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Mid-way through Atlantic Basin tropical cyclone season

Posted at 8:31 AM, Sep 10, 2012
and last updated 2012-09-10 08:33:12-04

RICHMOND, Va. (WTVR) – Today, September 10, marks the climatological mid-way point of the Atlantic Basin tropical cyclone season.

We’ve made it through the line-up of names down to Michael, which remains a Category One hurricane in the central Atlantic Ocean early Monday morning, and will pose no threat to land as it moves northward. Tropical Storm Leslie brushed east of Bermuda this weekend, and will clip Newfoundland by Tuesday morning, then continue into the north-central Atlantic Ocean.

The next name on our list is “Nadine,” and a disturbance that moved off of Africa as a tropical wave may earn that name sometime this week as it organizes in the coming days.

So far this 2012 season, we’ve tallied 14 tropical depressions, 13 of which at least became tropical storms with names. Of those 13, seven became hurricanes. Only one, Hurricane Michael, reached major hurricane status as a Category Three. This count means that we are already slightly above average for the number of named storms and  hurricanes. In an average tropical season, there are 10.1 named storms, 5.9 of which reach hurricane strength, and 2.5 of those become major hurricanes (Category 3 or stronger).

Here are the typical tracks of September systems:

National Hurricane Center

Keep up with the latest on both of these storms by utilizing our Interactive Hurricane Tracker HERE.

Meteorologist Carrie Rose
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