The official hurricane season for the Atlantic Basin (the Atlantic Ocean, the Caribbean Sea, and the Gulf of Mexico) is from 1 June to 30 November. As seen in the graph to the right, the peak of the season is from mid-August to late October. However, deadly hurricanes can occur anytime in the hurricane season.

The zones where hurricanes form and the tracks they take are generally related to the time of year. Consequently, different areas of the country have a greater risk during different months although, again, patterns can vary considerably from year to year.

Researchers have been working on longer-range predictions of hurricane activity. They have not found any relation between storm activity early in the hurricane season and activity in the rest of the period. We do know that over many years hurricanes have cycles of greater and lesser activity. Current research is showing promise for forecasting annual tropical storm and hurricane activity a year or more in the future. There are currently no techniques (and probably never will be) that can make long-range predictions of the specific locations where hurricanes will strike.

MONTHLY ZONES OF ORIGIN AND HURRICANE TRACKS

The figures below show the zones of origin and tracks for different months during the hurricane season. These figures only depict average conditions-and hurricanes can originate in different locations and travel much different paths from the average. Nonetheless, having a sense of the general pattern can give you a better picture of the average hurricane season for your area.