Hurricane Leslie was the 12th of 19 named tropical storms this year, putting 2012 in the top five busiest hurricane seasons since 1851. "This is the third consecutive year with nineteen named storms in the Atlantic, which is a remarkable level of activity for a three-year period," wrote Jeff Masters on WunderBlog. From Sept. 5 to 7 Leslie peaked as a Category 1 hurricane before easing up as a tropical storm. The center of the storm first passed east of Bermuda and struck the islands with heavy rain and 50 mph winds before swinging by Canada. Newfoundland's Avalon Peninsula was pounded by similarly high winds with gusts as high as 85 mph in some areas.