Today marks the official end of the Atlantic hurricane season.
It was an unusual season, according to NOAA, because it had the fewest number of hurricanes since 1982. Also, no major hurricanes formed in the Atlantic basin, the first time since 1994. Thirteen named storms formed in the Atlantic basin this year. Two, Ingrid and Humberto, became hurricanes, but neither became major hurricanes (category 3 or above). Tropical storm Andrea, the first of the season, was the only named storm to make landfall in the United States this year. Andrea brought tornadoes, heavy rain, and minor flooding to portions of Florida, eastern Georgia and eastern South Carolina and caused one fatality. While the U.S. was largely spared this year, Mexico was battered by eight storms. Five struck as tropical storms and three as hurricanes. NOAA and the U.S. Air Force Reserve flew 45 hurricane hunter aircraft reconnaissance missions over the Atlantic basin this season, totaling 435 hours--the fewest number of flight hours since at least 1966.