Hurricane season officially begins this weekend, Saturday, June 1. You’ve likely already heard the 2024 hurricane season talked about, a lot.
So, what usually happens in June, the very first month of hurricane season?
Typically, there’s not a lot of hurricane activity in June. On average, there’s one June named storm in the Atlantic, Caribbean or Gulf of Mexico every one to two years.
It’s been over 35 years since the United States had a hurricane landfall in June.
Hurricane Bonnie in 1986 is the most recent hurricane to make a June landfall in the U.S. It struck the Texas coast as a Category 1 and produced moderate damage from near Port Arthur, Texas, to southwest Louisiana.
Agnes (1972), Alma (1966) and Audrey (1957) are the other three June U.S. hurricane landfalls since 1950.
While a June landfall hurricane isn’t statistically likely in June, remember even a tropical storm can cause significant and dangerous weather. Also remember that this is just an average, and 2024 is forecast by the Climate Adaptation Center to be an above average season.
Significant June storms
Hurricane Audrey in 1957 made landfall as a Category 4 near the border between Louisiana and Texas around 7 am on June 27. The hurricane experienced rapid intensification, a more common occurrence today, just prior to landfall and created a deadly storm surge of 8 to 12 feet into southwest Louisiana.
Audrey killed 416 people in the U.S., making it the 7th deadliest continental U.S. hurricane landfall on record. Many of those deaths were from the storm surge.
Tropical Storm Allison caused major impacts in early June 2001. It made landfall as a 50 mph tropical storm near Freeport, Texas, where it storm lingered and caused, but severe flooding and a multi-billion dollar disaster across the Houston metro area. Allison caused $9 billion in damage, with much of that occurring in the Houston area, making it the costliest tropical storm in U.S. history. There were 41 deaths attributed to Allison, 27 of which were attributed to flooding.
In 2020, Tropical Storm Cristobal made landfall near Grand Isle, Louisiana on June 7. It produced significant storm surge as well as heavy rain and tornadoes, causing $310 million in damage.
Will we run out of hurricane names in 2024?
Where they form?
Storms are most likely to develop in the Gulf of Mexico and the northwestern Caribbean Sea in June. This increases the chance of impacts along the Gulf and Southeast coasts of the U.S.
Only about 6% of the tropical storms (since 1851) form in the Atlantic Basin in June. The busiest months in the Atlantic are August, September and October, which have account for 22%, 35% and 21% of all tropical storms on record, respectively.
What to expect in 2024
To see the 2024 CAC official hurricane season forecast, click here.
The CAC is committed to the climate conversation. We do this with events like the Climate Champions Awards Ceremony, Hurricane Season Forecast Day and the upcoming Annual Climate Conference in November, that will focus on human health. We also give climate presentations, focused on adaptation strategies, to thousands of people throughout the year. You can support us in helping our conversation keep going by making a donation or becoming a member.