List of United States hurricanes
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The list of United States hurricanes includes all
tropical cyclone A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Dep ...
s officially recorded to have produced sustained winds of greater than in the United States, which is the minimum threshold for
hurricane A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Dep ...
intensity. The list, which is sorted by
U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...
, begins in 1851 with the start of the official Atlantic hurricane database (HURDAT), as provided by the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (abbreviated as NOAA ) is an United States scientific and regulatory agency within the United States Department of Commerce that forecasts weather, monitors oceanic and atmospheric conditi ...
's Hurricane Research Division. Since 1851, a total of 303  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 hurricane A Pacific hurricane is a mature tropical cyclone that develops within the northeastern and central Pacific Ocean to the east of 180°W, north of the equator. For tropical cyclone warning purposes, the northern Pacific is divided into three regio ...
s struck
Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...
, and one Pacific tropical cyclone brought hurricane-force winds to
California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
. The tables list hurricanes by category on the Saffir–Simpson hurricane scale, based on winds that occurred in each state.


Statistics

, a total of 303 Atlantic tropical cyclones have produced hurricane-force winds in every state along the Atlantic Ocean and
Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United ...
(as well as
Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
), with
Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and ...
having had more hurricanes affecting it than any other state. The earliest time in the year for a hurricane (and a major hurricane) to strike the nation was June 9, which was set by Alma in
1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo ...
. The earliest major hurricane (category 3 or greater) to make an actual landfall in the nation occurred in
1957 1957 ( MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1957th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 957th year of the 2nd millennium, the 57th year of the 20th century, and the 8th year ...
, when Hurricane Audrey made
landfall Landfall is the event of a storm moving over land after being over water. More broadly, and in relation to human travel, it refers to 'the first land that is reached or seen at the end of a journey across the sea or through the air, or the fact ...
at category 3 intensity on June 27. The latest in the year for a hurricane to strike the nation was on November 24 with
Hurricane Iwa Hurricane Iwa, taken from the Hawaiian language name for the frigatebird (iwa, lit. "Thief"), was at the time the costliest hurricane to affect the state of Hawaii. Iwa was the twenty-third tropical storm and the twelfth and final hurricane of the ...
in Hawaii; for the Atlantic basin the latest was on November 22, which was set by Hurricane Kate in
1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...
. The latest in the year for a major hurricane to strike the nation was from Hurricane Zeta, which moved ashore on October 28. The 1990s were the most active decade for the United States, with a total of 31 hurricanes affecting the nation. By contrast, the least active decade was the 1860s and 1970s, each with a total of only 15 hurricanes affecting the United States. 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.


Impact

The
1935 Labor Day hurricane The Great Labor Day Hurricane of 1935 was the most intense Atlantic hurricane to make landfall on record by pressure, with winds of up to 185 mph (297 km/h). The fourth tropical cyclone, third tropical storm, second hurricane, and sec ...
was the most intense hurricane to make
landfall Landfall is the event of a storm moving over land after being over water. More broadly, and in relation to human travel, it refers to 'the first land that is reached or seen at the end of a journey across the sea or through the air, or the fact ...
on the country, having struck the
Florida Keys The Florida Keys are a coral cay archipelago located off the southern coast of Florida, forming the southernmost part of the continental United States. They begin at the southeastern coast of the Florida peninsula, about south of Miami, and e ...
with a pressure of 892 
mbar The bar is a metric unit of pressure, but not part of the International System of Units (SI). It is defined as exactly equal to 100,000  Pa (100 kPa), or slightly less than the current average atmospheric pressure on Earth at sea l ...
. It was one of only seven hurricanes to move ashore as a Category 5 hurricane on the Saffir–Simpson hurricane scale; the others were "Okeechobee" in
1928 Events January * January – British bacteriologist Frederick Griffith reports the results of Griffith's experiment, indirectly proving the existence of DNA. * January 1 – Eastern Bloc emigration and defection: Boris Bazhano ...
,
Karen Karen may refer to: * Karen (name), a given name and surname * Karen (slang), a term and meme for a demanding woman displaying certain behaviors People * Karen people, an ethnic group in Myanmar and Thailand ** Karen languages or Karenic la ...
in
1962 Events January * January 1 – Western Samoa becomes independent from New Zealand. * January 3 – Pope John XXIII excommunicates Fidel Castro for preaching communism. * January 8 – Harmelen train disaster: 93 die in the wor ...
, Camille in
1969 This year is notable for Apollo 11's first landing on the moon. Events January * January 4 – The Government of Spain hands over Ifni to Morocco. * January 5 **Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 701 crashes into a house on its approach to ...
,
Andrew Andrew is the English form of a given name common in many countries. In the 1990s, it was among the top ten most popular names given to boys in English-speaking countries. "Andrew" is frequently shortened to "Andy" or "Drew". The word is derive ...
in
1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment building in Amsterdam after two of its engin ...
,
Michael Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name "Michael" * Michael (archangel), ''first'' of God's archangels in the Jewish, Christian and ...
in
2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...
, and Yutu in
2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...
, which had a landfalling pressure of 931 mbar, 932 mbar, 900 mbar, 922 mbar, 919 mbar, and 900 mbar, respectively.
Hurricane Michael Hurricane Michael was a very powerful and destructive tropical cyclone that became the first Category 5 hurricane to make landfall in the contiguous United States since Andrew in 1992. It was the third-most intense Atlantic hurricane to ma ...
in
2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...
was the fourth most intense hurricane to strike the country with a pressure of 919 mbar, while hurricanes Katrina in
2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; " Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discover ...
and Maria in
2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a s ...
are tied as the fifth most intense hurricanes to strike the country, each with a pressure of 920 mbar. The 1900 Galveston hurricane was the deadliest hurricane in the history of the United States, killing between 6,000 and 12,000 people. 2017s Hurricane Maria resulted in at least 2,982 fatalities. The 1928 Okeechobee hurricane caused at least 2,500 fatalities, and in 2005, Hurricane Katrina killed approximately 1,800 people. In the 1893 season, two hurricanes each caused over 1,000 deaths. Not accounting for inflation, a total of fifteen Atlantic hurricanes have resulted in over US$10 billion in damage, including three each from the
2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight ...
, 2005, and 2017 seasons, respectively. The costliest hurricanes were Katrina in 2005 and Harvey in 2017, both with uninflated damage totals amounting to US$125 billion. Of the 41 Atlantic hurricanes with damages exceeding $1.01 billion after accounting for inflation (2017 dollars), 20 have occurred after the year
2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from S ...
, though this list does not include 2018's Michael nor Florence.


List of states

The category listed for each state indicates the maximum category of sustained winds that were 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 Hurricane Sandy (unofficially referred to as ''Superstorm Sandy'') was an extremely destructive and strong Atlantic hurricane, as well as the largest Atlantic hurricane on record as measured by diameter, with tropical-storm-force winds spann ...
struck the state in October 2012 and produced hurricane-force winds, it became an
extratropical cyclone Extratropical cyclones, sometimes called mid-latitude cyclones or wave cyclones, are low-pressure areas which, along with the anticyclones of high-pressure areas, drive the weather over much of the Earth. Extratropical cyclones are capable ...
before landfall or producing any hurricane-strength winds.


New York


North Carolina


Pennsylvania

Though not directly bordering the Atlantic Ocean, the
Gale of 1878 The Gale of 1878, was an intense Category 2 hurricane that was active between October 18 and October 25. It caused extensive damage from Cuba to New England. Believed to be the strongest storm to hit the Washington - Baltimore region since hu ...
produced hurricane-force winds in the state, the only tropical cyclone on record to do so. 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 The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contine ...
tropical cyclone known to have produced hurricane-force winds in
California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
; it affected
San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...
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 A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depend ...
in September 1939 in California, Hurricane Joanne in October 1972 in Arizona,
Hurricane Kathleen Hurricane Kathleen was a tropical cyclone that had a destructive impact in California. On September 7, 1976, a tropical depression formed; two days later it accelerated north towards the Baja California Peninsula. Kathleen brushed the Pacific ...
in September 1976 in Arizona and California, and Hurricane Nora in September 1997 in Arizona.


Hawaii

''Note: This section only includes tropical cyclones that occurred during or after 1900, when
Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...
was acquired by the United States''
''This section does not include tropical cyclones that affected the
Northwestern Hawaiian Islands The Northwestern Hawaiian Islands or Leeward Hawaiian Islands are a series of islands and atolls in the Hawaiian island chain located northwest (in some cases, far to the northwest) of the islands of Kauai and Niihau. Politically, they are all ...
''


U.S. territories


American Samoa

''Note: This section only includes tropical cyclones that occurred during or after 1900, when
American Samoa American Samoa ( sm, Amerika Sāmoa, ; also ' or ') is an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of the island country of Samoa. Its location is centered on . It is east of the Internatio ...
was acquired by the United States''


Guam

''Note: This section only includes tropical cyclones that occurred during or after 1899, when
Guam Guam (; ch, Guåhan ) is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. It is the westernmost point and territory of the United States (reckoned from the geographic cent ...
was acquired by the United States''


Northern Mariana Islands

''Note: This section only includes tropical cyclones that occurred during or after 1986, when the
Northern Mariana Islands The Northern Mariana Islands, officially the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI; ch, Sankattan Siha Na Islas Mariånas; cal, Commonwealth Téél Falúw kka Efáng llól Marianas), is an unincorporated territory and commonw ...
were acquired by the United States''
''This section only includes tropical cyclones that affected the main islands of
Saipan Saipan ( ch, Sa’ipan, cal, Seipél, formerly in es, Saipán, and in ja, 彩帆島, Saipan-tō) is the largest island of the Northern Mariana Islands, a Commonwealth (U.S. insular area), commonwealth of the United States in the western Pa ...
,
Tinian Tinian ( or ; old Japanese name: 天仁安島, ''Tenian-shima'') is one of the three principal islands of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. Together with uninhabited neighboring Aguiguan, it forms Tinian Municipality, one of the ...
, and
Rota Rota or ROTA may refer to: Places * Rota (island), in the Marianas archipelago * Rota (volcano), in Nicaragua * Rota, Andalusia, a town in Andalusia, Spain * Naval Station Rota, Spain People * Rota (surname), a surname (including a list of peop ...
''


Puerto Rico

''Note: This section only includes tropical cyclones that occurred during or after 1899, when
Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and unincorporated ...
was acquired by the United States''


United States Virgin Islands

''Note: This section only includes tropical cyclones that occurred during or after 1917, when the
United States Virgin Islands The United States Virgin Islands,. Also called the ''American Virgin Islands'' and the ''U.S. Virgin Islands''. officially the Virgin Islands of the United States, are a group of Caribbean islands and an unincorporated and organized territory ...
were acquired by the United States''


Climatological statistics

DateFormat=yyyy ImageSize= width:350 height:auto barincrement:31 Period = from:0 till:35 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal PlotArea = right:10 left:5 bottom:50 top:5 Colors= id:cat5red value:rgb(1,0.2,0.2) id:minorline value:rgb(0.9,0.9,0.9) id:line value:rgb(0.5,0.5,0.5) PlotData= width:16 textcolor:black shift:(5,-5) anchor:from fontsize:M bar:185 from:0 till:17 color:cat5red text:"1850s" bar:186 from:0 till:15 color:cat5red text:"1860s" bar:187 from:0 till:17 color:cat5red text:"1870s" bar:188 from:0 till:25 color:cat5red text:"1880s" bar:189 from:0 till:19 color:cat5red text:"1890s" bar:190 from:0 till:18 color:cat5red text:"1900-1909" bar:191 from:0 till:23 color:cat5red text:"1910s" bar:192 from:0 till:16 color:cat5red text:"1920s" bar:193 from:0 till:20 color:cat5red text:"1930s" bar:194 from:0 till:26 color:cat5red text:"1940s" bar:195 from:0 till:23 color:cat5red text:"1950s" bar:196 from:0 till:15 color:cat5red text:"1960s" bar:197 from:0 till:15 color:cat5red text:"1970s" bar:198 from:0 till:22 color:cat5red text:"1980s" bar:199 from:0 till:31 color:cat5red text:"1990s" bar:200 from:0 till:25 color:cat5red text:"2000s" bar:201 from:0 till:19 color:cat5red text:"2010s" bar:202 from:0 till:8 color:cat5red text:"2020s" ScaleMajor = gridcolor:line unit:year increment:5 start:0 ScaleMinor = gridcolor:minorline unit:year increment:1 start:0 TextData = fontsize:M textcolor:black pos:(100,25) # tabs:(100-left) text:"Hurricanes affecting the country by decade"


See also

*
Climate of the United States The climate of the United States varies due to changes in latitude, and a range of geographic features, including mountains and deserts. Generally, on the mainland, the climate of the U.S. becomes warmer the further south one travels, and dri ...
*
List of Atlantic hurricanes Lists of Atlantic hurricanes, or tropical cyclones in the Atlantic Ocean, are organized by the properties of the hurricane or by the location most affected. By property * List of Atlantic hurricane seasons *List of Atlantic hurricane records * ...

Historical Hurricane Tracks Viewer


Notes


References


External links



{{DEFAULTSORT:United States Hurricanes *
Hurricanes A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depend ...