Growing Hurricane Threats, Shift in Tornado Threats, and Rising Mercury Hallmarks of June Weather

June brings a variety of different weather elements to the table, ranging from tropical weather to early-season heat to gloomy conditions. What you experience largely depends on where you are in the country. Here is a closer look at some of the most common weather changes that you will find as the calendar flips to June.

Hurricane Season Officially Begins

The official Atlantic hurricane season kicks on June 1 and lasts through November 30. Although the action is typically slow to get started, that does not mean that the threat is barely there. The highest chance of tropical weather development in June is across the Gulf, the northwestern corner of the Caribbean Sea, and off the coast of the southeastern U.S. What makes these development zones most dangerous is that they are located so close to land. In addition, tropical weather that forms just off the coast of the U.S. means that there is less warning time for residents to prepare.

You can expect one named tropical storm to form every one or two years in the month of June. Hurricanes form only about once every five years this early in the season. That said, the last few Junes have been more active. For example, two named storms came to life in five of the last six years.

It is rare for a hurricane to make landfall in the U.S. in June. There have only been four direct hits to the U.S. since 1950. You have to go back to 1986 to find the last time that a hurricane made landfall on U.S. soil during the first official month of the season. It is much more likely that the U.S. will see the impacts of a tropical storm during this month.