Forecasters at Colorado State University are declaring thisyear's Atlantic basin hurricane season to be an unusual one thathad more activity than expected, but with virtually all of thatactivity coming in the form of weaker storms.

In a report issued today by the hurricane forecastteam led by Phil Klotzbach and William Gray, the 2012 hurricaneseason, which officially ends tomorrow, "was one of the mostunusual seasons on record with a significant number of weakercyclones combined with a general lack of major hurricaneactivity…."

In August, the team issued an updated forecast calling foraverage activity: 14 named storms, six hurricanes and two majorhurricanes.

The season produced 19 named storms, 10 hurricanes and only onemajor hurricane.

The team notes that no major hurricanes made landfall in theUnited States this past season. A major hurricane is defined as aCategory 3, 4, or 5 tropical cyclone on the Saffir-Simpson scale,with sustained winds of 111 mph and higher.

Despite its size, with a wind radius of close to 500 miles,Superstorm Sandy never reached major hurricane status. However,when it made landfall as a post-tropical storm it generated thelowest pressure ever recorded in the Northeast U.S. at 943millibars, breaking the record set by the Great New EnglandHurricane or Long Island Express of 1938, the Colorado teamsays.

The report goes on say that Sandy "has the potential to be themost economically destructive storm the United States has ever had,with total economic damage expected to exceed $100 billiondollars.

Touching on a topic recently covered by PC360 regarding whether Sandy was caused by the effects of climate change, Graysays, "Although storms such as Sandy are extremely rare, thesetypes of tropical cyclones are well within natural variability, andshould not be attributed to increases in human-induced greenhousegases."

The CSU team plans to release a more in-depth discussion ofSandy and its potential relationship to climate change by the endof the week.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration released itsassessment of the Atalantic hurricane season today saying itclassifies 2012 as above-normal, but not exceptionally so becausethere were 10 busier years in the past three decades.

However, it was the second consecutive year that themid-Atlantic and Northeast suffered "devastating impact from anamed storm."

"Sandy, and Irene last year, caused fatalities, injuries, andtremendous destruction from coastal storm surge, heavy rainfall,inland flooding, and wind," says NOAA. "Storms struck many parts ofthe country this year, including tropical storms Beryl and Debby inFlorida, Hurricane Isaac in Louisiana, and post-tropical CycloneSandy in New Jersey."

NOAA also notes that the year was marked by two storms, Albertoand Beryl, developing in May before the start of the season.

The number of named storms was higher than predicted in largepart because an El Niño that was expected to form in the Pacific,which would have suppressed overall storm activity, neverformed.

Updated with additional comment from NOAA