2014 Hurricane Season Recap

The 2014 Hurricane Season has finally come into a quiet conclusion for the tropics. The Atlantic Season so far is quietest we see while the Pacific, Eastern and Western the most active. 

The Atlantic Season ended with 10 Storms, but only 8 Named with the name "Hanna" being the most recent following what left of Tropical Storm Trudy crossing Mexico. The first storm, Arthur, just formed a month after the Atlantic Hurricane Season began and made problems for the 4th of July weekend in the coastal areas of both North and South Carolina. Making Arthur the first Category 2 Hurricane to make landfall since Hurricane Ike in 2008.

Although the Atlantic has 8 Named Storms, it has 6 Hurricanes, with 2 Major Hurricanes (Edouard and Gonzalo). Edouard became the first major hurricane since Sandy in 2012 and ended the 1 year drought in the Atlantic following the 2013 season when it has no major hurricanes. Fay and Gonzalo made landfall in Bermuda one after another with Fay making landfall as a Category 1 and Gonzalo as a Category 2, even though Gonzalo was a strong Category 4 with 145 mph winds. Gonzalo was one of the strongest hurricane Bermuda has to face since Hurricane Fabian in 2003. And the longest lived due to its remains through Europe.

All in all, the Atlantic was the quietest with only 8 Named Storms, 6 Hurricanes, and 2 Major, not to compare to the 1992 Hurricane Season with 7 Named Storms, 4 Hurricanes, and 1 Major, which was Andrew. The 2014 Hurricane Names for the Atlantic were recycled from the 2008 Season with Gustav, Ike, and Paloma replaced by Gonzalo, Isaias, and Paulette. Those names will be recycled again in 2020 unless one of these names will be replaced in the Spring of 2015.

 While the Atlantic was quiet, the Pacific was the most active with 20 Named Storms, adding 2 from the Central Pacific (Wali and Ana). Amanda became the strongest storm in the month of May with winds over 155 mph, however that changes till Late August when Marie became the strongest in the Eastern Pacific since Celia in 2010. 

The State of Hawaii were faced with 4 Named Storms with 3 Hurricanes and 1 Tropical Storm. Hawaii faced a double threat in August with Iselle and Julio, two major hurricanes, not since Iniki in 1992 when Hawaii was faced with a major hurricane. 

But it's not that long till Hurricane Ana threatens Hawaii in October, however, the Aloha State, dodged a bullet from the storm. And don't forget about Odile making landfall in Cabo San Lucas as a Category 3. Odile cause major damage in Baja California, and making a flood threat in the Southwestern United States, most importantly, Arizona. Tourist in Cabo were stranded after the storm hit the area. Luckly, they escaped. 

The Hurricane Season for the Eastern Pacific ends with 20 Named Storms, 15 Hurricanes, and 9 Major. One of the 9 was Genevieve, crossing the International Date Line and became a strong Category 5 Typhoon. For the Central Pacific, it was 2 Named Storms, with only 1 Hurricane.

The Western Pacific was something that you don't believe in your eyes. Rammasun, Nuri, Vongfong, Neoguri, Halong, major storms watched over. Vongfong was the strongest in the Western Pacific as a Category 5 Typhoon, the strongest cyclone in the year 2014, compare to Haiyan in 2013. 

Rammasun rampaged through Haiyan damaged Philippines before heading off to China. And Matmo through Taiwan, causing a plane to crash, with 48 fatalities.