ORLANDO -- The 2009 hurricane season officially comes to an end Monday and it appears Central Florida dodged another season without a direct hit.
There were just nine named storms this year and only three hurricanes.
The first storm was Tropical Storm Ana which didn't develop until Aug. 12, making it the latest date of the first storm-formation since 1992.
Only two storms made landfall in the United States:
- Tropical Storm Claudette struck the far western Florida panhandle on Aug. 17.
- Hurricane Ida made landfall in early November in Alabama. It quickly weakend, but did bring flooding rains to parts of the eastern U.S.
The current season marked the second year in a row, Dr. William Gray's forecasting team lowered the number of hurricanes they predicted for the remainder of 2009.
In late May, the hurricane forecasting team from Colorado State University predicted an above-average hurricane season, with 17 named storms and nine hurricanes, five were forecasted to be intense.
In August, the team lowered their forecast to 15 named storms, eight hurricanes, with up to four hurricanes becomeing Category 3 or higher.
The 2010 storm season begins June 1.