When does hurricane season finally end in Florida? Mark your calendars, but there's more to know

Between Hurricane Milton's impending arrival and recovery efforts still ongoing from Helene, many residents are asking — when will Florida finally catch a break?

The storm is heading to Florida' Gulf Coast as a strong Category 4 storm with winds of more than 150 mph. Evacuations have to be completed on Tuesday as shelters across Florida were opening.

Devastating impacts are forecast for Florida, including life-threatening storm surge, flooding rain and damaging winds as the storm is forecast to make landfall somewhere along the coast. Especially for communities already damaged by Helene just two weeks ago.

Mark your calendars or set an alert, here's when hurricane season ends.

Where is Milton as of Tuesday, Oct. 8?

Hurricane Milton is still in the Gulf of Mexico and continuing its advance on Florida's Peninsula. It strengthened into a hurricane Oct. 6, then upgraded to a Category 5 a day later, before being downgraded to a Category 4 storm Tuesday, Oct. 8.

However, Hurricane Milton is expected to double in size by the time it makes landfall, the National Hurricane Center said.

The current forecast and hurricane tracker shows Hurricane Milton making landfall near Tampa Bay at 1 a.m. Thursday as a Category 3 tropical cyclone with storm winds topping 120 mph. The storm is expected to then cross the Florida Peninsula in the hours after and exit into the Atlantic Ocean somewhere possibly on the Space Coast.

When will hurricane season end?

The Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1 through Nov. 30. The Atlantic basin includes the Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico.

Countdown clock: How much longer will hurricane season last?

What are the remaining names for 2024 Atlantic hurricane season?

Names for the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season were last used in 2018 and will be used again in 2030 unless any are retired and replaced by the WMO.

Here are remaining 2024 hurricane names after Milton:

• Nadine
• Oscar
• Patty
• Rafael
• Sara
• Tony
• Valerie
• William

When is the busiest part of the Atlantic hurricane season?

The most active period of the Atlantic hurricane season historically has been from mid-August through mid-October. The peak hits Sept. 10.

How many named storms historically develop each year?

Based on a 30-year average from 1991 to 2020, the average number of named storms in the Atlantic hurricane season is 14, with seven hurricanes and three major hurricanes.

A major hurricane has sustained winds of at least 111 mph, so Category 3, 4 and 5 storms are considered major hurricanes.

The first named storm typically forms in mid to late June, the first hurricane tends to form in early to mid-August, and the first major hurricane forms in late August or early September.

Tropical activity could continue into December this year

While tropical activity generally slows down after mid-October. Don't count on that this year.

This season could "rank among the busiest on record," NOAA said in its August forecast.

NOAA , AccuWeather and and Colorado State University have all predicted the number of storms could be higher than average, with AccuWeather predicting this season has the potential to break the all-time record of 30 named storms in one season.

Stay informed. Get weather alerts via text

How many tropical storms or hurricanes have occurred in November, December and January?

Over the past 10 years, there have been 14 named storms between November and January, including

• Subtropical storm, unnamed: Jan. 16-17, 2023.
• Hurricane Nicole : Nov. 7-11, 2022. Landfall Nov. 10 south of Vero Beach as a Category 1 storm.
• Hurricane Martin : Nov. 1-3, 2022.
• Hurricane Lisa: Oct. 31-Nov. 5, 2022.
• Tropical Storm Wanda: Oct. 30-Nov. 7, 2021.
• Major Hurricane Eta : Oct. 31-Nov. 13, 2020.
• Tropical Storm Theta: Nov. 10-15, 2020.
• Major Hurricane Iota: Nov. 13-18, 2020.
• Sub-Tropical Storm Rebekah: Oct. 30-Nov. 1, 2019.
• Tropical Storm Sebastien : Nov. 19-24, 2019.
• Tropical Storm Rina: Nov. 5-9, 2017.
• Hurricane Alex: Jan. 12-15, 2016.
• Major Hurricane Otto: Nov. 20-26, 2016.
• Hurricane Kate : Nov. 8-11, 2015.

This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: When does hurricane season finally end in Florida? Mark your calendars, but there's more to know