El Niño slams Atlantic hurricane season, setting records for inactivity

El Niño-driven wind shear is suppressing tropical development in the Atlantic, producing a record-long lull in hurricane activity (about 103 days with no hurricanes as of mid-September) and making 2026 the quietest start-to-date hurricane season since satellite tracking began. The only notable system so far was Tropical Storm Edouard, which stayed below hurricane strength, and forecasters anticipate the back half of the season will remain subdued, though late-season storms can still form near the Gulf and Southeast U.S. In a warming world, even weaker storms can bring significant rainfall, so vigilance remains warranted.