Can hurricanes form in December after the season ends?
ORLANDO, Fla. - While many Floridians are ready for the 2022 Atlantic hurricane season to be over on Nov. 30, remember: nature doesn’t always go by "norms" on hurricane season start and end dates. It's super rare, but tropical storms and even hurricanes have formed in December.
Around 2% of tropical systems have formed during "off months" (December to May) in the years 1851 to 2017.
May is the most active of those months (closest to the onset of hurricane season June 1st), but there have been storms that blossomed in December. Lingering oceanic warmth and favorable atmospheric conditions can spur tropical growth during this time. On December 11th, 2007, Tropical Storm Olga formed and brought impacts to the Greater Antilles. Looking back at December 2013, an unnamed spin-up formed near the Azores.
During the only other season besides 2020 to utilize the Greek alphabet naming system, two tropical systems were swirling about in December 2005. Epsilon formed on November 29th and became a hurricane during the very beginning of December. The storm fell apart on December 10th and never impacted land. Furthermore, it was the only hurricane to form in the month of December, finally fading away on January 7th, 2006.
Sometimes Mother Nature is weird and wacky!