The 2022 Atlantic hurricane season officially ended on Wednesday, and although the season was considered mild by recent standards, it still left a mark.
The National Hurricane Center recorded 14 named systems in 2022, which is on par with recent averages. Of the 14 storms, eight became hurricanes and two became major hurricanes. From 1991-2020, the basin averages seven hurricanes and three major hurricanes a season.
The National Hurricane Center uses Accumulated Cyclone Energy to measure the intensity of a hurricane season. ACE uses the strength and duration of each storm. The National Hurricane Center said the ACE for 2022 fell about 20% below normal levels.
The 2022 hurricane season ended a run of six straight above-average seasons.
Hurricane Ian was the strongest of this year’s systems, which made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane in southwest Florida in late September. The storm killed at least 100 people, making it the deadliest Florida hurricane in decades.
Florida also saw a late-season strike from Hurricane Nicole, the first November hurricane to strike Florida in 37 years.
Although the tropical season runs from June-November, offseason tropical systems occasionally form. The last tropical storm to form in the Atlantic in December was in 2013. The system was not initially given a name but was later determined to have been a minimal tropical storm that formed near the Azores.
