The Aporia · New hurricane season record as 'historic' El Niño leaves Atlantic eerily quiet

New hurricane season record as 'historic' El Niño leaves Atlantic eerily quiet

Read the original at BBC News ↗

Cite

APA MLA Chicago

King, S. (2026, September 11). New hurricane season record as 'historic' El Niño leaves Atlantic eerily quiet. BBC News. https://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/articles/cwyzq4538j3o?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

Quick Summary

Forecasters predicted a below-average hurricane season due to El Niño, and so far they've been right: no hurricanes have formed in the Atlantic basin despite it being peak season. This year's hurricane season will set a new record for the latest date without an Atlantic hurricane forming, surpassing the previous records of 11 September set in 2002 and 2013. Currently, there have only been five tropical storms this year, compared to the eight or nine that would typically develop by now. The still-strengthening El Niño is expected to continue causing quieter conditions over the next week.

Written by AI on 2026-09-11, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

As of this week, the Atlantic hurricane season has set a new record for the latest date without any hurricanes forming, marking an unusually quiet period influenced by El Niño. Typically active by now, there have been no hurricanes since the start of the season despite it being past its climatological peak on September 10th. With five named tropical storms recorded—Arthur, Bertha, Cristobal, Dolly, and Edouard—the count is notably below average; usually, eight named storms and three hurricanes would have developed by now. El Niño, already one of the strongest on record and expected to peak in November or December, is causing increased wind shear that prevents thunderstorms from developing into tropical systems. In contrast, the eastern Pacific has seen an active hurricane season with 13 named storms including five hurricanes. Maritimers are cautioned to remain vigilant despite the quiet Atlantic basin, as El Niño can lead to extreme weather conditions due to its impact on atmospheric winds.

Written for “Slow Hurricane Season Record” on 2026-10-31, grounded in this article and the 1 other(s) covering the same event.

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 5% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.

Record slow hurricane season, but Maritimers warned to stay vigilant about extreme weather Same event

Global News

Hedges 1 of 25 claims Outlet record 63/100

How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted

sentences that state something as happening or true

Uncertain

1 of 19 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")

Leaning

not political

takes no side on a contested political question

Publisher signals

68/100

BBC News's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.

Outlets on this story

Environment

Same framing elsewhere

articles that frame the event the way this one does

Analyzed 2026-09-11 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability

Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

BBC News · 4753 article(s) · 6 correction(s) detected

Running correction rate · 6 correction(s)

2026-10-30

Manhunt under way for Tennessee killer who escaped prison through a fence

2026-10-20

'The French correction' and 'Labour cuts £2bn from Army'

2026-10-16

Sean 'Diddy' Combs moved to low-security facility in Pennsylvania

2026-10-06

Five reasons India's stock market is sinking even when its economy is growing

2026-10-03

Tennessee prison chief to resign after Christa Pike's failed execution, governor says

2026-09-21

Watch: BBC tracks down abusive teacher secretly released early

Who wrote this

Simon King

7 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction

🔮 However, the National Drought Group have said it will take sustained and above average rainfall over a seven month period for conditions to improve to normal.

2026-10-30 · mixed framing · Wettest week for two years but still not enough rain to get out of drought

🔮 The eerily quiet season continues and with just two months left, there is an increasing possibility that no hurricanes will develop at all.

2026-10-03 · assertive framing · Could El Niño mean there are no Atlantic hurricanes this year?

🔮 - Published Temperatures could reach as high as 25C in parts of the UK on Tuesday in a burst of late September warmth.

2026-09-28 · mixed framing · Temperatures to hit 25C in burst of late September warmth

🔮 - Published It is set to turn warmer across the United Kingdom over the next few days, with temperatures peaking around 25C (77F).

2026-09-21 · assertive framing · Temperatures forecast to hit 25C but heatwave chances fall

🔮 - Published Much of the UK is set to feel cooler from Tuesday, as more changeable weather moves in.

2026-09-15 · mixed framing · UK set to turn cooler as unsettled weather continues

🔮 - Published A new hurricane season record will be set this week as a historic and still strengthening El Niño stifles tropical development in the Atlantic.

2026-09-11 · assertive framing · New hurricane season record as 'historic' El Niño leaves Atlantic eerily quiet

🔮 - Published The Met Office has issued a rare amber weather warning for extreme heat, external for parts of England on Thursday, where temperatures could peak at 38C. The highest temperatures will be in parts of the east, south-east and the Midlands and may lead to impacts on transport, infrastructure and health.

2026-08-11 · mixed framing · Amber Met Office extreme heat warning issued as temperatures could reach 38C

Also by Simon King

Wettest week for two years but still not enough rain to get out of drought

2026-10-30 · BBC News

Could El Niño mean there are no Atlantic hurricanes this year?

2026-10-03 · BBC News

Temperatures to hit 25C in burst of late September warmth

2026-09-28 · BBC News

Temperatures forecast to hit 25C but heatwave chances fall

2026-09-21 · BBC News

Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.

All 7 articles by Simon King →

Topics

El Nino El Niño Hawaii Super El Niño the National Hurricane Center

Subjects

Bertha PERSON · 1× Cristobal GPE · 1× Dolly PERSON · 1× Edouard PERSON · 1× Hawaii ORG · 1× Saharan NORP · 1× The National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration ORG · 1× the National Hurricane Center ORG · 1×

Narrative

Increased wind shear rips apart thunderstorms, preventing them from growing into tropical storms or hurricanes. El Niño is already on track to be one of the strongest on record, expected to peak in November or December. The National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration has said this El Niño will most likely be 'historic', exceeding the strength of previous El Niño events dating back to 1950.

framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-11

🔮 - Published A new hurricane season record will be set this week as a historic and still strengthening El Niño stifles tropical development in the Atlantic.

2026-09-11 · BBC News

New hurricane season record as 'historic' El Niño leaves Atlantic eerily quiet · assertive framing

Claims (19 extracted, 1 hedged)

- Published A new hurricane season record will be set this week as a historic and still strengthening El Niño stifles tropical development in the Atlantic. asserted

Niño → publish → Atlantic

To date, no hurricanes have formed in the basin, despite this week marking the peak of the season on average - and there's no sign of development in the near future. asserted

week → form → future

It means a new record will be be set for the latest date in the satellite era (1960s onward) without an Atlantic hurricane forming. asserted

hurricane → mean → era

Currently, the record is 11 September, set in 2002 and 2013. asserted

record → set → 2002

With few indications that there will be any development in the next week, this will mean the longest stretch into in a season where no hurricane has formed in the modern satellite era. asserted

hurricane → mean → era

In the eastern Pacific, where El Nino tends to strengthen hurricane activity, it has been fairly active season so far. asserted

it → tend → activity

There have been 13 named storms including five hurricanes, three of which were major. asserted

three → name → which

This is close to the number that would typically develop in the whole of an average season. asserted

that → develop → season

The latest, major hurricane Lowell, hit Hawaii this week with damaging winds, flooding rain and high waves. asserted

latest → hit → winds

Super El Niño continues to strengthen Forecasters predicted the Atlantic hurricane season would be quieter than average. asserted

season → continue → ?

In May, the National Hurricane Center forecast a total of eight to 14 named storms, three to six of which would become hurricanes, including one to three major hurricanes. uncertain

six → forecast → hurricanes

While El Niño is the natural warming of the tropical Pacific, it can disrupt weather patterns around the globe. asserted

it → disrupt → globe

As wind patterns shift during an El Niño, upper winds over the Atlantic increase and this leads to more wind shear, where wind changes rapidly with height. asserted

wind → shift → height

Niño → rip → 1950

In addition to El Niño, Saharan dust has also helped suppress activity. asserted

dust → help → activity

Over the last week, dust and sand whipped up by winds in the Sahara have been transported thousands of miles from Africa. asserted

dust → whip → Africa

When this dry, dusty layer of air is directed across the Atlantic, it prevents storms from growing. asserted

it → direct → storms

It is expected that this will continue to cause quieter conditions over the next week at least. asserted

this → expect → week

Atlantic hurricane season runs until 30 November. asserted

season → run → November