Back in April, scientists read the tea leaves — or, more accurately, heaps of data — and predicted an above-average hurricane season over the summer and autumn, with nine or 10 named storms, four of which could grow to major strength. Yet hurricane season ended Sunday without even one of them making landfall in the United States for the first time in a decade. That was extraordinary in a good way, but the season was also extraordinary in many bad ways.

So how did the U.S., which was walloped by Hurricane Helene and four other tropical cyclones last year, escape disaster even as the Caribbean suffered mightily from Melissa in September? Your support powers solutions-focused climate reporting — keeping it free for everyone. All donations DOUBLED for a limited time. Give now in under 4

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