Dottie, developed in the Gulf of Mexico and none in the Caribbean Sea. Since 1900, only 1962 had fewer tropical storms (none) in those regions. Suppression of activity in the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean was primarily attributed to early intrusions of cold air – with unusually cold air masses impacting much of the United States east of the Rocky Mountains during October – and a persistent area of above average vertical wind shear over the western Caribbean. Elsewhere, sea surface temperatures across the Atlantic basin were generally at or slightly above average during the middle of the season. Tropical cyclogenesis began early, with the development of a subtropical storm on May 21. Two tropical depression formed in June, though neither reached tropical storm status. Another two depressions formed in July and also did not become tropical storms, followed by the development of Tropical Storm Anna on July 28. August featured five of the season's ten named storms, including Tropical Storm Dottie and hurricanes Belle, Candice, Emmy, and Frances. In September, six cyclones developed – a subtropical storm, Hurricane Gloria, and four tropical depressions that remained below tropical storm intensity. Two more non-intensifying depressions formed in October. Hurricane Holly, the final system, formed on October 22 and transitioned into an extratropical cyclone on October 28. The year's activity was reflected with an accumulated cyclone energy (ACE) rating of 84, classifying it as a "near-normal" season. ACE is a metric used to express the energy used by a tropical cyclone during its lifetime. Therefore, a storm with a longer duration will have high values of ACE. It is only calculated at six-hour increments in which specific tropical and subtropical systems are either at or above sustained wind speeds of 39 mph (63 km/h), which is the threshold for tropical storm intensity. Systems Subtropical Storm One On May 19 an upper-level trough produced widespread thunderstorms over the Gulf of Mexico. Slowly, the system organized, first to a subtropical depression on May 21, then to a subtropical storm on May 23. The storm began to move faster, and on May 23, it hit the Florida Panhandle. After moving across Georgia at a forward motion of the storm reached its peak of maximum sustained winds reaching 50 mph (85 km/h) while southeast of the Carolinas on May 24. After transitioning into an extratropical cyclone, the system traveled generally northeast and ultimately dissipated on May