prediction Center. April 9, 2021. Retrieved December 6, 2022.
  4. ^ a b "Atlantic hurricane best track (HURDAT version 2)" (Database). United States National Hurricane Center. April 5, 2023. Retrieved May 21, 2024. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  5. ^ a b Evans, Steve (December 6, 2022). "TSR: 2023 Atlantic hurricane season activity forecast to be 15% below norm". Artemis.bm. Retrieved December 6, 2022.
  6. ^ a b Lea, Adam; Wood, Nick (April 6, 2023). April Forecast Update for North Atlantic Hurricane Activity in 2023 (PDF) (Report). Tropical Storm Risk. Retrieved April 13, 2023.
  7. ^ a b Davis, Kyle; Zeng, Xubin (April 7, 2023). "Forecast of the 2023 Hurricane Activities over the North Atlantic" (PDF). Tucson, Arizona: University of Arizona. Retrieved April 7, 2023.
  8. ^ a b Klotzbach, Phil (April 13, 2023). "CSU researchers predicting slightly below-average 2023 Atlantic hurricane season" (PDF). Fort Collins, Colorado: Colorado State University. Retrieved April 13, 2023.
  9. ^ a b Erdman, Jonathan (April 13, 2023). "2023 Atlantic Hurricane Season Outlook: A Developing El Niño Vs. Warm Atlantic Ocean". Atlanta, Georgia. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
  10. ^ Peake, Tracy (April 13, 2023). "NC State Researchers Predict Normal Hurricane Season". NC State News. Retrieved April 15, 2023.
  11. ^ a b c d "The 2023 North Atlantic Hurricane Season: University of Pennsylvania Forecast". Mann Research Group. May 3, 2023. Retrieved May 11, 2023. Cite error: The named reference ":0" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  12. ^ Saunders, Marc; Lea, Adam (December 9, 2020). "Extended Range Forecast for Atlantic Hurricane Activity in 2021" (PDF). tropicalstormrisk.com. London, UK: University College London. Retrieved December 6, 2022.
  13. ^ Klotzbach, Philip; Bell, Michael; DesRosiers, Alexander (April 13, 2023). "Extended Range Forecast of Atlantic Seasonal Hurricane Activity And Landfall Strike Probability For 2023" (PDF). CSU Tropical Weather & Climate Research. Retrieved April 15, 2023.
  14. ^ "LIVE: NOAA predicts 'near normal' 2023 Atlantic hurricane season outlook". ABC7 Los Angeles. May 25, 2023. Retrieved May 25, 2023.
  15. ^ Cangialosi, John (January 16, 2022). Tropical Weather Outlook (Report). Miami, Florida: National Hurricane Center. Retrieved January 17, 2022.
  16. ^ Erdman, Jonathan (January 17, 2023). "Did A January Subtropical Storm Form Off The East Coast?". Weather Underground. Retrieved January 17, 2023.
  17. ^ Shapiro, Emily; Wnek, Samantha (January 17, 2023). "National Hurricane Center issues rare January tropical weather outlook". ABC News. Retrieved January 17, 2023.
  18. ^ a b Baker, Aaron (January 17, 2023). "Rare January disturbance in Atlantic moves into Canada". FOX Weather. Retrieved January 17, 2023.
  19. ^ Public Information Statement (Report). Miami, Florida: National Hurricane Center. May 11, 2022. Retrieved May 11, 2022.

External links