Hurricane Irene was a long-lived tropical cyclone of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season. After forming near Cape Verde on August 4, it crossed the Atlantic, turned northward near Bermuda, and was absorbed by an extratropical cyclone southeast of Newfoundland. Irene persisted for 14 days as a tropical system, longer than any other storm of the 2005 season. It was the ninth named storm and fourth hurricane of what became the most active Atlantic hurricane season since record-keeping began. Irene proved to be a difficult storm to forecast due to oscillations in strength. After almost dissipating on August 10, it peaked as a Category 2 hurricane on August 16. Because of uncertainty in predicting the storm's track, there were initial fears of a landfall in the United States, but Irene never approached land and caused no recorded damage. One person died in Long Beach, New York, from swells up to 8 feet (2.4 m) and strong rip currents. (Full article...)