Hurricane Melissa struck Jamaica with record-tying 185 mph winds, and its strength defied typical weakening factors.

With warmer-than-normal ocean waters, forecasters are expecting another unusually busy hurricane season for the Atlantic.

With its mighty strength and its dangerous path, Hurricane Milton has powered into a very rare threat that is flirting with experts’ worst fears.

Explosively intensifying Hurricane Milton is the latest freaky system to come out of what veteran hurricane scientists call the weirdest storm season of their lives.

After hitting Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula and downgrading to a tropical storm, Beryl is expected to once again become a hurricane as it hurtles towards southern Texas by Sunday evening.

Hurricane Beryl’s explosive growth into an unprecedented early storm shows the literal hot water the Atlantic and Caribbean are in right now and the kind of season ahead.

The Atlantic hurricane season has been oddly quiet.

Federal meteorologists say this hurricane season may not be quite as busy as they initially thought, but it should still be more active than normal.

Officials in St. Vincent and the Grenadines are warning people to plan for possible evacuations as the tiny islands hit recently by massive volcanic eruptions prepares for potential flooding and landslides from Tropical Storm Elsa, which was whirling toward the eastern Caribbean.

(NOAA via AP)With named storms coming earlier and more often in warmer waters, the Atlantic hurricane season is going through some changes with meteorologists ditching the Greek alphabet during busy years. The Greek alphabet had only been used twice in 2005 and nine times last year in a record-shattering hurricane season. AdMeanwhile, the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration is recalculating just what constitutes an average hurricane season. STARTING EARLIERMIT hurricane researcher Kerry Emanuel said “this whole idea of hurricane season should be revisited." So a warming world means the new normal is busy hurricane seasons just like the last 30 years.

MONTGOMERY, Ala. – A record-setting Atlantic hurricane season that saw the highest number of named storms officially came to a close Monday. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said the 2020 Atlantic hurricane season set multiple records while producing a record 30 named storms. NOAA said an average season has 12 named storms, six hurricanes and three become major hurricanes. The prior record for named storms hitting Louisiana in a single hurricane season is 4 set in 2002,” Klotzbach said. NOAA said this was the fifth consecutive year with an above-normal Atlantic hurricane season, with 18 above-normal seasons out of the past 26.

Tropical Storm Eta is parked off the western coast of Cuba, dumping rain. Meanwhile, Tropical Storm Theta — which formed overnight and broke a record as the 29th named Atlantic storm of the season — is chugging east toward Europe on the cusp of hurricane status. The system now has a 70% chance of becoming the 30th named storm. Never before have three named storms been twirling at the same time this late in the year, Klotzbach said. The overall message is that everyone in the area should pay attention to Eta, Brennan said.

MIAMI – Newly formed Tropical Storm Zeta gradually strengthened Sunday in the western Caribbean and forecasters said it would likely become a hurricane before hitting Mexico's resort-dotted Yucatan Peninsula and the U.S. Gulf Coast in coming days. Zeta was the earliest named 27th Atlantic storm recorded in an already historic hurricane season. The system was centered about 260 miles (420 kilometers) southeast of Cozumel island late Sunday, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said. The government is still handing out aid, including sheet roofing, to Yucatan residents hit by Hurricane Delta and Tropical Storm Gamma earlier this month. The hurricane center said it could make landfall anywhere from Louisiana to the Florida Panhandle.

Forecasters said Beta was not expected to bring the same amount of rainfall that Texas experienced during either Hurricane Harvey in 2017 or Tropical Storm Imelda last year. The first rain bands from Beta reached the Texas coast on Sunday, but the heaviest rain wasn't expected to arrive until Monday into Tuesday. If the system makes landfall in Texas, it would be the ninth named storm to make landfall in the continental U.S. in 2020. A tropical storm warning was in effect for Bermuda. Wilfred, which had been a tropical storm, weakened to a tropical depression earlier Sunday.

The Atlantic is increasingly spawning more major hurricanes, according to an Associated Press analysis of NOAA hurricane data since 1950. The Atlantic now averages three major hurricanes a year, based on a 30-year running average. A study by Kossin found that, once a storm formed, the chances of its attaining major storm status globally increased by 8% a decade since 1979. Such a busy period started in 1995 and might end soon as northern Atlantic waters shift to a cooler regime, he said. In addition, he said: Climate change will be a bigger driver of losses in the future.___Follow Seth Borenstein on Twitter at www.twitter.com/borenbears.

Already smashing records, this years hyperactive Atlantic hurricane season is about to get even nastier, forecasters predict. The agency increased the chance of an above average hurricane season from 60% to 85%. Colorado State University, which pioneered hurricane season forecasts decades ago, on Wednesday amped its forecast to 24 named storms, 12 hurricanes and 5 major hurricanes all higher than their June forecast. An average year, based on 1981 to 2010 data, is 12 named storms, six hurricanes and three major hurricanes. There are 21 names assigned to a hurricane season.

Pedestrians use umbrellas to protect themselves from inclement weather brought about by Tropical Storm Fay, Friday, July 10, 2020, in New York. Beaches closed in Delaware and rain lashed the New Jersey shore as fast-moving Tropical Storm Fay churned north on a path expected to soak the New York City region. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)MIAMI Tropical depression Fay moved north over New York early Saturday and was expected to continue to weaken through the weekend, forecasters said. It weakened once it hit land and was expected to quickly become a post-tropical low, then dissipate on Sunday, forecasters said. Forecasters said Fay was expected to produce 1 to 3 inches (3 to 7 centimeters) of rain, with flash flooding possible in some areas.

MIAMI Tropical Storm Fay slightly picked up speed and strength as it moved closer to land Friday, and forecasters decreased projections for rain totals and flooding. The storm picked up speed Friday morning, moving north around 10 mph (17 kph) and producing top sustained winds of 50 mph (85 kph), forecasters said. Earlier observations showed it moving at 8 mph (13 kph) with top sustained winds of 45 mph (75 kph). A tropical storm warning remained in effect from Cape May, New Jersey, to Watch Hill, Rhode Island. Fay is the earliest sixth-named storm on record, according to Colorado State University hurricane researcher Phil Klotzbach.

ORLANDO, Fla. – Even though the six-month Atlantic hurricane season lasts as long as a typical Major League Baseball season, a Florida congresswoman thinks it needs to be longer. In 2020, three tropical storms — Arthur, Bertha and Cristobal — formed in mid-May and the beginning of June, she said. There has been only one named hurricane before June since the satellite era started in 1966 — Hurricane Alma in 1970. “I don’t think there is any reason to lengthen the hurricane season, since we haven’t had a hurricane in May in 50 years," Klotzbach said in an email. “Hurricane season was also never intended to include ... all of the activity, just the majority of it," said McNoldy, who works for the Rosenstiel School of Marine & Atmospheric Science.