The active 2021 Atlantic hurricane season ended today, Tuesday, November 30.
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), this season was the third most active year on record in terms of named storms.
It was the sixth consecutive above-normal Atlantic hurricane season and was the first time on record that two consecutive Atlantic hurricane seasons used the entire list of 21 storm names.
WPTV First Alert Meteorologist Steve Villanueva said fortunately for South Florida, none of the hurricanes impacted us directly. "It was a very quiet season locally. Three storms affected the state: Elsa, Fred, and Mindy. They all made landfall in the Panhandle," Villanueva said.
The 2021 Atlantic hurricane season included seven hurricanes of which four were major hurricanes (winds of 111 mph or greater).
- Hurricane Grace was the first major hurricane of 2021. It strengthened into a Category 1 hurricane on August 18 and made landfall near Tulum, Mexico on August 19. It peaked at Category 3 winds of 125 mph on August 21. Grace was responsible for 14 deaths.
- Hurricane Ida made landfall as a Category 1 hurricane on August 27 in Cuba. Ida grew to a Category 5 hurricane, hitting its peak with 1-minute sustained winds of 150 mph and made landfall near Port Fourchon, Louisiana on August 29. Ida was responsible for the deaths of 95 people in the United States.
- Hurricane Larry became a Category 1 hurricane on September 1 and grew into a Category 3 hurricane with peak winds of 125 mph. Larry mostly stayed in open waters. It weakened to a Category 1 hurricane before making landfall on September 11 in Newfoundland.
- Hurricane Sam was a high-end Category 4 hurricane that largely stayed in open waters, packing sustained winds of 155 mph. It eventually weakened and was downgraded to a post-tropical cyclone over the far North Atlantic between Newfoundland and Iceland.
The 2022 hurricane season will begin on June 1. NOAA's Climate Prediction Center will issue their initial seasonal outlook in May.
