Lawrence Herstel

09/15/2026

Some views that make the drive through the Keys worth it. 🌴🌊”

09/15/2026

The stunning aerial view of Key West, Florida.

09/15/2026

Florida Keys, Sunset at Smathers Beach

09/15/2026

The Atlantic could have its first hurricane-free year.

Dive tropical storms had formed in the Atlantic basin in 2026, but none as of September 12 had strengthened into a hurricane.

AccuWeather meteorologists say a season with no hurricanes is possible. The last such year in historical records was 1914, although storms could have escaped detection before satellites monitored the oceans.

A strengthening El Niño is a major reason for the unusual quiet.

The climate pattern can increase wind shear over the tropical Atlantic. These disruptive winds make it harder for storms to organize and intensify.

But a hurricane-free year is a possibility, not the main forecast. AccuWeather’s September 12 update still projected eight to 11 named storms overall, including three or four hurricanes.

The season officially continues through November 30, leaving time for conditions to become favorable. Forecasters identified late September into early October as a possible window for increased activity.

Meanwhile, El Niño tends to favor more hurricane activity in the Pacific, where this season has already brought damaging storms.

A quiet Atlantic also does not mean an absence of danger. Tropical storms have already brought flooding to the Gulf Coast without reaching hurricane strength.

The potential milestone concerns hurricanes forming anywhere in the Atlantic basin, not simply hurricanes making landfall in the United States.

Learn more:
"There could be no Atlantic hurricanes this year – but there’s a catch."

08/31/2026

Nearly seventy miles west of Key West, in the middle of open ocean, rises one of the most astonishing sights in Florida. Fort Jefferson is a massive brick fortress built on a tiny coral island in the Dry Tortugas. 🏰

It is the largest brick masonry structure in the Americas, made of some sixteen million bricks, yet it was never finished and never saw battle. For a time it served as a prison, most famously holding Dr. Samuel Mudd after the Lincoln assassination. ⚓

Surrounded by impossibly clear water and reachable only by boat or seaplane, the fort feels like a mirage. To stand on its ramparts with nothing but sea to every horizon is an experience unlike anywhere else in the state. 🌊

Have you made the journey out to the Dry Tortugas, and what surprised you most about the fort?

08/30/2026

08/30/2026

08/30/2026

08/30/2026

08/30/2026