While the climatological peak of the hurricane season was quiet with no tropical activity, the season generated three Category 5 hurricanes, the second-most on record in a single season.  

Atlantic Basin: Key Storms and Statistics

Tropical Storm Andrea formed on June 23, kicking off the season. Tropical storms Barry and Chantal then developed in rapid succession, before activity took a pause. Chantal was the only storm to make landfall in the U.S., bringing excessive rainfall and flooding to North Carolina.

Hurricane Erin was the first Category 5 storm of the season and brought storm surge and tropical storm conditions to the North Carolina Outer Banks and rough surf and rip currents along the East Coast. Erin underwent rapid intensification, and is tied for the fifth-fastest 24-hour increase in maximum sustained winds on record, from 75 mph to 160 mph. Erin also tied for the third-fastest 24-hour pressure drop in the Atlantic basin on record, dropping 83 millibars from 998 mb to 915 mb. 

Hurricane Humberto became the second Category 5 hurricane, and soon after,  Hurricane Imelda developed and became the final storm of September. 

Hurricane Melissa developed into the third Category 5 hurricane of the season, and became one of the strongest Atlantic basin hurricane landfalls on record when it made landfall in southwestern Jamaica on October 28, bringing extensive damage to Jamaica, Hispaniola, and eastern Cuba. Melissa was the fourth storm to undergo rapid intensification this year, with a 115-mph wind increase and a 90 millibar decrease in central pressure in a 72-hour period ending at 11 a.m. EDT on October 28. 

Four days before Melissa’s landfall in Jamaica, the NHC projected a path over western Jamaica, a forecast that ended up with a track difference of only about 13 miles. “NHC’s intensity forecasts for Melissa outperformed every model at nearly every lead time and provided almost three days of advance notice that Melissa would make landfall in Jamaica as a powerful Category 5 hurricane,” said Michael Brennan, Ph.D., director, NOAA’s National Hurricane Center. “This lead time was remarkable because it was the first time NHC forecasted a hurricane to reach Category 5 intensity from such a low initial intensity when the forecast was first issued.”

Source: National Hurricane Center, Miami, USA