The 2026 Atlantic hurricane season has been unusually quiet, and a strengthening El Niño is a major reason why. El Niño increases vertical wind shear over the tropical Atlantic, disrupting the thunderstorms and organized circulation needed for hurricanes to develop and strengthen.

As of early September, the Atlantic had produced five named storms but no hurricanes, marking one of the quietest starts to the season in the modern satellite era. In fact, if a hurricane does not develop by September 12 then 2026 will become the year of the latest developing hurricane in history; if one occurs at all.