Just as Hurricane Harvey wrapped up its devastation of Houston, Irma got into line behind it and quickly built into the strongest Atlantic hurricane in recorded history. Now, the Category 5 storm Maria leaves behind widespread destruction on the Caribbean island of Dominica, and it’s now taking aim at Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. (Learn more about how hurricanes work.)
It’s hard to avoid comparisons to the last time two such powerful storms threatened U.S. landfall in the catastrophic 2005 hurricane season, 12 years ago.
As in 2005, when Katrina and Rita devastated the Gulf Coast in rapid succession, the country is staring down the barrel of multiple hurricanes making landfall. In the face of multiple major storms, a reasonable person might wonder why this season seems worse for U.S. cities, and why the last dozen years brought fewer large hurricanes to U.S. shores.
If you have a question about this hurricane season compared with recent years, we’ve got you covered:
HOW ACTIVE WAS 2017’S HURRICANE SEASON FORECAST TO BE?
Above average. The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Colorado State University, and the Weather Channel all estimated that this year, we’d likely see more hurricanes than usual spawning in the Atlantic Ocean. NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center forecasted that we’d see between 14 to 19 named storms and five to nine hurricanes this season.
Video by National Geographic[/vc_message]
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