2022 Atlantic hurricane season (Kindofameme)

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The 2022 Atlantic hurricane season was the second most active season on record in terms of named storms, and the tenth most intense in terms of Accumulated Cyclone Energy (ACE), at 203. Twenty-two tropical cyclones formed throughout the season, eleven of which became hurricanes and six of which became major hurricanes. Two Category 5 hurricanes were observed in the season, being one of only a few years to feature more than one Category 5 hurricane.

The worst storms of the season were Hermine, Julia, Lisa and Owen which caused a massive swath of destruction, most notably in Texas where Julia, Hermine and Owen all made landfall. The season was very conducive for landfalls, with seven separate hurricane landfalls in all.

The season was very deadly and costly, with damages estimated at upwards of $94 billion and 572 confirmed fatalities.

From the beginning, forecasts were calling for a well above average season due to an ongoing La Nina and favourable conditions across the Atlantic basin. However, all these predictions fell slightly short of the actual activity as the ACE turned out to be over 200% of the long term median and the numbers were about double those of a normal season.

Timeline
The 2022 Atlantic hurricane season began on May 16, 2022, about two weeks before the official start of the season. Two tropical storms formed in May, Alex and Bonnie, which remained weak. The well above average activity continued into June, with three more named storms, one of which went on to become a Category 2 hurricane, an occurrence which is rare in June (Danielle). In July, activity was still above the long-term average, and by the end of the month there were 7 named storms and 2 hurricanes.

In August, conditions became much more conducive for storms to develop. Hermine became the first major hurricane and Category 5 of the season, followed by Ian and Julia, the latter of which also became a long-lived Category 4 hurricane. Hermine passed through the Caribbean Sea and into the Gulf of Mexico where it struck Texas just below peak intensity. Julia also tracked into the Caribbean Sea, where it made landfall on the Yucatan Peninsula and swung northward to hit Texas, compounding rescue efforts after Hermine.

In September, activity rapidly accelerated, with six tropical cyclones forming in the month. Lisa struck the city of New Orleans as a Category 3 hurricane, causing catastrophic flooding in the region when several levees failed. Owen, which formed on September 19, took a very similar track to Hermine and rapidly intensified to attain peak winds of 175 mph, the strongest windspeed observed in the season, and hit Texas at Category 4 strength. With damages estimated at around $72 billion, Owen is the fourth costliest tropical cyclone on record. Devastation was also brought to Georgia when Paula made landfall in the state as a Category 2.

October continued the active trend, although it was considerably less active than the previous month. Most of the storms harmlessly moved out into the open Atlantic as the steering patterns changed. Finally, December saw another off-season storm, Alpha, marking only the second time a Greek letter name had to be used when the original naming list ran out.