Hurricane season 2026 – worse or better?

Severe cold fronts, powerful nor’easters, freezing rain – even a little bit of snow.

Yeah, it was a rather strange winter when it comes to Mother Nature.

But now, as spring sprouts all of its colorful wonders, there is little time to stop thinking about the weather.

Especially if you are a boater.

The 2026 Atlantic Hurricane Season is rapidly approaching and with it brings all those thoughts of flooding, high winds and potential disaster.

But that’s just how things go when it comes to cyclones.

While weather followers wait anxiously for the National Hurricane Center’s forecast (that happens in May), several other meteorological organizations already have released their predictions.

The season officially runs from June 1 through the end of November. But we all know that before- and after-season storms do happen.

Among the top forecasting groups is the one at Colorado State University. Their weather department is known for predictions that always are highly anticipated.

CSU is forecasting 13 named storms – six of which could become hurricanes, with two of those reaching Major status because of winds 111 mph or greater. Last year the group forecast 17 named storms.

AccuWeather is calling for 11-16 named storms, with five of them having a direct impact on the United States coast.

The Weather Company – which is owned by former Virginian-Pilot-founded The Weather Channel – is looking at 12 named cyclones, six hurricanes, with two of those becoming Cat 3 majors.

All three organizations – as well as most others – depend on averages of previous seasons from 1991 to 2020. That number maths out to be 14.2 named systems, 7.2 hurricanes and 3.2 major storms.

Last year’s output turned out to be 13 named storms, with four of them becoming major storms.

None of them landed on U.S. soil.

But of those that struck islands in the Caribbean and to its northeast, the one that sticks out was Melissa. That storm grew to have 189.879 mph winds right before it struck southern Jamaica, where it caused 45 deaths.

Throughout the cyclone’s path there were 95 deaths reported and approximately $9 billion in damages.

The reason organizations are calling for a “quieter” season is a developing El Niño, a situation that produces slightly warmer water temperatures in the eastern Pacific Ocean along the Equator. This phenomenon typically produces stronger upper level winds in the western Atlantic and those winds – known as shear – make cyclonic formation more difficult.

We’ll be back with another update after the NHC releases its official forecast, then again with some tips on how to be at the ready if a system does approach.