Weak 2013 Atlantic hurricane season draws to close
Published 12:28 pm Monday, November 25, 2013
MIAMI (AP) — Forecasters say the 2013 Atlantic hurricane season, which officially ends Saturday, has delivered the fewest hurricanes since 1982.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said in a news release Monday that drier-than-expected air led to the weak season. There were 13 named storms, but only two — Ingrid and Humberto — became hurricanes. Neither was considered “major,” a storm that reaches Category 3 strength.
The average Atlantic hurricane season produces six hurricanes, of which three are “major.”
NOAA says 2013 will rank as the sixth least-active year since 1950, in terms of the collective strength and duration of tropical storms and hurricanes.
Only one storm, Tropical Storm Andrea, made landfall in the United States.