This is the last week of a truly shitty Atlantic hurricane season. It was record-breaking. People are still recovering. Misinformation managed to make things even worse. Now, we get a six-month-ish break before it starts over again — perhaps with fewer federal resources to respond in the US.

The 2024 Atlantic hurricane season still reached "hyperactive" levels, despite not quite reaching the lofty forecasts for record-breaking activity given in the spring.

Tropical cyclones are among the most deadly and costly natural disasters that affect the United States and many other countries each year. This has led the scientific community to prioritize improving tropical cyclone prediction and the understanding of how tropical cyclone activity has changed and will change in the future.

The Atlantic hurricane season officially ends on Saturday, Nov. 30. It was a season that left its mark in the record books in many ways, including the earliest Category 5 on record and a catastrophic storm that changed the landscape of North Carolina forever.

So far, the 2024 season has produced 18 named storms, 11 of which developed into hurricanes, including five major hurricanes at Category 3 or greater.

More hurricanes formed after this season's peak compared to years past and they took lives hundreds of miles from the coast.