2018 Atlantic Hurricane Season Comes to an End
By: Matt Thigpen
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Today, November 30th, marks the end of the 2018 Atlantic Hurricane season, with a total of 15 named storms. Of the 15, eight reached hurricane status and 2 were Category 4 or higher.
Just in the past two years, the United States has seen three Category 4 hurricanes that made landfall, Harvey, Irma, and Michael. This is the first time in recorded history that three Category 4 hurricanes made landfall in the continental United States within a 2 year span. Since 1851, just 28 Category 4 or stronger hurricanes have made landfall in the continental United States. The 2018 season was also the first time since 2008 to have four active named storms in the Atlantic basin at the same time; Florence, Helene, Isaac, and Joyce.
The reason for the such an active 2018 hurricane season can be attributed to the absence of the predicted El Niño conditions that were expected to form, significant warming of the tropical Atlantic in September, which is near the peak of the hurricane season in the Atlantic basin.
