It was a very early start to the Atlantic Hurricane season. The first storm formed on Jan. 16 and was an unnamed subtropical storm, making landfall in Nova Scotia.
It was an above-average season thanks to a strong El Niño and record-breaking surface temperatures in the Atlantic Ocean. Idalia was the only Hurricane to make U.S. landfall in the 2023 hurricane season.
The Atlantic basin saw 20 named storms in 2023, which ranks fourth for the most named storms in a year since 1950. Seven storms were hurricanes and three intensified to major hurricanes.
An average season has 14 named storms, seven hurricanes and three major hurricanes.
This hurricane season was an above-normal season based on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s definition, with named storms and named storm days well above the 1991–2020 average.
The 2023 Atlantic hurricane season was near average for U.S. landfall frequency, with three named storms, Harold, Idalia and Ophelia.The average number of continental U.S. landfalls (excluding multiple landfalls from the same system) from 1900–2020 are 3.2 named storms, 1.6 hurricanes and 0.5 major hurricanes per year.
The most notable continental U.S. hurricane landfall was Idalia, which made landfall as a Category 3 major hurricane in the Big Bend region of Florida.
Idalia was responsible for five fatalities in the continental United States and $2.5 billion in damage according to the National Centers for Environmental Information.
