Dear Tom,
What is the latest date that the first named Atlantic storm has formed?
— Steve Hanan
Dear Steve,
Atlantic Basin storms have been named since 1950, and since then, the latest starting season was 1967, when Arlene was named on Aug. 30. Arlene never made landfall and only briefly became a Category 1 hurricane with top winds of 85 m.p.h.
Runner-up for a late-season start was 1977, when Anita was named on Aug. 29. Anita quickly grew into a monster storm, slamming into the Mexican coast between Brownsville, Texas, and Tampico, Mexico, on Sept. 2 as a Category 5 hurricane with top winds of nearly 175 m.p.h.
The current season, which started with Tropical Storm Ana on Aug. 15, marked the latest start to a season since 1992, when the infamous Hurricane Andrew was named on Aug. 17.
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