Record-Breaking 2021 Atlantic Hurricane Season Ends

The 2021 Atlantic hurricane season officially ended Tuesday, going down in history as the first time that two consecutive seasons have exhausted the list of 21 English storm names.

The big picture: Above average sea surface temperatures led to fierce storms that left their mark on the Gulf Coast as well as Mid-Atlantic, when Category 4 Hurricane Ida swept ashore in coastal Louisiana on Aug. 29 and went on to kill more than two dozen people in the Mid-Atlantic.

By the numbers: This hurricane season was the third-most active season on record in terms of named storms, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

It was the sixth straight above-average Atlantic hurricane season, and occurred during a longer time period of above-average storm activity in the Atlantic, dating back to 1995.

Studies have shown that a combination of natural climate variability and human-caused global warming may be behind that trend. Climate change likely contributed to a greater proportion of high-end storms of Category 3, 4 and 5 intensity and increased tendency of storms to rapidly intensify.