List of United States hurricanes

Continental United States hurricane strikes 1950-2007

The list of United States hurricanes includes all tropical cyclones officially recorded to have produced sustained winds of greater than 74 mph (118 km/h) in the United States, which is the minimum threshold for hurricane intensity. The list, which is sorted by U.S. state, begins in 1851 with the start of the official Atlantic hurricane database (HURDAT), as provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Hurricane Research Division; the data from 1951 to 1979 is subject to change, due to the lack of official wind speed estimates during the time period. Since 1851, a total of 291 North Atlantic hurricanes produced hurricane-force winds in 19 states along the Atlantic coast. Some of these storms may not have made a direct landfall (i.e. remained just offshore) while producing hurricane-force winds on land; some of them may have weakened to a tropical storm or became extratropical before landfall but produced hurricane conditions on land while still a hurricane and some of them made landfall in an adjacent state but produced hurricane conditions over multiple states. This list does not include storms that only produced tropical storm conditions on land in the United States.

Additionally, three Pacific hurricanes struck Hawaii, and one Pacific tropical cyclone brought hurricane-force winds to California. The tables list hurricanes by category on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale, based on winds that occurred in each state.

Statistics

Map of the United States; click on individual states to be directed to its article, or click on some coastal states to be directed to a list of tropical cyclones in those locations

A total of 291 Atlantic tropical cyclones have produced hurricane-force winds in every state along the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico, as well as Pennsylvania. Florida was affected by 118 hurricanes, which was more than any other state; Texas ranked second. Hurricane Donna affected a total of eight states—more than any other hurricane.^[1]

The earliest time in the year for a hurricane to strike the nation was June 9, which was set by Hurricane Alma in 1966. The earliest major hurricane to strike the nation occurred in 1934, when an unnamed tropical cyclone made landfall on June 16. The latest in the year for a hurricane to strike the nation was on November 24 with Hurricane Iwa in Hawaii; for the Atlantic basin the latest was on November 22, which was set by Hurricane Kate in 1985. The latest in the year for a major hurricane to strike the nation was from the 1921 Tampa Bay hurricane, which moved ashore on October 25.^[1]

The 1880s were the most active decade for the United States, with a total of 25 hurricanes affecting the nation. By contrast, the least active decade was the 1970s, with a total of only 12 hurricanes affecting the American coastline. A total of 33 seasons on record passed without an Atlantic hurricane affecting the country—the most recent of which was the 2015 season. Seven Atlantic hurricanes affected the country in the 1886 season, which was the year with the most United States hurricanes.^[1]

Impact

The Labor Day Hurricane of 1935 was the most intense hurricane to make landfall on the country, having struck the Florida Keys with a pressure of 892 mbar. It was one of only three hurricanes to move ashore as a Category 5 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale; the others were Hurricane Camille in 1969 and Hurricane Andrew in 1992, which had a landfalling pressure of 900 mbar and 922 mbar, respectively. Hurricane Katrina in 2005 was the third most intense hurricane to strike the country with a pressure of 920 mbar, though its winds were not as strong as Andrew.^[2]

The Galveston Hurricane of 1900 was the deadliest hurricane in the history of the United States, killing at least 8,000 people. The 1928 Okeechobee Hurricane caused at least 2,500 casualties, and in 2005, Hurricane Katrina killed about 1,500 people. In the 1893 season, two hurricanes each caused over 1,000 deaths.^[2]

Accounting for inflation, nine Atlantic hurricanes caused a damage total of over $10 billion (2006 USD), including three from the 2005 season. The costliest was Hurricane Katrina, with damage amounting to $84.6 billion, though in normalized dollars it may only be second to the Great Miami Hurricane of 1926. Of the thirty costliest United States hurricanes, ten were after the year 2000.^[2]

A 2010 study published in Natural Hazards Review, a journal of the American Society of Civil Engineers, "Normalized Hurricane Damage in the United State: 1900-2005" (PDF), analyzed storm-related property damage figures from 1900 through 2005 adjusted ("normalized") for inflation, wealth and population factors over time. The study found that: 1) Using normalized figures, hurricane-related damages steadily increased from 1900 to 2005; 2) Based on the adjusted data, Hurricane Katrina is the second-most destructive storm in U.S. history. The top-ranking storm in terms of property damage is the Great Miami Hurricane of 1926, with losses between $140–157 billion in 2005 dollars; 3) While 1996–2005 was the second-most costly period for storm-related damages, the preceding periods of 1976–1985 and 1986–1995 were "anomalously benign," accounting for only 10% of all storm damage reported since 1900; 4) Approximately 85% of all storm-related damages occur in the months of August (35%) and September (50%).^[3]

States bordering the Atlantic Ocean

The category listed for each state indicates the maximum category of sustained winds that was recorded or analyzed to have occurred in that state. It is not necessarily the category of the storm at the time of landfall or closest approach (if the strongest winds were occurring elsewhere or only over water at the time).

Alabama

Connecticut

Delaware

Florida

Georgia

Louisiana

Maine

Maryland

Massachusetts

Mississippi

New Hampshire

New Jersey

Although Hurricane Sandy struck the state in October 2012 and produced hurricane-force winds, it became an extratropical cyclone before landfall or producing any hurricane-strength winds.^[5]

New York

North Carolina

Pennsylvania

Though not directly bordering the Atlantic Ocean, the Gale of 1878 produced hurricane-force winds in the state, the only tropical cyclone on record to do so.^[1] Furthermore, Hurricane Agnes (1972) had a severe impact on the state. Although it had been only a Category 1 storm, and had weakened to a tropical depression by the time it reached Pennsylvania, Hurricane Agnes nevertheless caused severe flooding, as well as enormous economic damage.

Rhode Island

South Carolina

Texas

Virginia

States bordering the Pacific Ocean

Southwestern United States

The 1858 San Diego Hurricane is the only Pacific tropical cyclone known to have produced hurricane-force winds in California; it affected San Diego on October 2, 1858, though its center remained just offshore. In the 20th century, only four tropical cyclones produced tropical storm force winds in the southwestern United States: a tropical storm in September 1939 in California, Hurricane Joanne in October 1972 in Arizona, Hurricane Kathleen in September 1976 in Arizona and California, and Hurricane Nora in September 1997 in Arizona.^[6]

Hawaii

Climatological statistics

Period Number of recorded storms affecting United States 1850s 17 1860s 15 1870s 19 1880s 25 1890s 20 1900–1909 17 1910s 21 1920s 15 1930s 18 1940s 23 1950s 20 1960s 15 1970s 12 1980s 17 1990s 15 2000–2009 19 2010s 6

See also

• Climate of the United States
• List of Atlantic hurricanes

Notes

References

External links

• Chronological List of All Hurricanes which Affected the Continental United States: 1851-2012