U.S. experiencing a record-breaking hurricane 'drought'

The U.S. is currently experiencing a weather phenomenon that researchers have recently estimated occurs only every 177 years.

The country has not borne the brunt of a serious hurricane with a minimum rating of Category 3 in nine years -- the longest drought-like lull since 1850 when consistent record-keeping began.

The last serious hurricane that met this criterion was in October 2005 when Hurricane Wilma hit Florida with wind gusts of up to 120 miles per hour, causing more than $29 billion in damage.

This current record trumps an eight year-long interval that occurred from 1861 to 1868.

These statistics are based on the work of members from NASA and a reinsurance firm.

Because the most comprehensive hurricane records are only available from the last 65 years, they used weather predictor models to simulate about 63,000 years' worth of activity based on data from 1950 to 2012.

They ultimately concluded that this streak is more luck than an indication of change in hurricanes at a macro level.

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