Virtually every forecaster predicted an extremely active 2010 hurricane season and they were proven right. Mercifully however the United States was spared the worst as not one storm made landfall in the U.S.
In all, there were 19 named storms in 2010 which ties 1887 and 1995 for the third most on record. Of those 19, 12 became hurricanes tying 1968 for the second highest on record. Five became major hurricanes of Category 3 or greater. On average the Atlantic sees 11 named storms, six hurricanes and two major hurricanes.
- Watch: Scroll down to see video of the 2010 hurricane season as captured by NOAA satellites
Other notable statistics from the season include three periods when there were three named storms occurring at the same time. On August 30, Hurricane Earl, Hurricane Danielle and Tropical Storm Fiona were all churning. Two days later it was Tropical Storm Gaston, Tropical Storm Fiona and Hurricane Earl. Finally on September 14 we saw Hurricane Karl, Hurricane Igor and Hurricane Julia all at once.
For a 36 day period from August 21 to September 26 there was at least one tropical cyclone active in the Atlantic. A total of 11 storms were active during that period. September alone saw eight named storms tying the 2002 and 2007 hurricane seasons.
On average 25% of Atlantic hurricanes make landfall in the United States. Given how active the season was, it is that much more remarkable that the U.S. was spared.
Other places along the Atlantic were not so lucky. In all, 259 deaths were directly attributed to the hurricane season and more than $11 billion in damage was realized. Tropical Storm Matthew was the deadliest 2010 storm accounting for 126 fatalities in Nicaragua, Belize and Cuba.
While the Atlantic was active, the eastern Pacific saw the fewest number of named storms and hurricanes since the satellite era began in the mid-1960s. Only seven named storms developed of which three became hurricanes. Two of those three became major hurricanes. For comparison, the North Pacific averages 15 named storms, nine hurricanes and four major hurricanes.
NOAA Time Lapse Video of the 2010 Atlantic Hurricane Season
