The hurricane season ended Sunday and for the first time since 2015 a hurricane did not make landfall in the U.S. There were 13 named storms, five hurricanes and four major hurricanes. Colorado State research scientist Phil Klotzbach says atmospheric conditions protected the U.S.
“The atmosphere is fairly stable, and that stability kind of tends to basically kind of suppress thunderstorm activity, which is the building block of the hurricane,” Klotzbach explained.
An average season has 14 named storms and 7 hurricanes. While this year failed to reach those marks, Klotzbach says it made up for its lack of quantity with intensity.
“The number of hurricanes is actually somewhat below normal. An average season has seven. We only had five, but of those five, four of those five actually hit category 4 and above, and three hit category 5,” Klotzbach said.
Despite a below-average number of storms, Klotzbach says this is considered an above-average season due to the strength of the major storms. It’s just the second season ever with more than two category 5 hurricanes.
“Of those four, three reached category 5 strength, which is the second-most on record. So it’s a year where we didn’t necessarily have a lot of storms, but the storms that did form got very, very strong,” Klotzbach noted.
