The record-setting 2012 Atlantic hurricane season ended Friday after producing a high number of named storms as well as superstorm Sandy, which was one of the costliest hurricanes to hit the United States. There were 19 named storms in what meteorologists consider an above-average year that tied as being the third most-active season since 1851. The season runs from June 1 to November 30, although tropical storms sometimes develop outside those dates. But even without a so-called major storm reaching the United States, there was much damage. A storm is classified as major if its top sustained winds reach 178 kilometers per hour (kph). Seven years have passed without a "major" hurricane hitting the United States, the longest period on record. However, Hurricane Sandy combined with two winter weather events, becoming a superstorm over the northeastern United States that left millions of homes without electricity and killed at least 125 people in the United States after killing 71 in the Caribbean. A somewhat similar weather phenomenon occurred with the so-called Perfect Storm off the northeastern U.S. coast in 1991, but that storm did not hit a major urban region like Sandy did. The superstorm is estimated to have caused about $62 billion in damage and other losses in the United States, mostly in New Jersey and New York. It is the second-costliest storm in U.S. history after Hurricane Katrina, which flooded the city of New Orleans in 2005.
