The good news, Hurricane Season 2017 is officially over.
The bad news, it was the most expensive hurricane season on record.
The Atlantic experienced a total of 17 named storms, that is the most on record since 1851. These storms left a path of damage and destruction through the US and Caribbean. Ten of the 17 storms became full blown hurricanes, six of which were classified as major hurricanes.
Warmer than normal ocean temperature and strong winds united in September to make it have the most days with major hurricanes roaming and more hurricane energy than any other month on record.
Harvey was the first major hurricane to hit the mainland US in over a decade and set a record for rainfall. Irma was close behind and battered Florida and Puerto Rico with winds that were the strongest ever recorded outside of the Caribbean or Gulf of Mexico and trailing behind was Maria which continued to devastate Puerto Rico.
Storms of this scale are expected to continue and strengthen because warm ocean water is what keeps hurricanes going.
The other records broken this season? Cost! 2017 was the costliest hurricane season ever. Moody's Analytics has put together a preliminary estimate and the damage caused by Harvey and Irma is expected to top $200 billion. Hurricane Maria can likely cause up to $45 billion in damages to Puerto Rico. These top the previous record of $211.2 billion set in 2005.
Read more at The Washington Post