Use these links to access detailed analyses of Global and U.S. data. June
July
August
September
October
Though Lili and Kyle continued into October, no tropical storms actually formed in October 2002 in the Atlantic Basin, which is quite unusual. Only one tropical cyclone formed in the month - Tropical Depression Fourteen which developed on the 14th and though it brought some rain to Cuba, Jamaica and the Cayman Islands, no reports of damage or casualties resulted, and the storm merged with a cold front on the 16th. Seasonal SummaryThe Atlantic Hurricane Season begins on June 1st and ends on November 30th. There were 12 named storms, compared to a 1944-96 annual average of 9.8. Four of those named storms became hurricanes of which 2 were classified as major (category 3-5 on the Saffir-Simpson Scale). This compares to an average of 5.8 hurricanes a year, 2.5 of which are major based on a 53-year average. And there were 2 additional tropical depressions. So, there were more named tropical cyclones than the long-term mean, but fewer strong storms. This translates to a slightly below average season overall, according to NOAA's Climate Prediction Center, since the tropical storms were less intense. The season was also slow to begin, extremely active in September and less active than average at its end. Eight named systems developed in September as well as a tropical depression, making it the month with most tropical storm formations of any month on record for the Atlantic basin.Seven tropical storms made landfall on the continental U.S. in 2002 - the most since 1998, when seven was also the number of landfalling tropical systems for the U.S. Hurricane Lili was the first hurricane to impact the coast of the U.S. since Irene in October 1999. Notable tropical systems in 2002 include Hurricane Isidore and Lili in September for their intensity, and Hurricane Kyle, also in September, for its duration. Kyle was the third longest lived tropical cyclone in the Atlantic basin after Ginger of 1971 and Inga of 1969. Kyle formed on September 20th and spent over 3 weeks in the North Atlantic before finally coming ashore in South Carolina on October 11th. Isidore became a category 3 hurricane as it moved into the southeastern Gulf of Mexico and hit the Yucatan Peninsula on September 22nd at category 3 strength. After weakening over the Yucatan Peninsula, it never quite regained hurricane strength and came ashore in Louisiana as a tropical storm. Lili was the only hurricane to make landfall in the United States in 2002, and did so at category 2. Lili had been a category 4 hurricane shortly before landfall and quickly weakened before reaching the west Louisiana coastline on October 3rd. NOAA's paleo-hurricane page contains information and links for an historical perspective on Atlantic hurricanes and landfalling storms on U.S. coastlines. Useful Links
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