The Atlantic hurricane season has one month left.

To date, we’ve had three major hurricanes, Category 3 or higher: Bertha, Gustav and Ike; two hurricanes: Dolly and Kyle; and 10 tropical storms: Arthur, Cristobal, Edouard, Fay, Hanna, Laura, Marco, Nana and Omar.

Galveston Bay still has wrecked boats on the bottom and marinas struggling to rebuild, but a better picture of the blow Hurricane Ike dealt the region’s recreational marine industry is emerging.

Some highlights: BoatU.S. estimates $200 million in damage to 15,000 recreational vessels. About $25 million of that is from outside Texas, as Ike moved inland and its pounding rains caused flooding throughout the Midwest and into New York.

Except for Tropical Storm Omar, which appears headed for colder waters and then further out to sea, the Atlantic is pretty quiet.

This blog has been quiet, too, because a funny thing happened during the height of hurricane season, as Gustav and Ike took aim and then did what big storms do. I froze.

It could have been so much worse.

Gustav is making its way further inland, spawning tornadoes and dumping water over large parts of the South. The Hydometeorological Prediction Center says overall, rainfall from Gustav will be between 5 and 10 inches. But pockets will see more.

What can anyone say about a storm with the size and destructive potential of Gustav?

Storm-speak often talks in terms of “wind events” or “rain events” and so far Fickle Fay has been a protracted, wet mess. She’s hammered Florida for days. Cocoa Beach has reported 33 inches of rain.

Tropical Storm Fay is threatening one of the most popular boating regions in the United States, and the forecast as of Sunday evening has the storm hitting the Florida keys Monday night.

Southern Florida is no stranger to storms. Hurricanecity.com, a non-governmental website, ranks 12 south Florida cities in the top 25 for frequency of activity since 1871.

Take a moment and check out the National Hurricane Center’s home page, www.nhc.noaa.gov.

A friend at dinner recently asked, “Why are they always named Bertha?” as I jabbered on about the storm the day it stalled out – before it revived and knocked out power in Bermuda.

Hurricanes are not always named Bertha, but the name comes up every seventh year, so it may sound familiar. The World Meteorological Organization maintains six lists of names for tropical cyclones in the Atlantic. Names in 2008 will repeat in 2014.

Westward Ho, or No?

Hurricane Bertha more or less stayed put Saturday, with some models projecting an easterly jog as it nears Bermuda and others suggested a westerly nudge that would impact the island more.

East is still the most likely, though.