HURRICANE RECAP: 2016 Atlantic season brings 15 named storms, 3 major hurricanes

As expected, the 2016 Atlantic Hurricane season was a busy one, producing 15 named storms throughout the year. This surpassed the 2015 hurricane season, which recorded 11 named storms.

Of those 15 storms, seven reached hurricane strength, producing winds greater than 74 mph.

The year started off on a rare note with Hurricane Alex occurring in the middle of January, nearly five months ahead of hurricane season. Alex was a Category 1 hurricane, with wind speeds topping out at 85 mph.

Three of the seven hurricanes observed this year in the Atlantic were considered major hurricanes (Category 3 or higher). Those systems were Hurricane Gaston, Matthew and Nicole.

Hurricane Matthew was a record-breaking system for both the Atlantic basin and the state of North Carolina. The system reached Category 5 strength, producing wind speeds of 160 mph, the strongest of the 2016 hurricane season. It also was the longest lived system in the Atlantic, surviving eight consecutive days as a major hurricane. This was also the first time a Category 5 hurricane was in the Atlantic since Hurricane Felix in 2007.

In North Carolina, Hurricane Matthew brought devastating inland flooding, responsible for over 20 fatalities in the Tar Heel state alone. This was the greatest loss of life in the state due to inland flooding from a tropical system since Hurricane Floyd in 1999.

Hurricane Nicole, also a major hurricane, stayed over water through early October, but it was the first time in the Atlantic in the month of October that two Category 4 hurricanes were ongoing.

The 2016 Atlantic Hurricane season ended with Hurricane Otto, which developed near Central America in late November. Otto was the latest hurricane on record to make landfall in the Atlantic basin.

Cox Media Group