The Atlantic basin produced no hurricanes in September 2026, the first such September in more than three decades, CNN meteorologist Chris Dolce reported. Hurricane expert Phil Klotzbach of Colorado State University said only three other Septembers in records back to 1950 — 1994, 1972 and 1962 — were hurricane-free. Three tropical storms did form last month; Tropical Storm Fay came within about 4 mph of hurricane strength and could be upgraded in the National Hurricane Center’s final review.

A typical season averages about seven hurricanes, with roughly two to three in September. This year, El Niño–fueled wind shear, which Klotzbach said has been record-strong since summer across parts of the main development region from Africa through the Caribbean, has shredded budding systems even though water temperatures were warm enough, CNN reported. Tropical storms Dolly and Gonzalo lasted only a day or two before shear tore them apart.

The same El Niño has fueled a hyperactive eastern and central Pacific season — 20 named storms including three Category 5 hurricanes, CNN said. Hurricane Polo’s extreme rapid intensification to a Category 5 with 180 mph winds off Mexico tied it as the third-strongest eastern Pacific hurricane on record. Polo later made landfall on Mexico’s Baja California peninsula as a Category 3 hurricane, and its remnant moisture has fueled flooding from New Mexico into the southern Plains, the AP and Weather.com (opens in new tab) reported; another Pacific hurricane, Rachel, which became a tropical storm on Sunday, Sept. 27, strengthened into a hurricane late Tuesday, Sept. 29, far off Mexico’s coast, according to the National Hurricane Center. Hawaii has seen successive impacts from Lala, Lowell and Nolo.

With October and November still ahead, an entirely hurricane-free Atlantic season remains rare and unproven; modern records since 1950 have never shown zero hurricanes in a full season. Late-season storms often form closer to the U.S. Gulf and Southeast. CNN noted tropical storms can still cause major flooding even below hurricane strength, as Arthur and Edouard did near the Gulf Coast this year.