Atlantic hurricane season the 'calmest' in 21 years despite forecasters' predictions of a more 'active than average year'

Forecasters predicted 7-11 storms would strengthen to hurricanes, but only two did

They predicted it would be a more active than average hurricane season

Instead, it was the fewest amount of hurricanes since 1982

Last year was the third busiest hurricane season ever recorded



This year's Atlantic hurricane season has been the calmest in 21 years, U.S. forecasters say.

Despite forecasters’ predictions that it would be a busier year than normal, the 2013 Atlantic season has been one of the least active since 1950.

Forecasters had predicted 13 to 20 named Atlantic storms, seven to 11 that strengthen into hurricanes and three to six that become major hurricanes.



The one: The 2013 Atlantic hurricane season has been the lowest in 21 years with only Andrea (pictured) causing landfall in America, bringing tornadoes, heavy rain and minor flooding

This year there were 13 named storms - right on target - but only two, Ingrid and Humberto, became hurricanes. Neither was considered ‘major,’ which is a storm that reaches Category 3 strength with winds from 111 to 129 mph that can cause devastating damage.

Chris Landsea, a forecaster at the National Hurricane Center, said: ‘It was a busted forecast.

‘We did not anticipate it to be a quiet year.’

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said there was a 70 per cent chance that this year was going to be more active than an average hurricane season. They predicted only a 5 per cent chance of a quiet year.

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.

In comparison, last year was the third-busiest on record with 19 named storms. Ten became hurricanes and two were major storms, including Sandy.

Not normal: Tropical Storm Andrea battered the coast of Florida (pictured), also affecting eastern Georgia and eastern South Carolina. A normal year sees 12 named storms

Forecasters say that a combination of factors, including drier-than-expected air and persistent conditions in the atmosphere over the Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean Sea, and tropical Atlantic Ocean, led to the weaker season, which starts June 1 and ends Saturday.

A normal year has 12 named storms, six hurricanes and three major storms with winds over 110 mph.

Only one storm, Tropical Storm Andrea, made landfall in the United States. It brought tornadoes, heavy rain, and minor flooding to portions of Florida, eastern Georgia and eastern South Carolina, causing one death, NOAA said.



Not a 'major' storm: A man desperately tries to wade across a flooded street in Acapulco, Mexico after Ingrid struck, one of only two storms to be considered a Category 3 strength storm this year

Unlike the U.S., Mexico was battered by eight storms, including three from the Atlantic basin and five from the eastern North Pacific.

Mr Landsea said that in the Atlantic, hurricane activity tends to come in cycles, with the U.S. being in an active cycle that began in 1995. The cycles last from 25 to 40 years, so it's unclear whether 2013 will be harbinger of things to come.

He said: ‘It may be that we'll jump right back to a busy hurricane season, a lot of impacts, or it could be that we're, you know, changing to a quiet regime again. We really don't know.’

The relative calm in the Atlantic has no relationship to hurricane activity elsewhere, pointing to the storms that hit Mexico and Typhoon Haiyan, which struck the Philippines on November 8, killing more than 5,200.

Storms aplenty: Last year was the third-busiest year on record for storms, with two considered major storms including Superstorm Sandy (pictured)



