As hurricane season ends, researchers take stock of unexpected pattern

The Atlantic hurricane season comes to its official end Saturday. Storm forecasters are taking stock of its surprising pattern of activity.

A strange, damaging hurricane season comes to its official end Saturday, and forecasters are taking stock of its many surprises.  

“Every year there’s one or two things that make me scratch my head, and this year I was doing more head-scratching than normal,” said Philip Klotzbach, a meteorologist at Colorado State University who specializes in Atlantic hurricane forecasts. 

Most forecasters predicted a hyperactive hurricane season as early as April, with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration issuing its highest-ever forecast. 

In the end, 18 named storms, 11 hurricanes and five major hurricanes formed — at the lower end of the range most forecasters expected, though still an above-normal and “extremely active” season. 

What surprised researchers was the bizarre way the season played out. It got off to a roaring start when Hurricane Beryl became the first Category 5 storm seen in the Atlantic Ocean in June. But from mid-August through early September, all went quiet. That’s usually when the season reaches its peak — around Sept. 10. But not a single named storm developed during those weeks, the first time since 1968 that has happened. 

https://www.nbcnews.com/weather/hurricanes/hurricane-season-ends-rcna181808

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