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| Hurricane Helene approaching Florida in September. This hurricane proved to be the United States' deadliest hurricane since Katrina in 2005. The 2024 hurricane season, which ended Saturday, was among the most destructive on record. |
And we also told it to don't let the door hit you on your ass on the way out. It turned out to be a troublesome one, that's for sure.
As NPR reports, it was the deadliest hurricane season in two decades and easily one of the costliest. Five hurricanes hit the continental United States in 2024, a near-record for the most hits in a single season.
Hurricane Helene alone snuffed out 150 lives, the biggest death toll from a single hurricane in the United States since 2005's Hurricane Katrina.
Damage from this year's hurricanes amount to at least $190 billion, the second most costly hurricane year after 2017. That was the year that brought us Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria.
As we head into the Christmas season, thousands of people are still experiencing heartache, loss, fear, homelessness and financial ruin because of this year's hurricanes
For the record 2024 brought us 18 named storms with winds of at least 39 mph. Eleven of those storms became hurricanes (74 mph or greater) and five were major hurricanes (111 mph or greater)
The second half of the season was when most of the action happened. Twelve named storms formed after what is normally the season's peak in early September. Seven hurricanes formed after September 25, which is the most for that late in the season.
We were warned back in the spring this would be a hyper hurricane season, as near record warm ocean temperatures and a favorable atmospheric setup would turbocharge the season, leading to a possibly record number of hurricanes. Some estimates indicated we'd have more tropical storms and hurricanes than names in the 2024 queue for these storms.
But the last tropical storm of the season was Sara, leaving three unused names this year, Tony, Valerie and William.
Normally there would have been additional storms in August and the first week of September, which is near the peak of the season. All the ingredients seemed to be there for storms, but they just didn't materialize during that period. It was an odd mid-season lull
Meteorologists will probably spend years studying why the hurricanes mercifully shut down during those weeks in August.
Some leading theories include the idea that disturbances moving off the west coast ofAfrica - which often eventually develop into hurricanes - were too far north this year, missing out on the very warm waters further south that would fuel these storms.
Also, to get a hurricane going, the upper atmosphere should be cooler than the air near the surface. That would create instability to few the thunderstorms that are the seeds of hurricanes.
This year, the atmosphere was warm through tens of thousands of feet in elevation. That prevented the needed instability to create nascent tropical storms.
Those meteorologists will study if these really were the factors preventing hurricanes in August and whether climate change had anything to do with these atmospheric conditions. That research will help with predictions of future hurricane season, and individual hurricanes.
Two of the season's hurricanes managed to cause damage here in Vermont.
In July, the remnants of Hurricane Beryl (which was the earliest Category 5 Atlantic storm on record in the Caribbean) teamed up with a stalled weather front to unleash intense downpours, especially across much of central and northern Vermont. The result was the state's third catastrophic flood within a year.
In early August, the remnants of Hurricane Debby blasted much of Vermont with high winds, especially the Champlain Valley.
Both storms proved you don't have to be anywhere close to where a hurricane made landfall to have those storms cause real trouble.
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