Tracking the Tropics: Can cold fronts become tropical systems?

TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) -- The tropics are slowing down as we get closer to the end of October and the weather starts to get cooler, but there's still more than a month left to go in the 2022 hurricane season.

The United States hasn't had any landfalling tropical cyclone since Hurricane Ian hit Florida and, later, South Carolina.

Now, three weeks after Ian, most of the East Coast is dealing with a blast of cooler air. Many Floridians woke up to temperatures in the 50s and 60s on Wednesday, thanks to a cold front that moved through Tuesday.

While the colder air may make it easier for those living on the East Coast and Gulf Coast to forget about hurricane season, it's important to remember that the season doesn't end until Nov. 30. A quiet basin right now doesn't mean we couldn't see another storm spin up off one of the cold fronts that make it down into the Gulf of Mexico or off the mid-Atlantic coastline.

"Remnants of a polar front can become lines of convection and occasionally generate a tropical cyclone," the National Weather Service said. "In the Atlantic Ocean storms, this will occur early or late in the hurricane season in the Gulf of Mexico or Caribbean Sea."

The current front impacting the United States does not appear to be favorable for any kind of tropical organization. But while it is rare, that doesn't mean future fronts are out of the question.

"We've seen fronts spin off tropical systems once they enter the Atlantic, but it does not look likely with this system," WFLA Meteorologist Rebecca Barry said. "Fronts more often steer any existing tropical systems away from the coast of the U.S."

Barry added that we may not see another hurricane-strength storm this season.

"Since 1950, we've had 53 hurricanes form after Oct. 1. That's an average of .746 hurricanes per season after Oct. 1, so it's entirely possible we may not see another hurricane this season," she said.