The 1998 Atlantic hurricane season was an active, catastrophic and extremely deadly Atlantic hurricane season, which had the highest number of storm-related fatalities since 1974 and ranks as the second-deadliest season on record in the Atlantic, behind the 1780 season. Additionally, the season featured some of the costliest tropical cyclones ever in the basin at the time. The season had above average activity, due to the dissipation of an El Niño event and transition to La Niña conditions. It officially began on June 1 and ended on November 30, dates which conventionally delimit the period during which most tropical cyclones form in the Atlantic Ocean. The season had a rather slow start, with no tropical cyclones forming in June. The first tropical cyclone, Tropical Storm Alex, developed on July 27, one of the latest dates on record to see the formation of the first system in an Atlantic hurricane season. The season's final storm, Hurricane Nicole, became extratropical on December 1.