MIDWAY, Fla. (WTXL) -- The 2014 Hurricane Season came to a close on November 30th and it ended in a whimper. The last named storm, Hanna, occurred in October!
The season ended nearly similar to pre-season forecasts from the National Hurricane Center in May. They predicted that there would be around 8-13 named storms, 3-6 hurricanes, and 1-2 major hurricanes. We saw eight named storms, six of which became hurricanes, and two of those became major. Pretty accurate!
Why was it such a quiet season? Dry air from the African continent and wind shear across the ocean made it much harder for disturbances to organize across the basin. An El Niño event occurred, which warmed Pacific Waters along the equator. That helps to add more wind shear to the Atlantic ocean. At the same time, the East Pacific had a very active hurricane season with more hurricanes than total named storms in the Atlantic.
Our first named storm, Arthur, occurred in July and it caused quite a mess around the 4th of July for folks in the Outer Banks of North Carolina as it brushed past them as a Category 2 Hurricane. That alone made this season different from 2013 in that we had a hurricane reach at least Category 2 strength. 2013 only had two hurricanes which only reached Category 1.
Bertha would tie 2013's hurricane total right away as it became a hurricane. Cristobal would end the month of August as the season's third named storm and third hurricane.
September would feature Dolly and Edouard. Edouard was the first major hurricane in nearly two years.
October would have our last three named storms. This month was especially rough for Bermuda as the island nation dealt with Fay and Gonzalo. Gonzalo was the first Category 4 hurricane since Hurricane Ophelia in 2011. Luckily, it weakened to a Category 2 storm and while impacts were harsh, it would've been worse had the storm maintained strength. Hanna would form a few days after Gonzalo's demise and impact Nicaragua and Honduras as a tropical storm.
November had no named storm. And that was the quiet end to our quiet 2014 Hurricane Season.
While it is the official end of the season, tropical cyclones can still form throughout the year, although they are much rarer. Always stay tuned to WTXL ABC27 for the latest updates on anything tropical on our Hurricane Center page.