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Goodbye to a record Hurricane Season
January 21, 2009
Atlantic Hurricane Season Sets Records
- The 2008 Atlantic Hurricane Season officially came to a close on November 30, marking the end of a season that produced a record number of consecutive storms to strike the United States and ranks as one of the more active seasons in the 64 years since comprehensive records began.
- A total of 16 named storms formed this past season, based on an operational estimate by NOAA's National Hurricane Center. The storms included eight hurricanes, five of which were major hurricanes at Category 3 strength or higher. These numbers fall within the ranges predicted in NOAA's pre- and mid-season outlooks issued in May and August. "This year's hurricane season continues the current active hurricane era and is the tenth season to produce above-normal activity in the past 14 years," said Gerry Bell, Ph.D., lead seasonal hurricane forecaster at NOAA's Climate Prediction Center.
- Overall, the season is tied as the fourth most active in terms of named storms (16) and major hurricanes (5), and is tied as the fifth most active in terms of hurricanes (8) since 1944, which was the first year aircraft missions flew into tropical storms and hurricanes.
- For the first time on record, six consecutive tropical cyclones (Dolly, Edouard, Fay, Gustav, Hanna and Ike) made landfall on the U.S. mainland and a record three major hurricanes (Gustav, Ike and Paloma) struck Cuba. This is also the first Atlantic season to have a major hurricane (Category 3) form in five consecutive months (July: Bertha, August: Gustav, September: Ike, October: Omar, November: Paloma).
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