The season officially began on June 1 and lasted until November 30, dates which conventionally delimit the period of each year when most tropical cyclones form in the Atlantic basin.

Abby moved northward and struck Cuba, bringing heavy rainfall and flooding to western portions of the island.

[nb 2] In late June, Tropical Storm Candy brought minor flooding and spawned several tornadoes across portions of the Southern United States.

Hurricane Gladys, the final and also the strongest named storm of the season, developed in the southwestern Caribbean Sea on October 13.

Peaking as a Category 2 on the Saffir–Simpson hurricane wind scale, the system resulted in flooding across western Cuba, particularly in Havana, where the storm caused six deaths and about $12 million in damage.

Rough seas, gusty winds, tornadoes, and heavy rainfall resulted in generally minor impact in Florida, with three fatalities and damage totaling $6.7 million.

In October, Hurricane Gladys became the strongest tropical cyclone of the season, despite maximum sustained winds of only 100 mph (160 km/h) and a minimum barometric pressure of 965 mbar (28.5 inHg).

The initial circulation was not embedded within the convection, but as it moved slowly north-northeastward, it was able to strengthen and become better organized, reaching tropical storm strength on June 2.

Abby moved across the state and then reached the western Atlantic, where it briefly attained hurricane status late on June 5.

Abby weakened to a tropical depression as it moved over Georgia, and over the next six days, it drifted over The Carolinas, finally dissipating on June 13 east of Virginia.

[15] At 18:00 UTC on June 19, the depression intensified into a tropical storm while still inland over Central Florida, and six hours later emerged into the Atlantic Ocean near Flagler Beach.

[4] At that time and into June 22, the Bermuda high built southwestward as a weak trough passed to the north, resulting in Brenda turning northeastward.

Early the next day, Brenda attained its peak intensity with maximum sustained winds of 80 mph (130 km/h) and a minimum barometric pressure of 990 mbar (29 inHg).

At 22:45 UTC, the storm peaked with maximum sustained winds of 70 mph (110 km/h) and a minimum barometric pressure of 995 mbar (29.4 inHg) as it made landfall near Port Aransas, Texas.

After tracking west-northwestward and westward, the wave reached the Straits of Florida on August 9, where it began interacting with an upper-level low.

[4] Dolly briefly weakened back to a tropical storm on August 13 amid unfavorable atmospheric conditions, only to reattain hurricane intensity on the following day.

[8] After maintaining its strength for 18 hours, Dolly began to rapidly weaken and became extratropical on August 16, while about 300 mi (480 km) north of the Azores.

The newly formed system curved north-northeast in advance of another trough and intensified into a tropical storm while passing offshore the Carolinas.

On September 11, it attained peak winds of 65 mph (100 km/h), a strength it maintained while making landfall in Long Island, New York, around 10:00 UTC that day.

[5] While the storm passed just offshore the Outer Banks of North Carolina, the depression dropped 5.8 in (150 mm) of precipitation on Bodie Island.

A weak high-level trough and a warm anticyclone to the east-northeast generated low wind shear,[4] allowing a tropical depression to develop at 18:00 UTC on September 13, while located about 225 mi (360 km) southeast of Praia, Cape Verde.

Early on September 15, the ship Sal Mela observed wind speeds of 69 mph (111 km/h), indicating that Edna was approaching hurricane status.

[8] On the next day, a cold upper-level trough began producing unfavorable conditions, causing Edna to degenerate into a tropical depression by 06:00 UTC on September 17.

[8] A subtropical depression developed at 12:00 UTC on September 14, while located about 295 mi (475 km) southeast of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, initially moving east-northeastward.

[8] A reconnaissance aircraft on September 26 reported a warm core, sustained winds of 52 mph (84 km/h), and a minimum barometric pressure of 1,001 mbar (29.6 inHg).

[8] In early October, a tropical wave interacted with the Intertropical Convergence Zone while located in the southwestern Caribbean Sea, spawning multiple low-pressure areas.

Upon reaching the eastern Gulf of Mexico, Gladys resumed intensification, and later attained hurricane status early on October 17.

[9] While passing west of the Florida Keys, the hurricane produced strong winds that briefly cut communications to the Dry Tortugas,[19] but damage was minor.

[10] When paralleling just off the coast of North Carolina, Gladys was responsible for breaking the state's worst drought since 1932, and proved more beneficial than the minor storm damage there.

[8] Generally light rainfall was reported in the state, with up to 7.53 in (191 mm) at the Royal Palm Ranger Station in Everglades National Park.