On Wednesday 30 Nov., the Atlantic hurricane season came to its official end. However, the season’s storm activity ended abruptly some two weeks prior, leaving the season overall as weaker than forecast.
Nevertheless, the season brought several damaging storms: Ian, which skirted Cayman before pummelling parts of the Florida coast and Fiona, which hit Puerto Rico.
Ahead of the official 1 June start, forecasters called for 14 to 21 named storms which are weather systems that generate sustained winds of at least 39mph. Of those storms, forecasters predicted six to 10 hurricanes (systems with sustained winds of at least 74mph) and three to five major hurricanes – a Category 3 storm or higher, with winds of at least 111mph.
During the six-month long season, there were in fact 14 named storms, eight hurricanes and two major hurricanes: Fiona and Ian.
According to the US-based National Hurricane Center, the 2022 season produced average storm activity – which fell short of its predictions for an above-average season.
“This unique season was defined by a rare mid-season pause in storms that scientists preliminarily believe was caused by increased wind shear and suppressed atmospheric moisture high over the Atlantic Ocean,” said NOAA in a statement released on its website.
The “rare mid-season pause” occurred during August when, for the first time since 1950, no storms developed for the month. The lull in storm activity resulted in the slowest start to an Atlantic Hurricane Season in 30 years. Similar lulls, which lasted for considerably shorter periods, ensued throughout the remainder of the season.
Cayman’s near brush with Hurricane Ian
While Cayman was largely spared the brunt of the 2022 Atlantic hurricane season, we did not go by unscathed.
In the early hours of Monday, 26 Sept., the outer bounds of Ian, while still a tropical storm, drew near to Grand Cayman. At its closest point of approach, after becoming Hurricane Ian, the storm passed 85 miles west of Grand Cayman in the morning of 26 Sept.
Ian would then make its way across the north-western part of Cuba before slamming into Florida with the full strength of a Category 4 hurricane, claiming at least 148 lives, according to NBC News and leaving in its wake upwards of US$40 billion in damages.
See Hurricane Ian’s passage over Cayman in photos below.
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