HOLT, Fla., Sept. 10, 2026—It’s the climatological peak of the hurricane season with no hurricanes so far.

The primary reason for the dearth of storms is the strong El Niño weather pattern which usually means fewer tropical systems in the Atlantic basin, but increased activity in the eastern and central Pacific basins.

So far this year, there have been five named storms, all tropical: Arthur, Bertha, Cristobal, Dolly and Edouard. Bertha and Edouard were the strongest with 60 mph winds.

By comparison, there have been 14 named storms in the Pacific with six of them becoming hurricanes. Two of them were category 5 storms, two were category 4 and two strengthened to category 2 storms.

With the lack of hurricane activity in the Atlantic basin, this season is on tap to set a new satellite era record for the latest first hurricane of the season to form. The record for the latest first hurricane to form was in 2002 when Hurricane Gustav formed Sept. 11. Hurricane Humberto tied the record in 2013. Gustav occurred during an El Niño, Humberto during a neutral period (meaning neither El Niño nor La Niña)

An El Niño weather pattern means lots of wind shear and dry, dusty air that helps suppress development.

During an average hurricane season, the weeks from mid-August through October tend to be the busiest timeframe with Sept. 10 being the peak of the season.

By this time, there is, on average, eight tropical storms and four hurricanes with the first hurricane showing up around by Aug. 11.

Only seven seasons have had storm-free seasons leading up to September.

• 1967: Arlene, Sept. 2
• 1984: Diana, Sept. 10
• 1988: Debby, Sept. 2
• 2001: Erin, Sept. 9
• 2002: Gustav, Sept. 11
• 2013: Humberto, Sept. 11