There was a collective sigh of relief on Tuesday as the Atlantic hurricane season officially ended.
Although tropical systems may occur outside the official season, which runs from June 1 to November 30, the likelihood is slim as the Northern Hemisphere transitions into the winter season.
This year marked the sixth straight above-average hurricane season, making for a record stretch of hyperactive tropical activity. The final count of tropical cyclones was 21 named storms, with an average of 14 named storms per season; seven hurricanes, which is average; and four major hurricanes, while the average is three major hurricanes.
With 21 named storms, 2021 became the third season in history to end the regular list of names. The other two took place in 2005 and 2020.
The most famous storm of the 2021 season will be Hurricane Ida, one of the most accurately predicted storms in recent history. For several days, forecast models were in consensus with a high probability of an increasingly intensifying, major hurricane off the Louisiana coast.
Ida made landfall August 29 near Port Fourchon, Louisiana, as a 150-mph Category 4 hurricane, tying 2020’s Laura and 1856’s Last Island Hurricane as the strongest hurricanes ever hit the state.
It happened on the 16th anniversary of 2005 Hurricane Katrina.
The highest gust of wind recorded was 172 mph near Port Fourchon. New Orleans experienced gusts of wind up to 90 mph, causing power outages across the city. More than 1 million customers lost power in Louisiana alone.
After slamming Louisiana, Ida’s remnants moved northeast, causing devastating and deadly flooding in parts of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York.
New York City received 3.15 inches of rain in an hour. It broke the city’s record for the hottest hour ever, turning streets into rivers and subway stations into waterfalls. Dozens of people were killed, most of them trapped inside basement apartments or vehicles.
Ida came after Tropical Storm Henry, which made landfall last week on August 22, brought record rainfall to the region.
Given the mortality and destruction left by Ida, the name will be retired by the National Hurricane Center and the World Meteorological Organization, who make the official decision.
If retired, Ida will join a long list of other “I” named stormtroopers to be retired. Meteorologists often say, “Beware of the letter I,” because it contains most retired names.
Other notable hurricanes of the 2021 season were Larry and Sam for their intensity and longevity. Both maintained major hurricane status for several days. Sam was the strongest storm of the season, peaking at 155 mph, just 2 mph above Category 5 gusts.
Fortunately, Sam remained over the open Atlantic and was in no danger of landing.
The fingerprints of climate change were evident in many of this year’s tropical cyclones. Six of the seven storms progressed to rapid intensification, which is defined as an increase of 35 mph or more in 24 hours. Ida had the most impressive high intensity, gusting to 65 mph in 24 hours.
Devastating floods from heavy rainfall rates were also linked to climate change. A warmer atmosphere can hold more water, which means that record rainfall rates are expected to become more frequent and more intense in the future.
2021 season forecast fourth most expensive The Atlantic hurricane season is expected to be accompanied by economic losses of more than $70 billion, according to Brian McNoldy, senior research associate at the University of Miami’s Rosensteel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science.
Ida and Hurricane Nicholas and Tropical Storm Elsa and Fred were all Billion Dollar Disasters, Ida joined Sandy in 2012 as the fourth costliest single hurricane in US history.