We are only a few days from the end of August and so far this season we have only had three named storms and no hurricanes. Tropical Storm Alex developed in early June and Tropical Storms Bonnie and Colin in the first week of July.
Since early July, it's been fairly quiet due to the dry, dusty air from the Sahara Desert moving across the Atlantic and unfavorable wind shear. Although we had Potential Tropical Cyclone 4 in the southwestern Gulf August 19-20, it never strengthened to a tropical storm.
Tropical activity usually ramps up during the month of August, peaking September 10th as sea surface temperatures peak and wind shear becomes lower.
The National Hurricane Center is monitoring a couple tropical waves in the Atlantic but it looks unlikely that a tropical storm will form by September 1st.
The last time we had an August with no named storms in the Atlantic basin was 25 years ago, in 1997. Other years without an August storm were 1961, 1941 and 1929 so this year would be the fifth time since 1929 without a named storm in the Atlantic in August
However, there have been very active seasons following a quiet August. In 1961 there were 12 named storms, with 11 of those storms after September 1. Intense and large hurricane Carla with 145 mph winds hit the Texas coast near Port O'Connor on September 11th that year.
Although it has been quiet, the tropics are still expected to become very active as we head into September and we need to continue to watch closely and have a plan in place. Remember, it only takes one hurricane to hit here to make it a bad season.