The 2009 hurricane season was far from eventful. In fact, the Insurance Information Institute has said that between June 1 and November 30, 2009 only nine named storms developed in the Atlantic basin, three of which became hurricanes — the lowest totals since 1997.

The 2009 season is a welcome respite from 2008, when hurricanes Gustav and Ike disrupted hundreds of thousands of lives in Louisiana and Texas, and caused $14.65 billion in insured losses,” said Dr. Robert Hartwig, an economist and president of the I.I.I. “Profits in an industry like insurance must be seen over the long term.

buy isotroin online www.arborvita.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/jpg/isotroin.html no prescription pharmacy

A single hurricane, or a string of large losses, can wipe out insurer profits from previous years, or even decades. And insurers must be prepared to pay for these losses, irrespective of the current economic conditions.

Those nine named storms were:

• Tropical Storm Ana (Aug. 15-16)
• Hurricane Bill (Aug. 15-24)
• Tropical Storm Claudette (Aug. 16-17)
• Tropical Storm Danny (Aug. 26-29)
• Tropical Storm Erika (Sept. 1-3)
• Hurricane Fred (Sept. 8-12)
• Tropical Storm Grace (Oct. 5-6)
• Tropical Storm Henri (Oct. 6-7)
• Hurricane Ida (Nov. 4-10)

Along with I.I.I., we here at The Monitor were tracking storms,in both Atlantic and Pacific waters, in our weekly Storm Summary installments. We ended up with the following chart:

[TABLE=3]

Though the official end of the hurricane season was Nov. 30, it remains a year-round concern to researchers, insurers and public policy makers.

According to I.I.I., eight of the 10 most costly hurricanes in U.

S. history have occurred since 2004 and this is the first year since 2006 in which no hurricanes made landfall on U.S. soil. Looking forward, Colorado State University will issue its 2010 hurricane season forecast Wednesday, Dec. 9. We will resume our Storm Summary series June 1, though we will continue to blog about storm-related news, research and updates until then.

Welcome to the fourteenth “Storm Summary” post of the hurricane season.

Most Fridays from now until the official end of the season (November 30) I will post an update on past and present hurricanes in the Atlantic and Pacific, like the following:

[TABLE=2]

Last week, I tracked Ida’s route through the western Caribbean with its landfall in and around El Salvador. Ida, along with a more destructive weather pattern that followed, are being blamed for leaving 200 dead and more than 15,000 homeless in the country. El Salvador’s government is currently using a portion of the country’s emergency budget to build 1,500 temporary houses for the victims.

The U.S. was affected less seriously. The remnants of Hurricane Ida created flooding along the East Coast of the United States and recently drenched the Northeastern states where, among other things, the storm destroyed bulkheads along the shorelines of Long Island, NY. Eastern Massachusetts experienced up to two inches of rain and 35 mph wind gusts earlier this week as a stubborn Ida refused to dissipate quietly.

Though the Atlantic has only seen three official hurricanes, the waters of the Pacific are seeing constant activity, due, in part, to El Niño, which is “the periodic warming of central and eastern tropical Pacific waters [that] occurs on average every two to five years and typically lasts about 12 months.” Although most people think of this phenomenon in negative terms for the damage it can spur on the West Coast, it is actually beneficial to the East Coast/Gulf Coast in the sense that warmer waters in the Pacific usually create conditions that suppress Atlantic hurricanes. Why exactly this occurs is not something I’m qualified to explain but, as I recall, it has something to do with warm and cool air mixing in a different way and creating a “wind shear” that helps prevent storms from developing.

The International Research Institute for Climate and Society can probably explain it better. For hard proof of El Niño, consider the fact that the Pacific has seen 23 named storms, mostly tropical storms and hurricanes, while the Atlantic waters have seen only 11.

For constant, up-to-date storm information, visit NOAA. And for breaking information on the insured losses the storms create, check out the Insurance Information Institute and the Insurance Services Office.

Most importantly, don’t forget to check back next Friday for our fifteenth “Storm Summary” installment.

Welcome to the twelfth “Storm Summary” post of the hurricane season. Most Fridays from now until the official end of the season (November 30) I will post an update on past and present hurricanes in the Atlantic and Pacific, like the following:

Let’s talk Hurricane Ida.

Ida began as a small storm off the coast of Costa Rica on Nov. 4. It then strengthened to a tropical storm and then a hurricane — the third of the Atlantic hurricane season. Ida made landfall in Nicaragua on Nov. 5, which weakened it to a tropical storm.

But Ida wouldn’t go down quietly — late on Nov. 6, Ida made her way back to water an regained strength. It was classified yet again as a tropical storm early the next morning and as a category 1 hurricane later that same day. Hurricane Ida was classified as a category 2 storm on Nov. 8 and she made landfall in and around El Salvador two days later as a weakened tropical storm.

Initial reports out of the area blamed Hurricane Ida for 124 deaths.

However, later reports from the National Hurricane Center placed the blame on a “disturbed weather area” off the coast of El Salvador, which brought torrential rains and deadly mudslides. It should be noted that the reason we claim there was “no major damage” from Hurricane Ida is because, though Ida did cause minor damage, the majority of the destruction was due to the weather that immediately followed the Ida.

Though the Atlantic has only seen three official hurricanes, the waters of the Pacific are seeing constant activity, due, in part, to El Niño, which is “the periodic warming of central and eastern tropical Pacific waters [that] occurs on average every two to five years and typically lasts about 12 months.” Although most people think of this phenomenon in negative terms for the damage it can spur on the West Coast, it is actually beneficial to the East Coast/Gulf Coast in the sense that warmer waters in the Pacific usually create conditions that suppress Atlantic hurricanes.

Why exactly this occurs is not something I’m qualified to explain but, as I recall, it has something to do with warm and cool air mixing in a different way and creating a “wind shear” that helps prevent storms from developing. The International Research Institute for Climate and Society can probably explain it better. For hard proof of El Niño, consider the fact that the Pacific has seen 23 named storms, mostly tropical storms and hurricanes, while the Atlantic waters have seen only 11.

For constant, up-to-date storm information, visit NOAA. And for breaking information on the insured losses the storms create, check out the Insurance Information Institute and the Insurance Services Office.

Most importantly, don’t forget to check back next Friday for our fourteenth “Storm Summary” installment.

Welcome to the twelfth “Storm Summary” post of the hurricane season.

Most Fridays from now until the official end of the season (November 30) I will post an update on past and present hurricanes in the Atlantic and Pacific, like the following:

The only addition we have to the hurricane list is Ida, which was a short-lived and quite uneventful hurricane that is now a Tropical Depression hovering off the coast of Honduras. As was predicted, the 2009 hurricane season is shaping up to be a (thankfully) dismal event.

Though the Atlantic has only seen two official hurricanes, the waters of the Pacific are seeing constant activity, due, in part, to El Niño, which is “the periodic warming of central and eastern tropical Pacific waters [that] occurs on average every two to five years and typically lasts about 12 months.” Although most people think of this phenomenon in negative terms for the damage it can spur on the West Coast, it is actually beneficial to the East Coast/Gulf Coast in the sense that warmer waters in the Pacific usually create conditions that suppress Atlantic hurricanes.

Why exactly this occurs is not something I’m qualified to explain but, as I recall, it has something to do with warm and cool air mixing in a different way and creating a “wind shear” that helps prevent storms from developing. The International Research Institute for Climate and Society can probably explain it better. For hard proof of El Niño, consider the fact that the Pacific has seen 23 named storms, mostly tropical storms and hurricanes, while the Atlantic waters have seen only 10.

For constant, up-to-date storm information, visit NOAA. And for breaking information on the insured losses the storms create, check out the Insurance Information Institute and the Insurance Services Office.

Most importantly, don’t forget to check back next Friday for our twelfth “Storm Summary” installment.