The 2024 hurricane season brought record-breaking storms, endless rainfall, and relentless winds that changed lives and communities—with stronger storms becoming more common, this year’s hurricane season left a profound mark on affected areas, sparking urgent conversations about how climate change can affect hurricane season and how to prepare for what lies ahead.

The 2024 hurricane season runs from June 1 to November 30 and covers the Atlantic Ocean, the Gulf of Mexico, and the Caribbean Sea.

According to the National Weather Service, a hurricane is a “tropical cyclone with maximum sustained winds of 74 mph (64 knots) or higher.” Hurricanes are then rated on a 1-5 scale according to sustained wind speeds and the damage they can cause, with categories 3-5 defined as major hurricanes. 

In an average hurricane season, 14 storms are named, 7 of which become hurricanes, and 3 develop into major hurricanes. As of November 30, 2024, 18 storms have been named, with 10 developing into hurricanes and 4 becoming major hurricanes.

As the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) predicted earlier this year, the 2024 hurricane season was unusually active.

The NOAA had predicted an above-average season. Specifically, it expected 17 to 25 named storms, 8 to 13 hurricanes, and 4 to 7 hurricanes of category 3 or above. Since Tropical Storm Rafael was named, all of these marks have been hit. Along with an above-average season, Hurricane Beryl, the first storm of the season, was the earliest Category 5 hurricane on record, developing from a tropical storm to a Category 5 in just four days.

Beryl made its first landfall in Grenada as a Category 4, tearing through the small island country with winds up to 150 miles per hour. In a briefing after the hurricane, Grenada’s Prime Minister, Dickon Mitchell, said the nation would have to “rebuild from the ground up.” 

Grenadian officials also said about 98 percent of the buildings on Carriacou and Petite Martinique, Grenada’s outer islands, had been damaged or destroyed. Carriacou’s main hospital, the Princess Royal Hospital, also suffered damage, along with marinas and airports on the island. 

In the United States, Hurricane Beryl made landfall south of Galveston, Texas, on July 8, 2024, a week after it tore through the Caribbean. Though downgraded to Category 1 by the time it hit the United States, Beryl caused 36 deaths and around 1.5 billion dollars in total damage in America. 

As Beryl’s eyewall hit Houston, 2.7 million homes and businesses lost electricity just as temperatures soared to triple digits, causing at least 6 heat-related fatalities. Sixteen tornadoes were reported to have spawned as a result of the storm, causing road blockages and significant damage through multiple towns. 

Almost three months after Hurricane Beryl, Florida experienced its second hurricane of the season, Hurricane Helene. Helene made landfall in Big Bend, Florida, on Sept. 26, 2024, as a Category 4 hurricane. Though it ravaged communities of Florida’s Pan Handle, towns around Western North Carolina suffered severe damage. 

Asheville, North Carolina, and many other towns experienced torrential floods on a scale meteorologists say happens only once in 1,000 years. Because of the low-pressure system created by Helene, many places were already experiencing heavy rainfall. Helene then passed over the Smoky Mountains Area, causing an average of 10 to 15 inches of rain, with the town of Busick, North Carolina, experiencing nearly 30 inches of rain. 

Helene is also expected to have caused some 1,400 landslides, damage to 6,000 miles of roads, and 126,000 homes across Western North Carolina. North Carolina is still recovering.

North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper stated, “Helene is the deadliest and most damaging storm ever to hit North Carolina. This storm left a trail of destruction in our beautiful mountains that we will not soon forget, but I know the people of Western North Carolina are determined to build back better than ever.”

Hurricane Beryl is estimated to have caused around $53 billion in total damages in North Carolina alone, causing Governor Cooper to propose $3.9 billion in state funding to start relief and recovery efforts.

Furthermore, Helene has caused at least 103 deaths in North Carolina alone, with several still missing.

Florida’s third hurricane, Hurricane Milton, though less severe, caused a path of destruction across southern Florida when it made landfall in Siesta Key, Florida, on Oct. 9, 2024.

At the time of landfall, Milton was a Category 3 hurricane with sustained wind speeds peaking at 120 miles per hour. Just hours before landfall, Hurricane Milton was upgraded to a Category 5 hurricane with sustained winds of 180 miles per hour and gusts over 200 miles per hour.

On one day in just 15 hours, Milton doubled its wind speed from 90 miles per hour to 180 miles per hour, making Hurricane Milton one of the fastest-forming Atlantic Hurricanes in history.

During the storm, Hurricane Milton caused a staggering 46 tornadoes to spawn across central and southern Florida, with one tornado alone killing six people.

Tampa Bay and surrounding towns also experienced heavy rainfall, with Tampa seeing 12-18 inches of rain throughout Milton’s course. Waist-deep floodwaters were reported in St. Petersburg and Tampa due to floods driven by the rainfall.

Storm surges also heavily impacted the area, with 5-10 feet of storm surges reported between Naples and Siesta Key. High storm surges also caused sand to fill homes and businesses, making clean-up efforts more difficult than they already are.

Many believe that Milton, like Helene and many other storms to come, was changed greatly by the effects of climate change. This year, the Gulf of Mexico was unusually warm, assisting Milton in becoming the most powerful hurricane in years. 

Climate change expert Dr. John Abraham, a professor in the School of Engineering at the University of St. Thomas, spoke with environmental justice expert Dr. Ande Nesmith about how a warmer climate could affect hurricane development. Abraham stated, “What’s happening is that hurricanes are getting stronger because the oceans are getting warmer. The warmer the ocean, the more energy hurricanes can extract, and the stronger they become.”

If the effects of climate change can be curbed, then hurricane seasons in the future will slow down, saving countless lives and billions of dollars in damage. Until then, the storms will continue to rapidly gain strength, leading to more devastation, as seen this year in Florida, North Carolina, and elsewhere.

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Featured Image Photo Credit: Ralph Gonsalves/Reuters