A Quick Review of the 2008 Atlantic Hurricane Season…

Let’s take a quick look back at the 2008 North Atlantic Hurricane Season so far.

Tropical Storm Arthur is the storm that nearly wasn’t. It formed at the last minute before landfall in Belize on May 31st. Top winds were 40 mph. Arthur caused devastating flooding in Belize.

Major Hurricane Bertha is the longest lived July tropical cyclone on record. At its peak intensity, it had top winds of 130 mph. The storm passed just east of Bermuda, but damage was light.

Tropical Storm Cristobal formed off the South Carolina coast and moved northeast, passing well east of Cape Hatteras.

Hurricane Dolly formed over the western Caribbean in late July. Its center reformed over the Yucatan and it moved northwestward into the Gulf. Landfall was on South Padre Island on July 23rd. Top winds were 100 mph.

Tropical Storm Edouard was a short lived Gulf of Mexico storm. It formed southeast of the mouth of the Mississippi River and it moved westward, making a landfall on the Upper Texas coast.

Hurricane Fay was a remarkable storm. Fay produced tremendous flooding over the Greater Antilles early in its life. It crossed Cuba, curved over the Florida Keys into Southwest Florida, emerged back into the Atlantic and lopped back to hit Northeast Florida. It had one more landfall up its sleeve, south of Tallahassee. It brought beneficial rains to the Southeast.

Hurricane Gustav formed over the southeastern Caribbean. It impacted Haiti and then devastated parts of Cuba with an incredible storm surge, category four winds and flooding rains. It emerged into the Gulf and steamed toward Southeast Louisiana. It made landfall in Terrebonne Parish on Labor Day.

Hurricane Hanna pounded the Bahamas and caused severe flooding on an already devastated Haiti.

Ike is the storm of the year. Even as Gustav was making landfall in Louisiana, Ike was cranking up in the far eastern Atlantic. It deepened rapidly, going from tropical storm to category four hurricane in just twelve hours! Ike pounded Great Inaugua and Grand Turk, producing tremendous devastation. It then crossed Cuba and emerged into the Gulf. It would make landfal early on the 13th at Galveston, producing over $30 billion in damage, making it the second most damaging in U.S. history.

Josephine, Kyle and Laura were of no consequence.

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