The
2008 Atlantic hurricane season was a very active
hurricane season with sixteen named storms formed, including eight that became hurricanes and five that became major hurricanes. The season officially started on June 1 and ended on November 30. These dates conventionally delimit the period of each year when most tropical cyclones form in the
Atlantic basin. However, the formation of
Tropical Storm Arthur caused the season to start two days early. This season is the third most costly on record, behind only the
2004 and
2005 seasons, with over $47.5 billion in damage. It was the fourth busiest year since 1944 and the only year on record in which a major hurricane existed in every month from July through November in the North Atlantic.
Bertha became the longest lived July tropical cyclone on record for the basin, the first of several long-lived systems during 2008. The season was devastating for
Haiti, where over 800 people were killed by four consecutive tropical cyclones, especially
Hanna, in August and September. Ike was also the most destructive storm of the season, as well as the strongest, devastating
Cuba as a major hurricane and later making landfall near
Galveston, Texas at Category 2 intensity.
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