Story Created:
Nov 30, 2009 at 8:16 PM CDT
Story Updated:
Mar 15, 2010 at 8:57 PM CDT
The 2009 Atlantic Hurricane Season will come to an end as calendars are switched from November to December.
Overall, it was a quiet season with most of the named storms staying out to sea. El Nino is likely to blame for this, although folks along the East Coast are thanking rather than blaming El Nino. In a typical El Nino year, the Atlantic season is fairly quiet while the Pacific season is active. The Atlantic saw 9 named storms this year while the Pacific saw 20 named storms!
NOAA's (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) original forecast called for 9-14 named storms, 4-7 hurricanes and 1-3 major hurricanes. An average year consists of 10 named storms, 6 hurricanes and 2 major hurricanes. Comparing those two, 2009 was forecast, by NOAA, to be an "average" atlantic hurricane season.
2009's actual numbers stack up like this: 9 named storms, 3 hurricanes and 2 major hurricanes. 2009 was well forecast by NOAA and ended up being below average across the board.
The Atlantic Hurricane season runs from June 1st through November 30th.
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