The Atlantic is the most active it’s been in more than a year

 Helene isn’t the only storm the Atlantic basin has fueled in recent days.

Hurricane Isaac is chugging along in the north Atlantic, and Tropical Storm Joyce formed this morning in the tropical Atlantic. Neither Isaac nor Joyce is expected to directly impact land.

Today marks the first time all season that three named systems are active simultaneously in the basin. The last time this happened was August 31, 2023, when Franklin, Idalia and Jose were active, according to hurricane expert Phil Klotzbach.

Initial forecasts for this year’s hurricane season were aggressive as all metrics pointed to a busy year. But a period of calm during what’s typically the busiest part of the season sent experts looking for answers.