November 30th was the official end of the 2014 Hurricane Season!! This season as predicted by most was a very slow below average season marking another year without a major hurricane hitting the United States. It has now been a record breaking nine years since a major Hurricane (Cat 3 or higher) has hit the U.S. coast! That was Hurricane Wilma in 2005 (Sandy was not a Hurricane when it hit the northeast coastline in 2012). On the other hand the Eastern Pacific Hurricane Season has had its busiest season in over 20 years. Usually I find when the E Pac has a busy above average season then the Atlantic will have a slow season and vise versa. Many forecasters this year made their prediction of a below average season on the fact that an El Niño would form in the Eastern Pacific but that never happened. A quiet Atlantic hurricane season often occurs during an El Niño year, because the climate pattern triggers conditions that inhibit hurricanes. El Niño’s failure to launch meant the phenomenon had little impact on Atlantic hurricanes and I find the major reason for the slow season was the strong wind shear, atmospheric instability, dry air and convergence across the Atlantic… similiar to the 2013 season. A slow season is a good season in my book!
The Atlantic produced only eight named tropical storms this year, the fewest since 1997, according to the National Hurricane Center. Six of those storms strengthened into hurricanes, and two became major hurricanes.
Hurricane Arthur was the only storm to make landfall in the United States this season. The storm clobbered coastal North Carolina on July 4 with Category 2 winds of about 100 miles per hour (160 km/h), causing $21 million in damage.
Of the two major Atlantic storms, Hurricane Edouard reached Category 3 strength far out at sea, never threatening to touch shorelines. Hurricane Gonzalo was the season’s most powerful storm at Category 4, but weakened to Category 2 before making landfall in Bermuda and causing more than $200 million in damage.
This is now my second season in the books since I started Louisiana Hurricane Center with many more years to come and if you appreciate my page, website and information I provide during Hurricane Season then PLEASE SHARE this post, site and my Facebook page with your friends and family. Continue along with me to keep an eye on the Tropics even during the offseason 24-7 at https://trackthetropics.com/
The 2015 Hurricane Season predictions should be released in May of next year so as I always say… STAY TUNED!!
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–Chad Hayward #LHC #HurricaneSeason #Over #2K14 #BelowAverage #TrackTheTropics #Tropics