FOX44 - Burlington / Plattsburgh News, Weather & Sports11.29.11 November Marks The End of Hurricane Season

Just one day to go of the 2011 Atlantic hurricane season. The official start and end of the peak tropical activity season goes from June 1^st to the 30^th of November. During this time, tropical activity ramps up and is when we tend to see the most hurricane and tropical cyclones develop. The dates, however, do not mean that tropical systems CAN'T form before or after that time...it certainly has happened and could still happen this year.   

NOAA has released their recap for the 2011 Atlantic season. In total, 19 tropical storms formed, 7 of which became hurricanes, 3 of those were considered major (category 3 or higher). The number of hurricanes and major hurricanes is only slightly above the average of six and two, respectively.

Irene was the lone hurricane to hit the United States in 2011, and the first one to do so since Ike struck southeast Texas in 2008. Irene was also the most significant tropical cyclone to strike the Northeast since Hurricane Bob in 1991.

"Irene broke the ‘hurricane amnesia' that can develop when so much time lapses between landfalling storms," said Jack Hayes, Ph.D., director of NOAA's National Weather Service. "This season is a reminder that storms can hit any part of our coast and that all regions need to be prepared each and every season."

...I think we all can speak to that...

Hurricane Irene is an example of increasing accuracy in forecasting storm track. Its landfall in eastern North Carolina and path northward to the northeast were accurately predicted more than four days in advance by NOAA's National Hurricane Center using information from weather satellites, hurricane models, aircraft observations, and other data. NOAA's delivery of critical environmental forecasts provided essential advance information that allowed emergency officials to plan necessary evacuations and sparked individuals to take safety precautions. But a weaker-than-anticipated Irene at landfall also highlighted the challenges that remain in forecasting storm intensity.

"Improving intensity forecasts is a focus of ongoing research and is part of NOAA's Hurricane Forecast Improvement Project," said Frank Marks, Ph.D., director of NOAA's Hurricane Research Division. HFIP bridges research and operational components to better anticipate rapid changes in storm intensity and its goal to extend track forecasts from the current five days to seven days.

NOAA also releases a video recap of each hurricane season (which, I think, is WAY cool). Click here to check out a satellite timelapse video of the entire 2011 hurricane season in 4.5 minutes on YouTube.

For more information on hurricanes and to read frequently asked questions, click here.