[ARRL-OK] 2005 Atlantic hurricane season.

[Mark D. Conklin N7XYO]

>From another list:

The NHC has just completed their "Best Track" reanalysis of the 2005
Atlantic hurricane season.  This allows the forecasters and hurricane
specialists to look at the storms in hindsight and evaluate with an
objective eye the track and intensity.  This often changes the numbers a
bit, but they more accurately reflect what happened, which is not always
the case in the hurried operational timeframe.
You can find the individual storm summaries at:
http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/2005atlan.shtml

So, we ended up with 27 Tropical Storms, 15 Hurricanes, and 7 Major
Hurricanes.  Amazingly, 4 of those major hurricanes were Category 5s. 
These huge numbers, combined with the cumulative longevity of them,
produced a season that was 276% of an "average" season (this is the NTC or
Net Tropical Cyclone activity).

Longevity:
Storm with most time spent at 35kts+: Ophelia (10.75 days)
Storm with most time spent at 65kts+: Wilma (7.50 days)
Storm with most time spent at 100kts+: Wilma (4.75 days)

Contributions to season's NTC (out of 100%):
1st: Wilma (12.9%)
2nd: Emily (12.2%)
3rd: Rita (10.0%)
4th: Dennis (9.0%)
5th: Katrina (8.7%)

Highest Intensity (pressure and wind):
1st: Wilma (882mb and 160kts)
2nd: Rita (895mb 155kts)
3rd: Katrina (902mb 150kts)
4th: Emily (929mb and 140kts)
5th: Dennis (930mb and 130kts)

Deadliest:
1st: Katrina (1336)
2nd: Stan (80)
3rd: Dennis (42)
4th: Alpha (26)
5th: Wilma (22)

Costliest:
1st: Katrina ($75 bil)
2nd: Wilma ($12.2 bil)
3rd: Rita ($10.0 bil)
4th: Dennis ($2.2 bil)
5th: Cindy ($0.3 bil)


Also, CSU's April forecast for the 2006 season was just issued today and
is available at: http://hurricane.atmos.colostate.edu/Forecasts/

Brian

-- 
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Brian D. McNoldy            Research Associate
Dept. of Atmospheric Sci.
Colorado State University