The 1998 Atlantic hurricane season officially began on June 1, 1998, and lasted until November 30, 1998. These dates conventionally delimit the period of each year when most tropical cyclones form in the Atlantic basin; however, the season extended through December 1 as Hurricane Nicole remained active. The most notable storms of the season were Hurricane Georges and Hurricane Mitch; the former caused heavy damages across the Caribbean Sea and on the United States' Gulf Coast as well as 603 deaths, and the latter killed at least 11,000 people, mostly in Honduras and Nicaragua, making it the deadliest hurricane of modern times.