HURRICANE SEASON 2008

Yes, Tina, this is the only time in 20 years I have been here that the 'storms' went beyond
the November 1 date.

HERE IS WHAT THE EXPERTS HAVE TO SAY:

Atlantic hurricane season blows away records

Seth Borenstein,
Ap Science Writer –
Wed Nov 26, 2008
Reuters –

The 2008 Atlantic hurricane season, which ends Sunday, seemed to strike the United States and Cuba as if on redial, setting at least five weather records for persistence and repeatedly striking the same areas.

"It was pretty relentless in a large number of big strikes," said Georgia Tech atmospheric sciences professor Judith Curry. "We just didn't have the huge monster where a lot of people lost their lives,
but we had a lot of damage, a lot of damage."

Data on death and damage are still being calculated, but the insurance industry recorded at least
$10.6 billion in losses this hurricane season. That includes $8.1 billion in insured damage from Hurricane Ike, which ranked as the seventh most expensive catastrophe in the United States history, according
to Mike Barry of the Insurance Information Institute in New York.

Three records showed the hurricane season's relentlessness.

Six consecutive named storms — Dolly, Edouard, Fay, Gustav, Hanna and Ike — struck the U.S. mainland, something that had not been seen in recorded history.

It's also the first time a major hurricane, those with winds of at least 111 mph, formed in five consecutive months, July through November.

And Bertha spun about for 17 days, making it the longest lived storm in July.