The 2016 Atlantic hurricane season is the current tropical cyclone season in the North Atlantic Ocean, which officially began on June 1 and will end on November 30. This season began nearly five months before the official start, with Hurricane Alex forming in the Northeastern Atlantic in mid-January. Tropical Storm Bonnie followed in late May, which was the first occurrence of two pre-season Atlantic storms since 2012. In June, tropical storms Colin and Danielle formed and became the earliest third and fourth named storms in the Atlantic in recorded history. In August, Hurricane Earl killed 67 people after striking Belize and Mexico. In September, Hurricane Hermine became the first hurricane to make landfall in Florida since Hurricane Wilma in 2005.
Most forecasting groups have expected this season to be an above average season, due to a combination of factors including an expected transition to La Niña and warmer than normal sea surface temperatures in the Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean, and Western Atlantic, despite near-average sea surface temperatures in the Atlantic Main Development Region near Cape Verde. So far, eight of the nine developed tropical cyclones (except Fiona) have impacted land, and six of those storms caused loss of life, directly or indirectly.