We made it: Hurricane season comes to a close Friday

CENTRAL FLORIDA — There are just a few more hours to go before we can officially say we made it through yet another hurricane season.

Hurricane season 2018 ends at midnight Friday. Here in Central Florida, we made it through unscathed, but the same can’t be said for other parts of the state and country.

"This year, Central Florida was spared, but it's bittersweet," said Severe Weather Center 9 meteorologist Brian Shields. "Florence and Michael caused immense destruction. Hopefully next year everything stays out to sea -- one can only hope!"

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Overall this season saw 15 named storms, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Four of those storms were active at the same time; NOAA said that was the first time that had happened since 2008.

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The season will likely be remembered for its two major storms: hurricanes Michael and Florence.
Hurricane Florence caused catastrophic flooding in portions of North and South Carolina when it made landfall on Sept. 14.

According to NOAA, Hurricane Michael, at a Category 4 intensity, was the strongest hurricane on record to strike the Florida panhandle. The storm came ashore Oct. 10.

An NOAA news release said Hurricane Michael was the third-most-intense hurricane to make landfall in the continental U.S. on record in terms of central pressure and the fourth-strongest in terms of maximum sustained winds.

"The 2018 season fell within NOAA's predicted ranges in our preseason outlook issued in late May. However, the overall season was more active than predicted in the updated outlook issued in early August," said Gerry Bell, Ph.D., lead seasonal hurricane forecaster at NOAA's Climate Prediction Center.

We now have six months off until hurricane season starts all over again June 1.

Cox Media Group