December 9, 2009 -- Global tropics active with Southern Indian Ocean Cyclone Cleo.
North Atlantic Hurricane Season ends -- > Houston Chronicle
November 30, 2009: With the official end of the 2009 North Atlantic hurricane season, it is time to put the season in perspective and compare to the past 70-seasons. In terms of the Accumulated Cyclone Energy index [ACE], 2009 tallied ~52 ACE points which is less than half of normal. Here is a listing of the past 70-years of ACE values for the North Atlantic Listing . 2009 was the quietest year since 1997 (ACE= 41) and the 16th slowest since 1940. Interestingly, 2009 saw 1/5th of the activity of 2005, the most active ACE season on record. 3 storms out of the total of 9 accounted for 85% of the total ACE (Bill, Fred, and Ida). These 3 storms were the ************SPAM/BANNEAR************ hurricanes out of the total 9 tropical storms.
With Super Typhoon Nida (ACE > 45), signs are that Global Hurricane Activity may be reaching normal levels again during the next several months. The Great Depression is over (for now).
The current ACE represents the tropical cyclone activity from January 1, 2009 until the date indicated. This is readily compared to the YEARLY value which is the previous 30-year average from Jan 1 - Dec 31 or the calendar year. The values for 2008 and 2007 are included for reference as well. There is considerable year-to-year variability across the basins, of which understanding motivates the updating and maintainance of this site.
BASIN 2009 CURRENT 30-YR AVG 2008 2007 2006
N Hemisphere 459 563 431 386 554
N Atlantic 52 106 144 72 79
W Pacific 274 309 185 215 307
E Pacific + CPAC 127 132 82 53 157
N Indian 6 17 20 53 11
S Hemisphere 24 204 190 176 160