The 2009 Atlantic hurricane season was a below average season, likely as a result of an El Nino. This season featured a total of 11 tropical cyclones, 9 named storms, only 3 hurricanes, and 2 major hurricanes. This season was the least active since 1997. The strongest storm was Category 4 Hurricane Bill, a Cape Verde-type hurricane that caused minimal damage.
Bill was a category 4 (on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale) Cape Verde hurricane that traversed the Atlantic Ocean around the periphery of the Azores-Bermuda High. It brushed Bermuda and Nova Scotia as a hurricane, and crossed the southern tip of Newfoundland as a tropical storm.[2]
Fred became the strongest hurricane on record south of 30°N and east of 35°W in the Atlantic basin. It then weakened and degenerated into a remnant low that moved west- northwestward for almost a week before dissipating.[6]
Ida was a late season hurricane that had a large impact on the east coast of Nicaragua and
the adjacent islands. It was the first November hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico since Kate of 1985.[9]