The 2022 Atlantic hurricane season draws to an official close on November 30, after generating 14 named storms, eight hurricanes, two major hurricanes, and an accumulated cyclone energy (ACE) of 95. Those numbers compare with the 1991-2020 averages for an entire season of 14.4 named storms, 7.2 hurricanes, 3.2 major hurricanes, and an ACE index of 123. Thus, the season was near-average for number of named storms and hurricanes, and below average for major hurricanes and ACE index, and it breaks an unprecedented streak of six consecutive years with an above-average ACE index (>126).

One hurricane from 2022 will surely get its name retired: Ian, with over $50 billion in damages and at least 145 deaths, ranking as the fifth-deadliest Atlantic hurricane of the past 60 years. The other major hurricane of 2022 – Hurricane Fiona, which brought major destruction to Puerto Rico and Canada – also has a strong chance of having its name retired.

The 2022 season was unusually quiet in July and August, with no named storm activity between July 3 and August 31. According to Dr. Phil Klotzbach, this is the first time since 1941 that the Atlantic had no named storm activity between those dates. The unusual quiet was a surprise for a La Niña year, when Atlantic hurricane activity is usually higher than average. October also was quiet, producing only 5 units of ACE – the lowest October ACE since 2009. In contrast, November was unusually active, as Klotzbach documented