The Atlantic basin has gone without a hurricane through Sept. 12, marking the latest first hurricane date since modern satellite tracking began in 1966, according to AccuWeather meteorologist Jesse Ferrell. Before the satellite era, storms far from land could have been missed, making pre-1966 statistics potentially incomplete. Historical reanalysis shows an unnamed 1941 storm reached hurricane strength on Sept. 21; if no hurricane forms before Sept. 22 this year, that record will also fall. A season with zero hurricanes by Nov. 30 would be only the third on record, after 1914 and 1907.

This marks the third consecutive year without a hurricane by the climatological peak on Sept. 10, a streak last seen in 2013-2016. Labor Day 2026 also passed with no hurricanes or tropical storms for the third year running, last occurring in 1937-1939. AccuWeather experts attribute the historic drought to a strengthening El Niño, which may limit opportunities for tropical storms to intensify into hurricanes. The article notes that past El Niño seasons still produced devastating storms, citing Hurricane Bob's 1991 strike on New England.