NORTH CAROLINA -- June 1 marks the official start to the Atlantic hurricane season each year. The majority of named tropical systems in the Atlantic basin over the last 100 years have occurred between June and November, so those are the months that are designated as hurricane season.
However, storms can form outside of the "official" hurricane season. Each of the last five years has seen an early start to the season with a named storm forming in either April or May.
In 2016, the storm that formed on May 28 was Tropical Storm Bonnie. It made landfall in South Carolina the next day and was technically the second named storm of the year. Hurricane Alex was a rare January storm that formed after the end of the 2015 season.
In 2013, two named storms formed in May. Alberto and Beryl both formed off the southeast coast prior to June 1.
While these "early" tropical systems may appear to be occurring more frequently in recent years, there is evidence of May tropical systems dating back to even the 1800s.
For the latest on the tropics through the upcoming hurricane season, stay tuned to Weather on the 1s on Spectrum News.
Follow Meteorologist Lee Ringer on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.