19 hurricanes in third-most active Atlantic season

Terra Daily via AFP: The 2011 Atlantic hurricane season produced a total of 19 storms, including Hurricane Irene that lashed the US East Coast in August in the third-most active year on record, US observers said Monday.

The active storm season, which ends Wednesday, tied 2010, 1995 and 1887 as the most active since records began in 1851 -- and well above the average of 11, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said.

"This season is a reminder that storms can hit any part of our coast and that all regions need to be prepared each and every season," NOAA National Weather Service director Jack Hayes said in a statement.

But this season continued a trend of a lull in the number of major hurricanes -- with only three such storms, slightly above the average of two. There was a total of seven hurricanes, including the major storms, just above the average of six....

Hurricane Irene as a Category 2 hurricane on Aug 26, 2011, from NASA