A weather tracking organisation has scaled back its forecast for the 2024 hurricane season after an unusually quiet August in the Atlantic.

While AccuWeather last month warned of a “parade of storms” in September, the company has reduced its estimate for the number of hurricanes this year.

This week, AccuWeather updated its forecast for the season to predict a total of between 16 and 20 named storms with between six and ten hurricanes, between three and six of which could become “major” hurricanes of Category 3 or greater.

Those estimates included the five named storms already recorded in 2024.

While the forecast was higher than the historical average of 14 named storms, it is a notable reduction from the 20 to 25 named storms predicted by the firm earlier this summer.

Jonathan Porter, the AccuWeather chief meteorologist, said in a statement from the company: “This update is based on such constant scrutiny of our seasonal hurricane forecast.

“Our team has been integrating the latest data and insights, while monitoring the unusual conditions that have hampered the development of tropical storms and hurricanes last month.”

The season had an active start with Hurricane Beryl becoming the earliest Category 5 recorded in a season, but no storms have formed since Hurricane Ernesto, which battered Bermuda last month.

Meteorologists were this morning monitoring several areas across the Atlantic for potential storm development, but none were given more than a 30 per cent chance of becoming a named storm within the next seven days.

AccuWeather said that despite warm waters, hurricane development has been hampered by an abundance of dry air, Saharan dust and disruptive winds, along with a large pocket of cold water off the coast of Africa.

However, Mr Porter added: “We don’t want anyone to let their guard down even though we are now forecasting fewer storms in total.

“We expect two to four more direct impacts to the United States this season.

“It only takes one powerful hurricane or slow-moving tropical storm to threaten lives and cause devastation.”

He said that while the hurricane season officially ends on November 30, extremely warm water temperatures could allow storms to continue to develop through November and potentially into December.

“Some of the factors AccuWeather experts have identified as limiting the number of tropical storms and hurricanes thus far this season are not yet fully understood by anyone from a science, predictability and forecast skill perspective,” Mr Porter noted.