The last month of the year is not immune to tropical activity in the Atlantic, even though the hurricane season has officially ended.
The Atlantic hurricane season officially runs from June 1 through Nov. 30, and that time frame encompasses over 97% of tropical activity, according to NOAA. Tropical cyclones have developed outside of the official season, though not every year.
Since 1850, 17 tropical (or subtropical) cyclones have formed in the Atlantic Basin in December. This does not include systems that formed in November and continued into the last month of the calendar year.
Additionally, 14 of those systems developed into tropical or subtropical storms, and four strengthened into hurricanes.
The last tropical or subtropical system to form in December was an unnamed subtropical storm in 2013. It developed south of the Azores, and tropical-storm-force winds were observed in Santa Maria in the southeastern part of the archipelago.
Based on data since 1967, when regular satellite monitoring began over the Atlantic, there have been nine tropical or subtropical cyclones that developed in December, which averages to one about every five years.
A Few Notable December Tropical Cyclones
One of the most interesting December hurricanes was Alice in 1954. Alice became a tropical storm on Dec. 30 and strengthened into a hurricane on New Year's Eve. Alice is the only Atlantic hurricane on record to have existed in two calendar years, since it remained a hurricane through Jan. 2, 1955.
Alice moved southwestward through part of the northern Caribbean islands, including Saint Martin, Saint Barthelemy and Saba. Near-hurricane-force winds were reported in the northeastern Caribbean due to Alice.
Lili is the most recent December hurricane, forming in 1984 near Bermuda. It tracked southeastward and then northward before looping to the southwest. Lili approached the northern Caribbean islands, but dissipated before the center reached the Dominican Republic on Christmas Eve.
Two December tropical storms have impacted land in the 21st century: Odette and Olga.
Odette formed in early December 2003 and was the first tropical storm on record to form in December in the Caribbean Sea. It made landfall in the Dominican Republic on Dec. 6 and caused 8 deaths and 14 injuries, mostly from mudslides and flash flooding.
Olga was first designated a subtropical storm on Dec. 10, 2007, and made landfall on Dec. 11 along the coast of the Dominican Republic. Olga transitioned to a tropical storm shortly after making landfall. It then tracked through Hispaniola and into the Caribbean Sea, where it became a remnant low on Dec. 13.
Torrential rainfall, mudslides and flooding accompanied Olga, which was blamed for at least 22 deaths in the Dominican Republic. Two deaths were reported in Haiti, and another in Puerto Rico. Nearly 12,000 homes were damaged and more than 60,000 people were displaced.
The remnants of Olga moved across Florida, where a tornado in Pasco County damaged several buildings.
The Weather Company’s primary journalistic mission is to report on breaking weather news, the environment and the importance of science to our lives. This story does not necessarily represent the position of our parent company, IBM.
The Weather Company’s primary journalistic mission is to report on breaking weather news, the environment and the importance of science to our lives. This story does not necessarily represent the position of our parent company, IBM.
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