The tracks of 2014's eight named tropical storms and hurricanes traveled largely over the open water of the Atlantic Ocean. The closest path was that of Hurricane Arthur, which passed Ocean City on July 4.
The Atlantic Ocean remained free of any named tropical storm on Thursday, and with air and ocean temperatures beginning to fall, it appears the 2014 hurricane season will end uneventfully for Ocean City.
The official hurricane season ends on Nov. 30, and Ocean City has seen neither rain, nor wind from any tropical storm this season.
While the number of named tropical storms, hurricanes and major hurricanes in 2014 is only slightly below average, the season seemed especially quiet because most of the storms traveled over the open water of the Atlantic.
Six of this year's eight named storms became hurricanes. Edouard was the first major hurricane (sustained winds of 111 mph) since Sandy in 2012, and Gonzalo was the first Category 4 (sustained winds of 130 mph) since Ophelia in 2011.
The storm that passed closest to Ocean City was the first. Arthur tracked several hundred miles off the coast of New Jersey on July 4 as a Category 2 storm.
While none of the storms came particularly close, most generated solid long-period surf for Ocean City. Surfers enjoyed swell from Arthur, Bertha, Cristobal, Edouard and Gonzalo.
The 2014 season follows another quiet year in 2013 — after a late-season storm in 2012, Sandy, caused record flooding and reminded everybody of the power and potential danger of hurricane season.
The record year for hurricane activity remains 2005. The following is a chart of hurricane season activity from the National Hurricane Center (with averages from the period of 1966 to 2009).
[table]Storms,Avg. Year,
2014,2013,2005
Named Storms (39 mph winds),11.3,8,13,28
Hurricanes (74 mph winds),6.2,6,2,15
Major Hurricanes (111 mph),2.3,2,0,7[/table]
The National Hurricane Center reports that a low-pressure system near the Dominican Republic potentially could become a tropical storm in the next 48 hours. But current models suggest it would not affect any significant landmasses.
See more on 2014 storms from the National Hurricane Center.
