Tomorrow finally marks the end of the 2012 Atlantic hurricane
season—and it’s been one for the record books. As the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) reports today,
this season produced 19 names storms, 10 of which became
hurricanes and one that became a major hurricane. The sheer
number of named storms is well above the average of 12, but the
number of major hurricanes was below the average of three.
Altogether, it was enough for NOAA to classify the 2012 season
as above-normal—though not exceptionally so. You’re probably
assuming that the one major hurricane was Sandy—but you’d be
wrong. The only storm above a Category 1 or 2 was Hurricane
Michael, a Category 3 storm that never made landfall. Sandy,
despite the destruction it left, was a Category 2 at its
strongest, and was only a Category 1 when it made landfall in
the U.S. It’s another reminder that the timing and location of a
hurricane matters just as much—if not more—than its sheer
strength. It’s also a sign that the 2012 season co