Tropical Storms in December?

Tropical Storm Zeta (12-30-05)   Source: NASA

The tropical season typically ends quietly on November 30.  The final storm to form during the 2014 hurricane season was Tropical Storm Hanna on October 22.  While this was a relatively quiet season, 2005 was anything but for the Atlantic Ocean Basin.

More named tropical systems formed in 2005 than any other season (June 1 to November 30) on record. A total of 28 tropical storms formed, of which 15 became hurricanes with sustained winds of at least 74 mph. Of those 15 hurricanes, 7 became major hurricanes defined as being Category 3 (out of 5) or greater on the Saffir-Simpson hurricane intensity scale with sustained winds of at least 111 mph.

Moreover, 2005 produced a record four Category 5 hurricanes as well.  That included the strongest hurricane ever recorded in the Atlantic Ocean – Hurricane Wilma.  The most infamous storm of the 2005 season was Hurricane Katrina, which surpassed Hurricane Andrew as the costliest natural disaster in U.S. history.  According to the National Hurricane Center, Katrina caused an estimated $108 billion in damage.

So many storms formed in 2005 that all the designated names on the normal list of names were used up, and scientists had to start using names based on the Greek Alphabet.  Overlooked among these records and destructive storms was the final named system of the 2005 season that formed nine years ago today. Tropical Storm Zeta formed on December 30, 2005.  Its highest sustained winds climbed to 65 mph before it dissipated on January 6, 2006, thus bringing an end to the historic 2005 hurricane season.