2005 Atlantic Best Track

The NHC has just completed their "Best Track" reanalysis of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season.  This allows the forecasters and hurricane specialists to look at the storms in hindsight and evaluate with an objective eye the track and intensity.  This often changes the numbers a bit, but they more accurately reflect what happened, which is not always the case in the hurried operational timeframe.
You can find the individual storm summaries at: http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/2005atlan.shtml

So, we ended up with 27 Tropical Storms, 15 Hurricanes, and 7 Major Hurricanes.  Amazingly, 4 of those major hurricanes were Category 5s.  These huge numbers, combined with the cumulative longevity of them, produced a season that was 276% of an "average" season (this is the NTC or Net Tropical Cyclone activity).

Longevity:
Storm with most time spent at 35kts+: Ophelia (10.75 days)
Storm with most time spent at 65kts+: Wilma (7.50 days)
Storm with most time spent at 100kts+: Wilma (4.75 days)

Contributions to season's NTC (out of 100%):
1st: Wilma (12.9%)
2nd: Emily (12.2%)
3rd: Rita (10.0%)
4th: Dennis (9.0%)
5th: Katrina (8.7%)

Highest Intensity (pressure and wind):
1st: Wilma (882mb and 160kts)
2nd: Rita (895mb 155kts)
3rd: Katrina (902mb 150kts)
4th: Emily (929mb and 140kts)
5th: Dennis (930mb and 130kts)

Deadliest:
1st: Katrina (1336)
2nd: Stan (80)
3rd: Dennis (42)
4th: Alpha (26)
5th: Wilma (22)

Costliest:
1st: Katrina ($75 bil)
2nd: Wilma ($12.2 bil)
3rd: Rita ($10.0 bil)
4th: Dennis ($2.2 bil)
5th: Cindy ($0.3 bil)


Also, CSU's April forecast for the 2006 season was just issued today and is available at: http://hurricane.atmos.colostate.edu/Forecasts/

Please visit my tropical Atlantic headquarters.

Tropical Storm Zeta forms...

Go ahead, re-read the subject; it did NOT say "Winter Storm Update 
12/30".  Continuing an unprecedented tropical season (and post-season), 
the 27th named storm, Zeta, has formed today in the eastern Atlantic, 
south of the Azores.  Satellite-estimated intensity is 45kts and 1003mb.
It's located at 25.0N 36.9W and tracking NW at 7kts.  It has healthy 
deep convection centralized over the core, and several banding features.  
It's in about 20kts of westerly shear and is over 23C water.

The forecast is bleak for the storm, possibly strengthening briefly in 
the next 24 hours, then rapidly dissipating in increasingly hostile 
conditions as it turns toward the west.

The formation of Zeta brings the season's NTC up to 268% (an average 
season is defined to be 100%)

Please visit my tropical Atlantic headquarters.

Yet another record for the 2005 hurricane season

From Phil Klotzbach:

According to the monthly data that I have since 1950, December 2005 has now posted the highest NTC of any December on record with 8.8%.  It broke the old record of 7.7% set in 1984.  December 2005 also has the record for most named storm days (7) and hurricane days (5.25) ever in a December.  

Please visit my tropical Atlantic headquarters.