Go Back
  • For Business
  • |
  • Warnings
  • Data Suite
  • Newsletters
  • Advertising
  • Superior Accuracy™
Tropical trouble could stir near Southeast beaches around 4th of July. Get details Chevron right
Severe storms, flash flooding to bring July Fourth holiday travel hassles. Get details Chevron right

Columbus, OH

68°F
Location Chevron down
Location News Videos
Use Current Location
Recent

Columbus

Ohio

68°
No results found.
Try searching for a city, zip code or point of interest.
settings
Columbus, OH Weather
Today WinterCast Local {stormName} Tracker Hourly Daily Radar MinuteCast Monthly Air Quality Health & Activities

Around the Globe

Hurricane Tracker

Severe Weather

Radar & Maps

News

News & Features

Astronomy

Business

Climate

Health

Recreation

Sports

Travel

For Business

Warnings

Data Suite

Newsletters

Advertising

Superior Accuracy™

Video

Winter Center

AccuWeather Early Hurricane Center Top Stories Trending Today Astronomy Heat Climate Health Recreation In Memoriam Case Studies Blogs & Webinars

News / Weather News

'There is still more of hurricane season to go': Expert warns another tropical threat may make US landfall

By Alex Sosnowski, AccuWeather senior meteorologist

Published Sep 23, 2018 4:21 PM EDT | Updated Jul 1, 2019 5:06 PM EDT

Copied

The formation of Subtropical Depression Leslie and Tropical Rainstorm Kirk may only be the start of a busy next couple of weeks in the tropical Atlantic.

Sept. 10 marked the peak of the Atlantic hurricane season from a climatology standpoint. However, hurricane season does not officially end until Nov. 30. The coming weeks into mid-October often bring several additional tropical storms and hurricanes. This year may not be any exception.

AccuWeather long-range tropical meteorologists, led by Hurricane Expert Dan Kottlowski, projected two to four more tropical storms, of which one or two may become hurricanes, following Tropical Storm Joyce.

Two of those storms formed this past weekend in Kirk and Leslie, and a third area of concern may develop near the East Coast this week.

Static Rest of Atlantic Hurricane Season Sep 20

So far this hurricane season there have been 12 tropical storms, of which five became hurricanes. Three named systems - Alberto, Florence and Gordon - made landfall in the United States.

Thus far, Florence has been the only major hurricane (Category 3 or higher) in the basin.

AccuWeather originally predicted 12 to 15 tropical storms, six to eight hurricanes and three to four named-storm landfalls back on April 2. Due to a potential El Niño, the numbers were lowered slightly during mid-summer to 10 to 12 tropical storms and five to six hurricanes.

"There are several things we look at that include the current conditions, the status of El Niño and another cycle that tracks rising air over the tropics," Kottlowski said.

El Niño is the warm phase of tropical Pacific sea surface temperatures. When El Niño is going strong, air is rising and promoting a great deal of tropical activity over the Pacific. At the same time, westerly winds tend to blast from North America through much of the Atlantic basin. These strong winds tend to suppress tropical activity over the Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean and western part of the Atlantic Ocean.

"The anticipated El Niño for this upcoming fall and winter has been lagging, and we are still technically in a neutral phase," Kottlowski said.

"That's one reason why we saw the flurry of tropical storms and hurricanes in the past couple of weeks in both the Atlantic and the Pacific. The delay in El Niño was a caveat we mentioned during the initial hurricane forecast and a midsummer update."

RELATED:

3 long-term health dangers that flooding can pose to affected communities
‘This feels like a nightmare that just won’t end’: Anxious evacuees can’t return home as dangerous flooding persists in Florence’s aftermath
Steamy conditions to plague Carolinas into end of September as Florence victims begin cleanup

Another parameter tracks a slow-moving wave of rising air, which can lead to storms that can develop tropically when over warm water and under the right conditions. It moves west to east around the equator. That parameter is known as the Madden-Jullian Oscillation, or MJO for short.

"The MJO is forecast to be in a phase that favors rising air over the Atlantic basin starting next week," Kottlowski said.

The rising air in the absence of disruptive winds may allow another flurry of tropical activity during the latter part of September into early October.

AccuWeather long-range meteorologists still believe that El Niño will ramp up this autumn.

"If El Niño does what our long-range team thinks, increasing westerly winds from North America will tend to break across the Atlantic and really shut down the hurricane season later in October and November," Kottlowski said.

"Even so, there is the chance for one more direct impact by a tropical storm or hurricane on the United States during the rest of the season," he said.

In the near term, there are a few features AccuWeather meteorologists are monitoring for potential impacts through the end of September.

"So, even though we are over the hump in terms of the average peak of hurricane season, there is still more of hurricane season to go," Kottlowski said.

Report a Typo

Weather News

Recreation

Boulders narrowly miss swimmers at popular Utah waterfall

Jun. 27, 2025
Weather Forecasts

July 4 Forecast: Thunderstorms to focus over Upper Midwest and Florida

Jul. 1, 2025
Weather News

Girl, 8, rescued after 7 hours in flooded sewer in China

Jun. 27, 2025
Show more Show less Chevron down

Topics

AccuWeather Early

Hurricane Center

Top Stories

Trending Today

Astronomy

Heat

Climate

Health

Recreation

In Memoriam

Case Studies

Blogs & Webinars

Top Stories

Severe Weather

Severe storms, flash flooding to bring July 4 holiday travel hassles

1 hour ago

Weather News

Storm chaser stages whirlwind proposal with real tornado

12 hours ago

Weather News

Tropical trouble could stir near Southeast beaches around 4th of July

10 hours ago

Astronomy

July offers rare meteor shower combo, stunning views of the Milky Way

5 days ago

Weather News

Flights cancelled as Atlanta airport recovers from severe weather

2 days ago

More Stories

Featured Stories

Travel

Fourth of July gas hasn’t been this cheap since 2021

14 hours ago

Recreation

Two people rescued after going overboard on Disney cruise ship

15 hours ago

Weather News

Fossil reveals ‘Last of Us’-type fungus likely lived with dinosaurs

6 days ago

Health

'Inverse' vaccines may hold key to challenge autoimmune diseases

1 day ago

Weather News

World’s most liveable city for 2025 revealed

1 week ago

AccuWeather Weather News 'There is still more of hurricane season to go': Expert warns another tropical threat may make US landfall
Company
Proven Superior Accuracy About AccuWeather Digital Advertising Careers Press Contact Us
Products & Services
For Business For Partners For Advertising AccuWeather APIs AccuWeather Connect RealFeel® and RealFeel Shade™ Personal Weather Stations
Apps & Downloads
iPhone App Android App See all Apps & Downloads
Subscription Services
AccuWeather Premium AccuWeather Professional
More
AccuWeather Ready Business Health Hurricane Leisure and Recreation Severe Weather Space and Astronomy Sports Travel Weather News Winter Center
Company
Proven Superior Accuracy About AccuWeather Digital Advertising Careers Press Contact Us
Products & Services
For Business For Partners For Advertising AccuWeather APIs AccuWeather Connect RealFeel® and RealFeel Shade™ Personal Weather Stations
Apps & Downloads
iPhone App Android App See all Apps & Downloads
Subscription Services
AccuWeather Premium AccuWeather Professional
More
AccuWeather Ready Business Health Hurricane Leisure and Recreation Severe Weather Space and Astronomy Sports Travel Weather News Winter Center
© 2025 AccuWeather, Inc. "AccuWeather" and sun design are registered trademarks of AccuWeather, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Cookie Policy | About Your Privacy Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information

...

...

...