A Look Back at 2008

2008 Tornado Season (Nationwide)

2008 was an active year for tornadoes and also one of the deadliest. The high number of tornado-related fatalities during the first half of 2008 makes this one of the deadliest seasons since reliable records began back in 1953.

Here are the statistics (courtesy of the NOAA Storm Prediction Center):

2008 Hurricane Season (Nationwide)

2008 was also an active year for hurricanes, in fact the third most active year since aircraft reconnaissance began in 1944. A total of 16 named storms formed, 8 of those reached hurricane level status. 5 were classified as major hurricanes (Cat 3 or higher) but no hurricane ever made it to Cat 5 intensity.

Below are the numbers for 2008 (courtesy of the NOAA National Hurricane Center):

• Named tropical storms - 16 (average 9.6)
• Named tropical storm days - 84.75 (average 49.1)
• Hurricanes - 8 (average 5.9)
• Hurricane days - 29.5 (average (24.5)
• Major hurricanes - 5 (average 2.3)
• Major hurricane days - 8.5 (average 5.0)
• Net tropical cyclone activity - 164 (average 100)

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