More than a month after the Hurricane season traditionally ends, tropical storm Zeta is moving through the central Atlantic, with sustained winds of 65 mph.

Zeta is the 27th named storm of the season–a record. The previous record had been 21 in 1933. Fourteen of last year’s storms strengthened into hurricanes, breaking the old record of 12 set in 1969.

Some people claim that the increased number of hurricanes is merely cyclical, but beating the old record by more than a quarter while seeing the hurricane season extend into the new year are extraordinary events that give evidence that this hurricane season went well beyond anything cyclical.