Recap of most expensive Atlantic hurricane season on record

The long Atlantic Hurricane Season is finally coming to a close and this was the most active season for US landfall since 2005.

Action News Jax Chief Meteorologist Mike Buresh says it was the most expensive season on record, at more than $202 billion in damage.

There were 17 named storms, 10 hurricanes, 6 major hurricanes (Cat. 3 or higher).

Northeast Florida will remember Hurricane Irma’s impact for years.

Buresh Blog: End of the hurricane season!... Avg. date of first freeze of season

The hurricane began as a strong tropical wave that moved off the coast of Africa Aug. 27th and was upgraded to a tropical storm on the 30th, then to a hurricane on Aug. 31st.

Irma plowed into the Northern Lesser Antilles as a Cat. 5 hurricane - the strongest hurricane to ever hit the Windward Islands.

From there the storm gained just enough latitude while moving west/northwest to keep the eye north of Puerto Rico and Hispaniola before bending a little southwest and plowing across the north coast of Cuba.

The landfall weakened the hurricane for a while but the warm water of the Florida Straits helped to restrengthen Irma to a Cat. 4 before the first U.S. landfall in the Keys on Sun., Sept. 10th.

The next landfall was on the Florida mainland at Marco Island as a Cat. 3, then a move north up the spine of Florida before bending more northwest and finally become a remnant low Mon., Sept. 11th.

Cox Media Group