United States Weather Bureau operated with radar technology to observe hurricanes away from land. Although the season began on June 15, tropical activity typically does not begin before August. The tropics remained tranquil through early August, and the U.S. Weather Bureau noted that the season had been "remarkably quiet". The inactive period ended on August 12, when the first tropical storm developed east of the Lesser Antilles. This storm received the name "Able" as part of the Joint Army/Navy Phonetic Alphabet. (The same alphabet was also used in the 1951 and 1952 seasons, before being replaced by female naming in 1953.) Before the end of August, four hurricanes had formed in the Atlantic, two of which attained major hurricane status. A major hurricane is a tropical cyclone with winds of at least ; a storm of this intensity would be classified as a Category 3 or greater on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale introduced in the 1970s. In contrast to the busy August, only three named storms developed in September—although three of the August hurricanes lasted into September. Hurricane Dog became the strongest hurricane of the season on September 6 with winds of ; its peak strength occurred over the open Atlantic Ocean, so it did not cause significant damage when it was at its strongest. It was among the most severe hurricanes on record in Antigua, where the hurricane struck early in its duration. Eight tropical storms or hurricanes formed in October, which is greater than in any other year. In total, there were sixteen tropical storms during the season, of which five (Tropical Storm How, Tropical Storm Mike and three unnamed tropical storms) did not attain hurricane status. Overall, six major hurricanes occurred during the year. The Hurricane Hunters made about 300 flights into hurricanes during the season, the most since the practice began in 1943. The number of storms was above average; in a typical year, eleven tropical storms, six hurricanes, and between two and three major hurricanes take place. With the numerous major hurricanes, the season produced a high accumulated cyclone energy (ACE) of 211, although it was originally assessed as 243 before reanalysis. At one point, the 1950 total was the highest on record, before being surpassed by the 2005 season. This value is an approximation of the combined kinetic energy used by all tropical cyclones throughout the season. Systems Hurricane Able The beginning of the