The Atlantic hurricane season has just begun. It comes on the heels of having three Category 5 storms — the highest rating for a major hurricane — in 2025, the most in a few decades.
So, what should the D.C. region expect this year?
Michael Brennan, director of the National Hurricane Center, told WTOP that the 2026 season should have “somewhat below normal level of activity.”
“We’re still expecting eight to 14 tropical storms, three to six of those becoming hurricanes,” Brennan said. “One to three major hurricanes.”
However, Brennan pointed out that a slower season does not mean you can let your guard down.
“Below normal season, or El Nino coming on, doesn’t mean that there’s not a risk, and it doesn’t take a major hurricane making landfall directly on the coast of the mid-Atlantic states for there to be big impacts in that region,” Brennan said.
“But for folks that live inland, like in the greater D.C. region, heavy rainfall and flooding that results from it has been the biggest killer in tropical storms and hurricanes in this country over the last 10 years,” Brennan said.
Those weather conditions can come from a hurricane that makes landfall along the Gulf Coast or down in North Carolina, he said, adding that “it’s almost entirely unrelated to how strong a storm is from a wind perspective, that rainfall threat.”
For those planning to spend time at the beach this summer, Brennan said to keep an eye on the water. Distant storms thousands of miles away can still create deadly rip currents along the East Coast.
“We lose a lot of people to surf and rip currents from distant hurricanes that can be well offshore every year,” Brennan said.
“And that’s something people really need to be, need to pay attention to when they go to the beach.”
Brennan advised watching the warning flags, swimming near a lifeguard, and staying out of the water if the ocean doesn’t look safe.
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