NOTE: see video below, where you can watch the entire 2012 hurricane season on satellite time-lapse, way cool. – Anthony
Busy 2012 hurricane season continues decades-long high activity era in the Atlantic
Four U.S. land-falling storms include devastating Sandy and Isaac
November 30 marks the end of the 2012 Atlantic Hurricane season, one that produced 19 named storms, of which 10 became hurricanes and one became a major hurricane. The number of named storms is well above the average of 12. The number of hurricanes is also above the average of six, but the number of major hurricanes is below the average of three.
Based on the combined number, intensity, and duration of all tropical storms and hurricanes, NOAA classifies the season as above-normal. 2012 was an active year, but not exceptionally so as there were 10 busier years in the last three decades.
This season marks the second consecutive year that the mid-Atlantic and Northeast suffered devastating impacts from a named storm. Sandy, and Irene last year, caused fatalities, injuries, and tremendous destruction from coastal storm surge, heavy rainfall, inland flooding, and wind. Storms struck many parts of the country this year, including tropical storms Beryl and Debby in Florida, Hurricane Isaac in Louisiana, and post-tropical Cyclone Sandy in New Jersey.
“This year proved that it’s wrong to think that only major hurricanes can ruin lives and impact local economies,” said Laura Furgione, acting director of NOAA’s National Weather Service. “We are hopeful that after the 2012 hurricane season, more families and businesses all along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts become more “weather ready” by understanding the risks associated with living near the coastline. Each storm carries a unique set of threats that can be deadly and destructive. Mother Nature reminded us again this year of how important it is to be prepared and vigilant.”
An interesting aspect of the season was its early start, with two tropical storms, Alberto and Beryl, developing in May before the season officially began. Also, this is the seventh consecutive year that no major hurricanes (Category 3, 4 or 5) have hit the United States. The only major hurricane this season was Hurricane Michael, a Category 3 storm that stayed over the open Atlantic.
Several storms this year were short in duration, weak in intensity, and went largely unnoticed by the general public because they stayed out over the Atlantic. A persistent jet stream pattern over the eastern portion of the nation helped steer many of this season’s storms away from the United States. The number of named storms and hurricanes was higher than predicted in NOAA’s pre-season outlook, in large part because El Niño – which likely would have suppressed overall storm activity – never materialized as predicted by many climate models.
Hurricane forecasters remind us that a well-established climate pattern puts us in an ongoing era of high activity for Atlantic hurricanes that began in 1995. Since that time, more than 70 percent of seasons have been above normal, including 2012. Historically, Atlantic high-activity eras have lasted 25 to 40 years, with the previous one occurring from the mid-1930s until 1970. Several inter-related atmospheric and oceanic factors contribute to these high activity years, including warmer Atlantic Ocean temperatures, an enhanced West African monsoon, and reduced vertical wind shear.
NOAA will release its pre-season outlook for the 2013 hurricane season in May.
NOAA’s National Weather Service is the primary source of weather data, forecasts and warnings for the United States and its territories. The National Weather Service operates the most advanced weather and flood warning and forecast system in the world, helping to protect lives and property and enhance the national economy. Working with partners, the National Weather Service is building a Weather-Ready Nation to support community resilience in the face of increasing vulnerability to extreme weather. Visit us online at weather.gov and on Facebook.
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2012 Atlantic hurricane season satellite loop:
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One was named “Michael”… Oh Boy! Now if only it had been the one to hit NYC… I could have felt smug for decades. Instead “Michael” wasn’t even noticed… Oh Well…
Looked like a ‘less than historic’ pattern, though. Not an Andrew in the bunch of them.
I do note that the last time we had an active Atlantic season came just after the last time we had a hot turn ( ’30s ) so take that to be confirmation that we’re cooling now.
The video is definitely way cool. However it would be good to compare it with videos from other years. I’ve watched them, and they are in some ways way cooler, because they have better looking hurricanes.
The past season didn’t have a single Cape Verde storm, rolling east to west for a thousand or two miles with a clear eye, before even thinking of turning to the north. To be quite frank, most of the storms are fairly shoddy, and badly formed. (Not that I am criticizing the Former of storms; actually I prefer shoddy storms to a Perfect Storm such as Katrina.)
It is also quite clear the past season’s “fish” storms would likely have been missed, in the old days. Before satellites the only reports about such storms came from the captains of tankers and tramp steamers, crossing the Atlantic, and they likely ignored a “blow” when winds didn’t get much above 45 mph.
Unlike a North Atlantic gale, a tropical storm, by definition, has its strongest winds in a small area around the eye. Even a tropical storm with winds up near hurricane force may have those winds in a narrow band, only to one side of the center. Often the reports state, “Tropical force winds extend up to sixty miles from the center.” (Notice they say, “up to,” and not “on all sides.”) Those “tropical force winds” may be as low as forty five miles an hour.
Compare that with the huge low now off Labrador, towards Greenland. Huge gales like that park up there all the time, with pressures as low as hurricanes and with wind fields many times larger. Ships crossing the Atlantic have to deal with those monsters.
Do you really think one of the pip-squeak tropical storms they named last summer would have been anything such a captain would write home about? He might have sailed right by it and missed the center and noticed nothing but a breezy summer rain.
That being said, the video is still way cool. Sandy’s hook to the west is especially interesting to watch and replay. Weather is always full of surprises, and the antics of Sandy were something I don’t recall ever seeing before, (even if it was a pretty shoddy-looking storm.)
Gail nails it. Sandy was NOT a hurricane when it made landfall. Can’t we sue and/or fire the lying (snip) calling themselves reporters?
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