It was an active tropical season in the Atlantic basin but you'd never know it along much of the coastal area between Brownsville, Texas and Eastport, Maine.  For the fifth year in a row there were no major hurricanes that hit the United States despite the fact that 12 hurricanes developed.  It ties the record for the longest period of time without a major hit since we've never gone six years without a category 3 or higher storm hitting the country.  In many respects we were quite lucky this year since we had twice the number of hurricanes that we usually see.  Hurricane Earl did brush the North Carolina coast in early September with some rain and wind gusts to 75 mph along portions of the Outer Banks.  The remants of Tropical Storm Nicole brought up to 20 inches of rainfall to communities along and near Highway 17 in late September.  Otherwise it was a fairly quiet season for our area.  Let's hope for some good luck again next year.