The 2023 hurricane season officially ends on Thursday. It was one of the busiest years on record.
We saw 20 named storms, with seven hurricanes and, of those, three that became major hurricanes. The year ranks fourth for the most-named storms in a year since 1950.
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According to NOAA, an average season has 14 named storms, seven hurricanes and three major hurricanes.
Hurricane Idalia was the only hurricane to make landfall in the U.S. this year. It made landfall near Keaton Beach, in Florida's Big Bend, on August 30 as a major category 3 storm.
Hurricane
Photos: Hurricane Idalia impact on Tampa Bay area, other parts of Fla.
Parts of the Tampa Bay area saw major flooding from Idalia, but the area dodged a direct hit. Our area hasn't been directly hit by a major hurricane in more than a century.
There was one direct death from Idalia, according to the National Weather Service. Authorities said at the time that a man died in Valdosta, Georgia when a tree fell on him.
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Three of the four busiest hurricane seasons have happened in the last four years.
The top four are:
- 2020: 30 named storms, 14 hurricanes
- 2005: 28 named storms, 15 hurricanes
- 2021: 21 named storms, 7 hurricanes
- 2023: 20 named storms, 7 hurricanes
Before 2020, when all 21 storm names were used, the United Nations World Meteorological Organization (WMO) would take names from the Greek alphabet. It had only been used twice since 2005, but in 2020, it was used a record-breaking nine times. After that, the WMO released a list of supplemental names.
Click here for more information on the 2023 season. Next year's hurricane season starts on June 1.