Tropical Storm Isaac over Gulf of Mexico in August (Credit: NOAA/National Hurricane Center)

The 2012 hurricane season has come to an end and it's another one for the record books, above and beyond the destruction of Sandy.

There were 19 named storms in what meteorologists consider an above-average year that tied as being the third most-active season since 1851.

Even without a so-called major storm reaching the U.S. there was plenty of damage. A storm is classed as major once its top sustained winds reach 111 miles per hour (178 kph).

Seven years have now gone by without a major hurricane making U.S. landfall, the longest stretch on record.

Sandy morphed from hurricane to Superstorm on its way to wreaking havoc across the Northeast. It left millions without power and killed at least 125 people in the U.S. and 71 in the Caribbean.

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