Hurricane Season Still Has Steam

The tropics have been quiet lately, but that doesn't mean the 2012 Atlantic Hurricane Season, one of the busiest on record, is finished.

If previous years are any indication, the Atlantic could deliver a few more storms, most likely in October.

"There is usually a peak in September, and we just passed it," said Bob Bright, a National Weather Service meteorologist. "But there's another peak in October."

Since 1900, 23 hurricanes and 16 tropical storms have made landfall after Sept. 18 and had some impacts along the Georgia and South Carolina coasts, according to Weather Service records.

The nature of the storms change in fall, however, and the bulk of the threat shifts to Gulf Coast states. But there are chances for late-forming east coast threats.

Hurricane Hugo, which devastated Charleston, made landfall Sept. 21, 1989. And Hurricane Gracie made landfall on Sept. 29, 1959. That storm produced 6-foot tides and killed 10 individuals in South Carolina.

"The storm season doesn't end until late November," Bright said. "So there's always reason to keep watch. There's still a lot of heat in the water."

This hurricane season burst to a start when Tropical Storm Alberto and Tropical Storm Beryl formed days before the official start of the season.

So far, 14 tropical storms have formed and seven have strengthened into hurricane status. Hurricane Isaac is the only storm to make a U.S. landfall. Only the 2005 season, with 28 named storms, has had more activity than 2012.