Large hail can from golf ball to baseball sized at least 6 to 8 times during the spring and summer thunderstorm seasons. Though hail can be a nuisance, there are much more severe storms out there.
Hurricane Irma caused nearly $90 billion in damage. Though Irma, Maria, and Nate caused a significant amount of damage in 2017, the storms that struck the United States throughout 2018 were quite devastating, as well.
As the 2018 Atlantic Hurricane Season comes to an end, it’s important to look back and assess all the damage and financial issues that occurred.
According to AccuWeather, over the past six months, there were 15 named storms during the Atlantic hurricane season, eight of which became hurricanes, and only two of those storms grew to major hurricanes. Those two, however, Hurricane Florence and Hurricane Michael, were two of the most destructive storms in U.S. history.
More than 50 people died as a result of Hurricane Florence and at least 40 deaths have been attributed to Hurricane Michael.
The standard number for a hurricane season includes 12 tropical storms, six hurricanes, and two major hurricanes. This year’s tropical development took place throughout the central North Atlantic, ripe with abnormally warm water.
“This really allowed the number of storms to higher than a normal year,” said AccuWeather hurricane expert Kottlowski. “It’s very rare for there to be two years back-to-back where you’re impacted by two high-impact storms.”
In addition to Hurricane Micael and Florence, two other tropical storms, Alberto and Gordon, wreaked havoc along the Gulf Coast.
Popular Science adds that the reason for the overall rise in the number of hurricanes is most likely due to the changes in how they are actually detected. Early on in the 20th century, the only recorded storms were those that humans actually encountered through landfall. Nowadays, there are satellites that can pick up every storm on earth. When researchers adjust for that observation lift, it becomes clear that the number of storms hasn’t actually changed.
That being said, 2018 was the fourth year in a row that hurricane activity developed before June 1, the official start of the hurricane season.
