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| Tracks of all tropical systems in 2012 |
This year, we had a total of 19 named
storms, 10 of which made it up to hurricane strength (74mph+). However, we had
no Category 4 or 5 hurricanes in the Atlantic/Gulf, and we had only one
Category 3 hurricane. So how does this compare to average years? Normally we
have only 12 named storms a year with the number of storms making it to
hurricane strength around 6. However, the number of major hurricanes, which is
a Category 3 or higher (111mph+), is typically 3 per year. This year we only
had one, Hurricane Michael, which stayed
over the open Atlantic. This year also produced the least number of major hurricanes in a season
since 1997, when there was only one Category 3, Erika. If that wasn’t
enough, we've only seen two years with
no Category 4 or Category 5 hurricanes since 1995: 2006 and 1997.
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| Hurricane Sandy Track |
The ironic part of this season is that we started off
with a bang, leaving many wondering if this would be a sign of the rest of the
season. In May, before hurricane season officially begins in the Atlantic/Gulf,
two storms, Alberto and Beryl, had developed. Both only became tropical storms,
and both had very little impact on the U.S. Also, this is the seventh
consecutive year that no major hurricanes (Category 3, 4 or 5) have hit the
United States.
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| Hurricane Isaac |
Of course, the caveat is that it doesn't
take a major hurricane to cause big damage. Look at Isaac and Sandy, both of
which caused devastating floods, along with high winds that caused numerous
power outages.
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| Hurricane Isaac track |
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