[nuconvert]

"This system was totally different from anything we've ever seen here,"

Well, that's 'cause they've never seen a hurricane.

[CindyDawg]

Well if there was no hurricane then we shouldn't send hurricane relief supplies then.

[inkling]

"The hurricane? It's Bush's fault!"

[js1138]

"Here the winds only reached about 50-56 mph,"

That's the usual case unless the eye passes over you.

[AntiGuv]

The Brazilians were extremely fortunate that this hurricane tracked through the least densely populated region possible. Odds are they won't have to worry about this kind of thing again, though, for a very, very, very long time.

[GATOR NAVY]

From The Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory FAQ page:

"The terms 'hurricane' and 'typhoon' are regionally specific names for a strong "tropical cyclone". A tropical cyclone is the generic term for a non-frontal synoptic scale low-pressure system over tropical or sub-tropical waters with organized convection (i.e. thunderstorm activity) and definite cyclonic surface wind circulation."

Shouldn't be too hard to figure out what this was. I believe the key points of the definition are "non-frontal" and "cyclonic wind circulation". If it had these characteristics then it was a hurricane.