ATLANTIC HURRICANE SEASON ENDS AS QUIET AS PREDICTED...

The Atlantic hurricane season officially ended on November 30 after having generating as few storms as predicted by forecasters. The 2014 season saw eight named storms, six of which became hurricanes and two of which become major hurricanes of category 3 or higher. Only one storm, the category 2 hurricane Arthur, made landfall in the US, hitting the east coast in July. In May, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration had predicted eight to 13 named Atlantic storms, three to six hurricanes and one to two major hurricanes. The June-through-November season marked the ninth straight in which hurricane-vulnerable Florida saw no storm make landfall. The last hurricane to hit the state was Wilma in 2005. “A combination of atmospheric conditions acted to suppress the Atlantic hurricane season, including very strong vertical wind shear, combined with increased atmospheric stability, stronger sinking motion and drier air across the tropical Atlantic,” said Gerry Bell, lead hurricane forecaster at the NOAA’s Climate Prediction Centre.