It has been one of the most active seasons in nearly a decade. It started earlier than any other season in more than 60 years and has featured the first-ever named storm to develop over Florida.
So far there have been 14 named storms this year. Of those storms, six strengthened into hurricanes, two of those were deemed major hurricanes. A major hurricane is one that strengthens to a Category 3 or higher on the Saffir-Simpson Scale. This, to date, is already the most active hurricane season since 2012.
The official hurricane season typically runs from June 1 through Nov. 30. Not only has this season been extraordinarily active, it also got an unusually early start. The first storm of the 2016 season came five months premature, when Hurricane Alex developed in mid-January. It was the first hurricane to develop in the Atlantic during the month of January since 1955.
The first major hurricane of the year formed at the end of August. Gaston, which became a Category 3 hurricane with peak sustained winds at 120 mph, never hit land.
The second major hurricane of the season was Matthew. Just last week it struck the east coast, and left behind a path of destruction that stretched through several states. At one point, with sustained winds of 160 mph, Matthew was classified as a Category 5 storm, the strongest on the Saffir-Simpson Scale. It was also the first Category 5 storm since Hurricane Felix in 2007.
If that wasn’t enough, for the first time in history, a tropical storm formed over Florida this summer. Typically tropical storms weaken overland because of the lack of warm moisture need for storms to development and strengthen. That was not the case though in mid-September when a storm maintained its formation over Florida and while on land became Tropical Storm Julia, the first of its kind.
Many scientists are forecasting this season will stay active. The most recent named storm was Hurricane Nicole, which means the next one to develop this year will be given the name Otto.
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