2023 hurricane season could see earlier official start
After seven consecutive years of pre- or early season activity, the NHC formed a team to examine whether to move the start of hurricane season to mid-May.
The 2022 Atlantic hurricane season saw its first tropical storm in early June – pretty much on schedule for the official season, which runs from June 1 to November 30. However, the previous seven consecutive years each saw early starts, which was the catalyst for the National Hurricane Center (NHC) to consider whether it’s time to move the season’s official start date to reflect these new trends.
Most of the tropical pre-season activity from 2015- 2021 happened just prior to the official season – in early to mid-May – though 2017 saw its first tropical storm April 19, and the first storm in 2016 began on a staggeringly early January 12.
In an April 2022 interview with AccuWeather, NHC Director Ken Graham said the center had formed a team to examine the possibility of moving the official start of the Atlantic hurricane season two weeks earlier, to May 15. However, no official decision on the start date of the 2023 season has been made at this time.
While 2022’s first activity, Tropical Storm Alex, arrived on schedule, this Atlantic hurricane season looks to be anything but typical. The NOAA predicts an above-average season, with 14- 21 named storms, 6-10 hurricanes and 3-6 major hurricanes (wind speeds above 111 mph) in 2022. For comparison, there were 21 North Atlantic tropical cyclones, including seven hurricanes and four major hurricanes in 2021 – including Hurricane Ida, which caused over $78 billion in damage alone, making it the fifth most costly storm in U.S. history behind Hurricanes Katrina (2005, $186.3 billion), Harvey (2017, $148.8 billion), Maria (2017, $107.1 billion) and Sandy (2012, $81.9 billion).