The Atlantic hurricane season has ended after “above-average” storm activity, the Insurance Information Institute (Triple-I) says. 

Twenty named storms formed, with seven becoming hurricanes and three intensifying to become “major hurricanes” with at least category three strength, Triple-I says. 

Idalia was the only hurricane to cross the coastline in the continental US during the season, which extends from June 1 to November 30, while two tropical storms made US landfall. 

Hurricane Idalia struck the coast with maximum winds of 125 miles per hour on August 30 after briefly reaching Category 4 intensity in the Gulf of Mexico. It was the strongest hurricane to hit the Florida Big Bend region since 1896. 

Colorado State University (CSU) had forecast that this year would see more activity than an average season, which typically has 14 named storms, seven hurricanes and three major hurricanes. 

“Named storms and named storm days were well above their long-term averages, while accumulated cyclone energy, an integrated metric accounting for intensity and duration of storms, was somewhat above normal,” Triple-I non-resident scholar and CSU Department of Atmospheric Science senior scientist Phil Klotzbach said. 

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) says this season ranked fourth for the most named storms in a year since 1950, while the Atlantic basin also produced the most named storms of any El Nino influenced year in the modern record. 

“The record-warm ocean temperatures in the Atlantic provided a strong counterbalance to the traditional El Nino impacts,” NOAA Climate Prediction Centre lead hurricane forecaster Matthew Rosencrans said. 

The season was particularly active in the Atlantic from late August and through September. 

Triple-I CEO Sean Kevelighan says widespread damage incurred in Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas from Hurricane Idalia, in addition to other named storms that impacted areas of Texas, the Mid-Atlantic and New England, highlighting the importance of having adequate property insurance and flood coverage.