By Zoe Hussain
The Atlantic Ocean broke a six-decade record this year for the longest dry spell without a hurricane, according to forecasters.
No hurricanes have formed in the Atlantic so far in 2026, marking the most prolonged period without a hurricane since the modern era of storm tracking began in 1966, AccuWeather reported.
And if no hurricanes pop up in the region by Sept. 22, this year would be on track to break a whopping 85-year record for the lengthiest dry spell since 1941, according to the National Hurricane Center.
If none form in the Atlantic by Nov. 30, it would be only the third year on record to happen — after 1914 and 1907.
However, before the satellite storm-tracking era, storms far from land were harder to detect, and records may be incomplete.
The last significant hurricane to brew in the Atlantic and hit land was Hurricane Melissa, a catastrophic Category 5 system that pounded Jamaica on October 28, 2025.
It’s common for the major storms to grow by Sept. 10 — the peak of hurricane season — though no hurricanes formed in the basin by that date in 2024 and 2025 as well, the outlet said.
