Tropical Storm Hanna forms in the Atlantic, latest in limited spurt of activity amid impending Super El Niño
Tropical Storm Hanna has sustained winds of 45 mph and is moving due east at 17 mph.
Tropical Storm Hanna forms in the Atlantic
Tropical Storm Hanna has formed in the Atlantic. FOX Weather Meteorologists Stephen Morgan and Bayne Froney have the latest.
THE TAKEAWAY
- Tropical Storm Hanna formed hundreds of miles east-northeast of Bermuda, becoming just the eighth named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season.
- The National Hurricane Center has designated Invest 91L and is showing increased signs of development as it quickly moves northeast.
- Meanwhile, Tropical Depression Fay is barely maintaining its tropical characteristics, producing only a few thunderstorms around its center.
Tropical Storm Hanna formed in the open waters of the Central Subtropical Atlantic later Monday morning, about 870 miles east-northeast of Bermuda, becoming just the eighth named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season.
Hanna is not expected to strengthen much and will not be a threat to land.
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None of the eight storms that have formed in the basin this season have become hurricanes. If this month ends without a hurricane forming, it would mark just the second September in the satellite era (1996) without a hurricane, despite being the climatological peak of the season.
HURRICANE POLO FUELING FLOOD THREAT FOR MILLIONS ACROSS THE U.S. SOUTHWEST
According to the National Hurricane Center (NHC), Hanna has sustained winds of 45 mph and is moving due east at 17 mph.
The NHC expects it to maintain its strength for several days and continue its eastward movement.
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Meanwhile, Tropical Storm Fay weakened into a Tropical Depression Monday morning and is forecast to become post-tropical in the open Atlantic on Tuesday.
(FOX Weather)
The hostile El Niño-driven winds have suppressed activity across the Atlantic this season. The strong winds produced by the climate pattern hinder tropical development; calm conditions are generally more conducive to hurricane formation.
EL NIÑO JUST BROKE A HISTORIC TEMPERATURE RECORD — AND IT’S STILL INTENSIFYING
It has been over 330 days since the last hurricane formed in the Atlantic, extending the drought as September nears its end without a single hurricane developing in the basin.
The last hurricane to form in the Atlantic was Hurricane Melissa, which developed on Oct. 13, 2025.
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If September ends without a hurricane, it would mark the eighth time on record since 1850 that the Atlantic has gone without a hurricane during the season, and the second time since the start of the satellite era in 1966.
Latest date of first hurricane formation.
(FOX Weather / FOX Weather)
If the entire 2026 Atlantic hurricane season ends without a hurricane, it would be only the third time on record, following the hurricane seasons of 1914 and 1917. However, it would be the first time this has happened in the modern era.