The 2011 Atlantic basin hurricane season ended on Nov. 30 as forecasters kept an eye on one last potential system out in the Atlantic. The system had a less chance of developing and forecasters announced Wednesday afternoon that the last tropical view of the season had been released.

Nineteen tropical storms formed this year – the third highest total since record keeping began in 1851. The 2011 season coupled with the years 1887, 1995 and 2010. The 2011 season made history as the first year ever that none of the first eight tropical storms reached hurricane status.

The long-term seasonal average, 1944-2010, is 11 named storms, six hurricanes and two major hurricanes, Category 3, 4 or 5. Six hurricanes and three major hurricanes formed in 2011.

The last major hurricane to hit the U.S. coast was Wilma, which made landfall very near Cape Romano, Fla., about 20 miles west of Everglades City, at 6:30 a.m. Oct. 24, 2005. Maximum sustained winds were estimated to be 125 mph - a strong Category 3.

Irene was the most destructive and deadly of all 2011 storms. Fifty-five deaths in the United States and Caribbean were attributed to Irene, as was most of the season’s $10 billion in damages. Irene was the first hurricane to make landfall on the coast of New Jersey in 108 years.