The 2024 Atlantic hurricane season ended with 11 hurricanes, surpassing the average of seven. It featured unique events such as Hurricane Beryl becoming the earliest Category 5 hurricane. Major storms caused widespread destruction, particularly Hurricane Helene, resulting in over 200 fatalities and $48.8 billion in damages.
The 2024 Atlantic hurricane season concluded on Saturday, marking a period characterized by an unprecedented 11 hurricanes, surpassing the average of seven. Meteorologists have described this season as “crazy busy,” primarily due to warmer than usual ocean temperatures. Throughout the season, eight hurricanes made landfall across several regions, including the United States, Bermuda, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, and Grenada.
This year’s hurricane season was influenced significantly by climatological changes, notably the rising sea temperatures that facilitated the formation and intensification of hurricanes in atypical regions and times. The impact of these storms was not uniformly distributed; areas such as the southeastern United States suffered devastating consequences, reminiscent of the damage wrought by hurricanes in previous years. This season was underscored by Hurricane Beryl, which set a record for a June hurricane, and Hurricane Helene, which proved to be particularly destructive.
To conclude, the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season was marked by record-breaking occurrences and significant fatalities, highlighting the escalating impacts of climatic shifts on storm activity. With the formation of early and late-season hurricanes such as Beryl and Milton, the need for vigilance and preparedness remains critical. Researchers emphasize that while it is challenging to attribute individual storm events to climate change, the trend of increasingly severe storms is becoming more apparent.
Original Source: nsjonline.com
