Today marks the end of a relatively busy hurricane season in the Atlantic basin, with a total of 15 named storms this year. Of those 15 storms, 7 were hurricanes, with 3 of those reaching “major” hurricane status with maximum sustained winds greater than 110mph. The season was the most active since 2012 and the most deadly since 2005, with damages estimated at $11.5 billion and death toll at 1,752. Most death and destruction this season came from Hurricane Matthew which impacted portions of the Caribbean and the US East Coast.
The 2016 Atlantic Hurricane Season had a freak start, with Hurricane Alex in January. The season officially began June 1.
During the season, Matthew was the strongest hurricane with its strongest maximum sustained winds at 160mph as a Category 5 storm. Matthew was the only Category 5 hurricane this season. Nicole was the only Category 4, Gaston was the only Category 3. and Otto, which impacted Central America just days ago, was the only Category 2 this season. Alex, Earl, and Hermine reached Category 1 status this season.
Bonnie, Colin, Danielle, Fiona, Ian, Julia, Karl, and Lisa only crew into Tropical Storms and lost organization and strength before they could grow into hurricanes.
