[2] It was co-produced by the band and Mike Elizondo, after initially self-producing their work, as well as test runs with producers such as Ken Andrews and Charlie Peacock.

[6] These new song ideas were then indefinitely shelved when the band embarked on their fall Appetite for Construction Tour with Relient K, with drummer Chad Butler later calling the sessions a "failed experiment".

[6] After the Peacock sessions, the band revealed on August 9 that they had left their Major record label, Columbia/SonyBMG, and intended to independently release their follow-up to 2006's Oh!

[11] Work on the record was once more halted in January 2009 when Foreman embarked on a national tour with Fiction Family, a side project band involving Sean Watkins of Nickel Creek.

[12] In March, the band tracked a few sessions with engineer Ryan Petersen and drummer Chad Butler reported they were "rounding 3rd base" on the album and that it was near completion.

[16] After its completion, the album found its way into the hands of Rob Cavallo, newly appointed as Chief Creative Officer with Warner Music Group and Atlantic Records.

Foreman attributes this to Thorp's input, crediting the engineer with creating a landscape in which "the darks are darker and the lights are brighter and the lows are lower and the highs are higher".

Switchfoot also occasional listening parties across the United States to give fans a chance to hear the album in its entirety.

[40] Songs from "Hello Hurricane" were featured in 2009 College Football games on ESPN, with "Needle and Haystack Life", "The Sound", and "Bullet Soul" regularly playing before commercial breaks.

On October 16, before the American League Championship Series Game 1 broadcast, a montage of baseball highlights was shown interspersed with live clips of Switchfoot and the song "Free" playing in the background.

[41] On November 3, 2009, the album was premiered in streaming format on the popular social networking site MySpace, giving fans a chance to listen to the new record a week before its release.

They also made appearances on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon and The Tonight Show with Jay Leno The band was also tapped as one of two acts (the other being The Goo Goo Dolls) to play the ESPN National Championship Tailgate at the Rose Bowl stadium before the BCS National Championship Game on January 7, 2010.

[45] Switchfoot continued to receive promotion for the album from the sports world, performing as the house band during the 2010 ESPY Awards pre-show.

[50] Once this season was concluded, the band began shopping around for a distribution label, "looking for the best partner to give these songs a large platform that is respectful to the people that listen to our music.

[53] At Christianity Today, Andrew Greer rated the album four stars, and comment that "Hello Hurricane's broad musical landscape supports a deep lyrical dig into the grief of the human heart and brazenly extends eternal hope for the soul.

"[62] Andy Argyrakis of CCM Magazine rate the album four-and-a-half stars, and noted that "Switchfoot maintains its spiritual mindset, but never comes across as preachy in a secular environment, making Hello Hurricane the ultimate benchmark for any like-minded act, and amongst this band's very best.

"[59] At Paste, Reid Davis rated the album a seven-point four, and called the album a "meat-and-potatoes arena rock polished to a gleaming sheen (thanks to producer Mike Elizondo), wrapped around huge hooks and intercut by Foreman’s incisive, discontented lyrics, which almost always manage to translate sentiments rooted deeply in faith to universally relatable choruses.

"[58] At Cross Rhythms, Haydon Spenceley rated the album nine out of ten squares, and stated that the album might ingrain the band a rock heavyweights because the release "maintain[s] their radio-ready edge whilst returning the band to the sphere of past glories and even, on occasions here, extending their musical and lyrical horizons.

"[68] At Alternative Press, Evan Lucy rated the album three-and-a-half stars, and evoked that the release was "An uplifting, hope-giving affirmation of resurgence from a band who might have been down at one point but were definitely never out.

"[75] In addition, Nigel Britto of The Times of India stated that "Hello Hurricane presents a renewed optimism and vigour and a lot more musical experimentation.

"[54] Andree Farias of Allmusic rated the album three-and-a-half stars, and called this the "most natural, effortless outing to date" because it was "almost devoid of surprises and offers exactly what the people want: an assemblage of straight-ahead rock anthems, free from left-of-center experiments, bouncy power-pop numbers, or obligatory balladry.

"[65] Founder of Jesus Freak Hideout John DiBiase rated it four-and-a-half stars, and felt that the release "may not be the band's best project in their 12 year catalog of music, it's easily a highlight of their already impressive career.

[69] Founder of New Release Tuesday Kevin McNeese rated the album a perfect five stars, and proclaimed that Switchfoot were "returning to the top of their game".

[71] At Indie Vision Music, Michael Mayer III rated it four stars, and commented that the album was "the soundtrack for those storms everyone faces in their lives" on which "It sounds vast, full of life and hope, and every bit fitting to the theme it was created for.

"[64] Gar Saegar of The Phantom Tollbooth rated it four-and-a-half stars, and alluded to how the album was "probably their strongest and most consistent record.