Date added: Saturday September 30, 2006: 1pm EST

Hurricane Isaac

5th 'Cane of 2006 Season

Once Again, No US Threat

Also:

Remembering "Isaac's Storm"

By HurricaneNow.com
Chief Correspondent Jeff Flock

Isaac a Cat 1

And it may get a little stronger, though it doesn't appear that the 5th hurricane of the 2006 season will make it to Cat 2 strength before it becomes extratropical by next Tuesday. The storm track is becoming pretty familiar this year. It should continue heading toward Bermuda before making the curve to sea. Bermuda is not threatened at this time, nor is the US coast.

It's Just An Average Year

Though the predictions said it would be a heavy year and when it comes to land falling US storms it's been a light year, the reality is that when it comes to hurricanes, 2006 has now been exactly an average year. Looking at government statistics on the number of hurricanes per year, 5.1 is the average number based on recorded history (which spans from 1886 to 2000. Given that we weren't as good at catching all the storms at sea in earlier history, the actual average may be higher. There is a more recent trend a little higher as well.

Average Number of Annual Hurricanes (1886-2000) 5.1

Average (1951-2000) 5.9

Average (1991-2000) 6.4

Here's the NOAA table on the averages for various time periods so you can see the averages for yourself.

One thing is certain: you can't say it hasn't been an active season. We just haven't had any action in the US.