ORLANDO, Fla. – Tropical Storm Sara was another system with a rather strange life cycle.

Not only was it late to the party, developing and receiving named storm status by November, but early model guides suggested it would be the fourth and possibly third major hurricane for the state of Florida this season.

But with a snap of his fingers, everything changed.

I’m sure you’ve heard it a few times in the social media world: Florida was preparing to face another devastating storm before shutting down the 2024 hurricane season. Suddenly computer models came into play and the Florida landfall was completely invalidated.

From there Sara stalled toward the Honduran border, where several feet of rain fell. It eventually made landfall in Belize, where it was completely extinguished and died, according to the National Hurricane Center.

It spent most of its life circling almost perfectly along the coasts of Belize and Honduras, leading to torrential rain and flood conditions.

Although Florida dodged another November bullet, Sara, the first of which was Rafael, affected more than 47,000 people. At least 90 water rescues have been carried out and more are to come. Unfortunately, one death was reported as a direct result of Sara’s impact.

The final advisory for Sara was issued from the NHC at 4 a.m. Monday morning, and our time tracking the storm on our maps is over.

Naturally, given what a blast the second half of this season gave us, we have to ask: What’s next?

Whether it’s five days, 10 days, 15 days, or even looking ahead to December, the models look scant for any signal of tropical activity. We usually watch the Gulf of Mexico this time of year, the western Caribbean where both Rafael and Sara were born, as well as the southwestern Atlantic off the coasts of Florida, Georgia, and the Carolinas.

Right now, not a single model reflects even the faintest whisper of another storm that could arrive anytime soon. Maybe one or two members of the community decide to create some low pressure somewhere, but there’s nothing to raise eyebrows or focus energy.

From the most local perspectives to overall big-picture weather, it looks like we’re finally saying goodbye to the costly and devastating 2024 hurricane season.

Many records were broken and history was made many times.

Although 2024 does not meet the storm forecasts presented before the season began and is still behind the El Nino season in 2023, take a look at some of the statistics in the chart below to put the situation in better perspective:

As you can see, the phrase “less is more” really comes to mind when comparing the fourth most active hurricane season on record to what many consider a “collapse” season during the quieter periods of August and September.

Rest assured, the News 6 Pinpoint Weather team will continue to monitor the Atlantic basin for any signs of late-blooming tropical trouble. But as things stand now, looking as far ahead as we comfortably can, it’s safe to say that the tropics have finally begun their hibernation.