**** Info via Environment Canada
End of 2022 Atlantic hurricane season
November 30 marked the end of the 2022 Atlantic hurricane season. It was a near-normal season in terms of the number of named storms and hurricanes, with 14 tropical storms, eight of which developed into hurricanes and two intensified into major hurricanes (category 3, 4 or 5).
However, the season was about 20% below normal when considering the total energy produced by the storms, which takes into account their intensity, size and longevity.
Historical slow start
This year’s hurricane season started with anything but a bang. In fact, most of July and all of August didn’t see a single hurricane or tropical storm form in the Atlantic Ocean! Compared to last year’s season, 12 storms had already formed by the end of August. The 2022 season was the quietest start to a hurricane season since 1988. Scientists believe this mid-season pause was caused by increased wind shear and suppressed atmospheric moisture high over the Atlantic Ocean.
The tropical activity ramped up with seven named storms in September, and with Fiona and Ian becoming major hurricanes. Hurricane Nicole was a rare late-season storm, making landfall on the U.S. coast on November 10.
Hurricane season in Canada
Hurricane Fiona struck the Maritime Provinces and parts of Newfoundland as a post-tropical cyclone with category 2 hurricane-strength winds on September 23 to 24. The storm devastated communities with torrential rain (up to 200 mm) and hurricane-force winds (with peak gusts of 180 km/h), and tragically taking lives in its wake.
Fiona had the lowest recorded barometric pressure over Canadian land, with a measured sea-level pressure of 932.7 mb. For midlatitude cyclones, the deeper the low, the stronger the storm is, which explains Fiona’s severity.
Other tropical systems indirectly affected eastern Canada. Post-tropical Storm Earl moved slowly over the southern Grand Banks off Newfoundland, bringing heavy rain to parts of the Avalon Peninsula on September 10 and 11. The remnants of Hurricane Nicole brought rain, wind and moderate storm surge to the Maritimes in early November.
