

Hurricane Season 2012 comes to an end


WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) -- It's the last day of November, and in our part of the country, that's reason to celebrate. Why? It marks the end of Hurricane Season.

If you just looked at the numbers, this year would be impressive. Nineteen storms were named for the third straight year; well above the average of nine. Ten of the storms became hurricanes, but most of those had relatively low winds with only Michael becoming a major hurricane.

The season got off to a fast start, with Alberto and Beryl forming before the traditional June 1 start date.

But the season will be summed up with two storms that won't soon be forgotten in the US.

In August, Isaac churned through the Caribbean, eventually emerging into the Gulf of Mexico before smashing into the Louisiana coast just south of New Orleans. The storm stalled out and brought flooding rains that claimed seven lives and ruined homes of many more people.

In october, an unusually late season storm became Sandy in Caribbean, and slammed into Jamaica and Cuba before heading north. Sandy would brush our coast with rain and surf and cause significant damage to parts of the Outer Banks, but it did what storms like these rarely do as it took dead aim at New York and New Jersey.



In the end, the 2012 season was one that saw many storms, but only a select few that made impacts. It should serve as a reminder than it only takes one storm to make for a devastating Hurricane Season.
