Despite damage from Irene, US hasn't seen 'major hurricane' since 2005

Despite massive flooding and damage along the East Coast from Hurricane Irene, 2011 marked the sixth straight year that no "major hurricanes" made landfall in the United States, federal scientists said Monday.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) — which is charged with tracking and forecasting weather — said there were seven hurricanes this season. Three of those storms were labeled major hurricanes because they had top winds of 111 miles per hour and were designated as a Category 3 or higher.

But Irene was the only hurricane to make landfall in the United States this year. It was downgraded to a Category 1 and then to a tropical storm as it moved up the East Coast.

Though NOAA says that 2011 was an active hurricane season, the United States hasn’t seen a Category 3 or higher hurricane make landfall since 2005, when a string of major hurricanes devastated the Gulf of Mexico.

Hurricane Wilma, which struck the Gulf coast in 2005 just a month after Katrina devastated the region, was the last major hurricane to hit the United States, according to NOAA. Before Irene, Hurricane Ike, which made landfall in 2008 as a Category 2, was the last hurricane to hit the U.S., though it was not categorized by NOAA as a major hurricane.

Still, NOAA said Monday that Irene was a reminder that the eastern part of the United States remains vulnerable to major storms.

“Irene broke the ‘hurricane amnesia’ that can develop when so much time lapses between landfalling storms,” Jack Hayes, director of NOAA’s National Weather Service, said in a statement. “This season is a reminder that storms can hit any part of our coast and that all regions need to be prepared each and every season.”

Irene knocked out power to millions and led to major flooding and more than 40 deaths.

Wednesday officially marks the end of hurricane season.