Facts about the 2023 Atlantic Hurricane Season as it comes to a close

As the 2023 Atlantic Hurricane Season draws to a close, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has issued its observations on what was a season of record breaking warm Atlantic Sea surface temperatures and a strong El Nino activities.

In this particular season which closes on the 30^th of November, the region has experienced 20 named storms, ranking fourth for named storms in a single season since 1950.

Three Major Hurricanes and seven Hurricanes were recorded, compared to the average of 14 named storms, seven Hurricanes and 3 major Hurricanes.

Hurricane Idalia was the only one out of the entire list that made landfall in the United States as a Category-3 Hurricane on August 30 in Florida. As a result, Florida and the entire southeast of the United States, causing widespread rainfall and storm surge inundations of 7 to 12 feet.

Tropical Strom Ophelia made landfall in Emerald Isle, North Carolina on September 23^rd as a strong tropical storm with winds up to 70 miles per hour.

Hurricane Lee made landfall as a post-tropical cyclone in Nova Scotia, Canada, on September 16.

“The Atlantic basin produced the most named storms of any El Nino influenced year in the modern record, the record-warm ocean temperatures in the Atlantic provided a strong counterbalance to the traditional El Nino impacts” stated Matthew Rosencrans, lead hurricane forecaster at NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center — a division of NOAA’s National Weather Service.