As we enter August, the Atlantic remains quiet for now, with no tropical development expected through the first week. However, August marks the beginning of the most active period of hurricane season across the Atlantic basin.

The climatological peak of hurricane season is September 10, with the most frequent tropical development occurring between mid-August and mid-October. Historically, about 90% of hurricanes form after August 1, and August alone accounts for nearly 22% of all tropical storms since 1851.

This uptick in activity is driven by several factors including warmer ocean temperatures, decreased Saharan dust, and more organized tropical waves emerging from the west coast of Africa.

These waves often develop into Cabo Verde hurricanes, named for their origin near the Cabo Verde Islands. These storms are typically long-track systems that can become powerful hurricanes.

Their paths are influenced by the Bermuda High, a semi-permanent area of high pressure in the subtropical Atlantic. This system steers storms westward across the Atlantic. A stronger Bermuda High can push storms farther west into the Caribbean or Gulf, increasing the risk to the southeastern U.S. A weaker high may allow storms to curve northward, staying over open water or brushing the East Coast.

We are currently about one-third of the way through hurricane season, which runs from June 1 to November 30. Historically, August has produced some of the most intense and damaging hurricanes, including Hurricane Andrew in 1992, which struck Florida as a Category 5 on August 24, as well as Hurricane Katrina in 2005 which devastated New Orleans and the central Gulf Coast on August 29.