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Hurricane Season 2013 Ends With Little Action

National Hurricane Center

The 2013 Atlantic hurricane season ended Saturday, going out for the Gulf Coast in the same manner as much of its six-month run – rather quietly.

Overall, there were 13 named storms, one more than average for the season. Andrea was the first and only one to make landfall in the U.S. Her tornadoes, heavy rain and flooding in parts of the South caused millions in damage and claimed one life.

The season’s two hurricanes -- Ingrid and Humberto – were the fewest since 1982 and well below the average of six. Neither became major hurricanes of Category-3 or higher.

Based on collective strength and duration of named storms and hurricanes, the 2013 season is expected to rank as the sixth least-active Atlantic season since 1950 – at least for the United States. Mexico, on the other hand, was hit by three storms that originated in the Atlantic basin.

The biggest local threat from a tropical storm came pretty far down the alphabet in early October. Tropical Storm Karen developed over the Yucatan Channel and the southern Gulf of Mexico, with maximum winds of 65 mph. She later became disorganized while tracking through the northern Gulf, and was downgraded a tropical depression on October 5th.

Forty-five hurricane hunter aircraft reconnaissance missions were flown over the Atlantic basin this season by NOAA and the Air Force Reserve. At 435, they totaled the fewest number of flight hours in any hurricane season since at least 1966.