Atlantic tropical storm and hurricane frequency, by month[1]

The Atlantic hurricane season is the period in a year, from June 1 through November 30, when tropical or subtropical cyclones are most likely to form in the North Atlantic Ocean. These dates, adopted by convention, encompass the period in each year when most tropical cyclogenesis occurs in the basin. Even so, subtropical or tropical cyclogenesis is possible at any time of the year, and often does occur.[2]

Worldwide, a season's climatological peak activity takes place in late summer, when the difference between air temperature and sea surface temperatures is the greatest. Peak activity in an Atlantic hurricane season happens from late August through September, with a midpoint on September 10.[3][4]

Atlantic tropical and subtropical cyclones that reach tropical storm intensity are named from a pre-determined list. On average, 10.1 named storms occur each season, with an average of 5.9 becoming hurricanes and 2.5 becoming major hurricanes, Category 3 or higher on the Saffir–Simpson scale. The most active season on record was 2020, during which 30 named tropical cyclones formed. Despite this, the 2005 season had more hurricanes, developing a record of 15 such storms. The least active season was 1914, with only one known tropical cyclone developing during that year.[5]

Concept

Painting of a ship in rough seas
The timing of the hurricane season was an important factor for maritime trade and naval activities.

The understanding that Atlantic hurricanes are most commonplace during a certain period of the year has been long recognized. Historical delineations of the Atlantic hurricane season varied but generally covered some part of the estival (Summer) and autumnal months.[6] Some early descriptions of the season's bounds theorized that the timing of the full moon or the moon's phases as a whole could be used to more precisely delineate the hurricane season.[7][6] In the second volume of Voyages and Descriptions (published in 1700), English explorer and naturalist William Dampier observed that hurricanes in the Caribbean Sea were expected in July, August, and September.[8] Mariners in the 18th century generally regarded the period from July to the end of October as the "hurricane season" based on the frequency of storms striking the Caribbean islands and the trajectories of ships traversing the Atlantic.[9][7]

The hurricane season was also an important influence on European naval operations within the West Indies, forcing the movement of materiel to be expedited before its onset or delayed until its end.[10][11][12] English admiral Edward Vernon described the "hurricane months" of August and September within the West Indies as a particularly vulnerable time for maritime logistics; Vernon argued that the most optimal time for a fleet to be dispatched from Great Britain to attack Spanish assets in the Americas was August or September, in part because such ships would more likely avoid hurricanes by the time they reached the West Indies.[13] American geographer Jedidiah Morse defined the hurricane season as the months of August, September, and October in his treatise The American Universal Geography.[14] American meteorologist William Charles Redfield defined the hurricane season as lasting from July 15 to October 15, citing the timeframe during which some insurance underwriters raised premiums in response to the increased likelihood of hurricanes.[6][15] Based on a catalog of 355 storms between 1493–1855 in the North Atlantic compiled by M. André Poëy, W. H. Rosser described the months of July, August, September, and October as comprising the "true hurricane season of the West Indies" in his 1876 book The Law of Storms Considered Practically.[16]

Still, the hurricane season will not allow itself to be 'cribbed, cabined and confined' within the limits of three short months, and skips along whenever its blithe fancy takes it, having a way of turning up at the most unexpected seasons...

— Frederick A. Ober, Their Deadly Work, The Evening Star (July 23, 1898)
Weather map showing wind observations in the vicinity of a hurricane in the Caribbean
In the early 1900s, the hurricane season served as the time in which U.S. Weather Bureau observations in the Caribbean were taken more frequently.

The concept of the hurricane season took on a more practical significance in forecasting operations as the United States Weather Bureau began to extend its weather prediction efforts and data collection into the tropics. In 1882, the bureau briefly considered an effort to adopt special hurricane signals between July and October 20 to emphasize the danger of such storms during that period, but dropped the effort due to a lack of funding.[17] When the U.S. Weather Bureau built a network of weather observatories in the Caribbean in 1898, these sites telegraphed weather observations at 8 a.m. daily to the bureau's regional headquarters in Havana, Cuba, during the hurricane season; this season was defined as lasting from the beginning of June through October.[18][19][20] By 1907, these stations in the West Indies operated within a hurricane season defined as beginning on June 15 and ending on November 15.[21] The starting date of these regular reports was moved back to June 1 by 1915.[22] In 1917, an increase in funding for the U.S. Weather Bureau's observing networks in the Caribbean region led to these stations reporting twice daily during a hurricane season expanded to cover the June 1 to November 30 period.[23][24] This delineation was maintained when the bureau (in cooperation with United Fruit Company) began to broadcast special weather bulletins for Caribbean shipping during the hurricane season in 1922, providing information on active hurricanes and warnings twice daily.[25]

The basic concept of an official hurricane season began during 1935,[26] when dedicated wire circuits known as hurricane circuits began to be set up along the Gulf and Atlantic coasts,[27] a process completed by 1955.[28] It was originally the time frame when the tropics were monitored routinely for tropical cyclone activity, and was originally defined as from June 15 through October 31.[29] Over the years, the beginning date was shifted back to June 1, while the end date was shifted to November 15,[27] before settling at November 30 by 1965.[30][31] This was when hurricane reconnaissance planes were sent out to fly across the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico on a routine basis to look for potential tropical cyclones, in the years before the continuous weather satellite era.[29] Since regular satellite surveillance began, hurricane hunter aircraft fly only into storm areas which are first spotted by satellite imagery.[32] The six-month official hurricane season established in 1965 by the National Hurricane Center (NHC) remains the current delineation of the Atlantic hurricane season.[33] These bounds contain over 97 percent of Atlantic tropical cyclone activity. While this definition was chosen in part to make it easier for the public to remember the timing of hurricanes, storms have often formed outside the official seasonal bounds.[34][35] Following several consecutive years of Atlantic tropical cyclones developing before the official June 1 start date, the World Meteorological Organization recommended in 2021 that the NHC assess moving the start date to May 15.[36] In response, the NHC formed a team to develop quantiative criteria to evaluate extending the seasonal bounds.[37][38] The agency's routine tropical weather outlooks, historically issued during the hurricane season beginning on June 1, were instead started on May 15 beginning in 2021.[39]

Operations

During the hurricane season, the National Hurricane Center routinely issues their Tropical Weather Outlook product, which identifies areas of concern within the tropics which could develop into tropical cyclones. If systems occur outside the defined hurricane season, special Tropical Weather Outlooks will be issued.[40] Routine coordination occurs at 1700 UTC each day between the Weather Prediction Center and National Hurricane Center to identify systems for the pressure maps three to seven days into the future within the tropics, and points for existing tropical cyclones six to seven days into the future.[41] Possible tropical cyclones are depicted with a closed isobar, while systems with less certainty to develop are depicted as "spot lows" with no isobar surrounding them.

HURDAT

The North Atlantic hurricane database, or HURDAT, is the database for all tropical storms and hurricanes for the Atlantic Ocean, Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea, including those that have made landfall in the United States. The original database of six-hourly positions and intensities were put together in the 1960s in support of the Apollo space program to help provide statistical track forecast guidance. In the intervening years, this database — which is now freely and easily accessible on the Internet from the National Hurricane Center's (NHC) webpage — has been utilized for a wide variety of uses: climatic change studies, seasonal forecasting, risk assessment for county emergency managers, analysis of potential losses for insurance and business interests, intensity forecasting techniques and verification of official and various model predictions of track and intensity.

HURDAT was not designed with all of these uses in mind when it was first put together and not all of them may be appropriate given its original motivation. HURDAT contains numerous systematic as well as some random errors in the database. Additionally, analysis techniques have changed over the years at NHC as their understanding of tropical cyclones has developed, leading to biases in the historical database. Another difficulty in applying the hurricane database to studies concerned with landfalling events is the lack of exact location, time and intensity at hurricane landfall.

Re-analysis project

HURDAT is regularly updated annually to reflect the previous season's activity. The older portion of the database has been regularly revised since 2001. The first time in 2001 led to the addition of tropical cyclone tracks for the years 1851 to 1885. The second time was in October 2002 when Hurricane Andrew (August 1992) was upgraded to a Category 5. Recent efforts into uncovering undocumented historical hurricanes in the late 19th and 20th centuries by various researchers have greatly increased our knowledge of these past events. Tropical storms from 1851 to 1970 have already been reanalyzed with most recently, re-analysis of tropical storms from 1961 to 1965 being completed and integrated into HURDAT database in November 2019, and re-analysis of tropical storms from 1966 to 1970 being completed and integrated into HURDAT database in January 2022.[42] Possible changes for the years 1971 onward are not yet incorporated into the HURDAT database. Due to these issues, a re-analysis of the Atlantic hurricane database is being attempted that will be completed in three years.

In addition to the groundbreaking work by Partagas Cigars, additional analyses, digitization and quality control of the data was carried out by researchers at the NOAA Hurricane Research Division funded by the NOAA Office of Global Programs.[43]

The National Hurricane Center's Best Track Change Committee has approved changes for a few recent cyclones, such as Hurricane Andrew. Official changes to the Atlantic hurricane database are approved by the National Hurricane Center Best Track Change Committee.

1494–1850 (pre-HURDAT era)

PeriodSeasonsIndividual years
Pre-19th centuryPre-17th century (pre 1600), 17th century (1600s), 18th century (1700s) 1780
1800–18501800–1809, 1810–1819, 1820–1829, 1830–1839, 1840–1849 1842, 1850.

1851–1899 (within HURDAT data)

1850s

YearTSHMHACEDeathsStrongest stormMajor landfalling stormsNotes
1851 6 3 1 36.24 24  3  "San Agapito"  3  "San Agapito" First Atlantic hurricane season to be included in the HURDAT.
1852 5 5 1 73.28 100+  3  "Great Mobile"  3  "Great Mobile" One of three seasons in which all known cyclones became hurricanes.
1853 8 4 2 76.49 40  4  Three Earliest known Category 4 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson scale.
1854 5 3 1 31.00 30+  3  "South Carolina"  3  "South Carolina"
1855 5 4 1 18.12 Unknown  3  "Middle Gulf Shore"  3  "Middle Gulf Shore"
1856 6 4 2 48.94 200+  4  "Last Island"  3  "Southeastern States"
 4  "Last Island"
1857 4 3 0 46.84 424  2  SS Central America Disaster
 2  Four		  2  SS Central America Disaster
1858 6 6 0 44.79 None  2  Three
 2  Six		  2  Hurricane Three
1859 8 7 1 55.73 Numerous  3  Six  1  Hurricane Five
 3  Hurricane Six
 1  Hurricane Eight

1860s

YearTSHMHACEDeathsStrongest stormMajor landfalling stormsNotes
1860 7 6 1 62.06 60+  3  One  3  Hurricane One
1861 8 6 0 49.71 22+  2  One
 2  Three		  1  "Key West"
 1  "Expedition"
1862 6 3 0 46.03 3  2  Two
 2  Three
1863 9 5 0 50.35 90  2  "Amanda"  2  "Amanda"
1864 5 3 0 26.55 None  1  One
 1  Three
 1  Five
1865 7 3 0 49.13 326  2  Four
 2  Seven		  2  Hurricane Four
1866 7 6 1 83.65 383  4  "Nassau"  4  "Nassau"
1867 9 7 1 59.97 811  3  "San Narciso"  3  "San Narciso"
1868 4 3 0 34.65 2  2  One
 2  Two
 2  Four
1869 10 7 1 51.02 38  3  New England Gale  3  New England Gale
 2  Saxby Gale

1870s

YearTSHMHACEDeathsStrongest stormMajor landfalling stormsNotes
1870 11 10 2 87.80 2,052  3  Four  3  "First Key West"
 2  "Second Key West"
1871 8 6 2 88.39 30  3  Three
 3  "Santa Juana"		  3  Hurricane Three
 3  "Santa Juana"
1872 5 4 0 65.38 Unknown  2  Two
1873 5 3 2 69.47 626  3  "Central Florida"  3  "Central Florida"
1874 7 4 0 47.05 Unknown  2  Seven
1875 6 5 1 72.48 800  3  "Indianola"  3  "Indianola"
1876 5 4 2 56.05 19  3  "San Felipe"  3  "San Felipe"
 3  "Cuba-South Florida"
1877 8 3 1 73.36 34  3  "Florida Panhandle"  3  "Florida Panhandle"
1878 12 10 2 180.85 108  4  Seven  2  Gale of 1878
1879 8 6 2 63.63 47  3  "Louisiana"  3  "Great Beaufort"
 3  "Louisiana"

1880s

YearTSHMHACEDeathsStrongest stormMajor landfalling stormsNotes
1880 11 9 2 131.08 133  4  Eight  4  Hurricane Two
1881 7 4 0 59.25 700  2  "Georgia"  2  "Georgia"
1882 6 4 2 59.47 6  4  "Cuba"  3  "Pensacola"
 4  "Cuba"
1883 4 3 2 66.70 236  3  Two  3  "Bahamas-North Carolina"
1884 4 4 1 72.06 8  3  Two
1885 8 6 0 58.30 25  2  Two
1886 12 10 4 166.17 200+  4  "Indianola"  4  "Indianola"
 3  "Cuba"
 3  "Texas-Louisiana"		 Seven hurricanes struck the United States, the most during a single year.[44]
1887 19 11 2 181.26 2  3  Seven Record five off-season storms.
1888 9 6 2 84.95 924  3  "San Gil"  3  "Louisiana"
 3  "San Gil"
1889 9 6 0 104.04 40  2  Six

1890s

YearTSHMHACEDeathsStrongest stormMajor landfalling stormsNotes
1890 4 2 1 33.35 14  3  Three
1891 10 7 1 116.11 700+  3  "Martinique"  3  "Martinique"
1892 9 5 0 115.84 16  2  Three
 2  Five
 2  Seven
1893 12 10 5 231.15 4,028  4  "Cheniere Caminada"  3  "San Roque"
 3  "New York"
 3  "Sea Islands"
 3  "Charleston"
 4  "Cheniere Caminada"		 Two hurricanes caused more than 2,000 deaths in the United States.
Four simultaneous hurricanes on August 22, one of two times on record.
1894 7 5 4 135.42 200+  4  Six  3  "Florida Panhandle"
1895 6 2 0 68.77 56  2  Two
1896 7 6 2 136.08 286  3  "Cedar Keys"  3  "San Ramón"
 3  "Cedar Keys"
1897 6 3 0 54.54 262  2  One
1898 11 5 1 113.24 562  4  "Georgia"  4  "Georgia"
1899 10 5 2 151.03 4,167  4  "San Ciríaco"  4  "San Ciríaco" The San Ciríaco hurricane was the longest-lasting Atlantic hurricane on record

1900s

NOTE: In the following tables, all estimates of damage costs are expressed in contemporaneous US dollars (USD).

1900s

YearTSHMHACEDeathsDamageStrongest stormMajor landfalling stormsNotes
1900 7 3 2 83.35 8,000+ $35.4M  4  "Galveston"  4  "Galveston" The Galveston hurricane was the deadliest disaster in the United States.
1901 13 6 0 98.98 35-40 $1M  2  Seven  1  "Louisiana"
1902 5 3 0 32.65 5 Unknown  2  Four
1903 10 7 1 102.07 222 $18.5M  3  "Jamaica"  3  "Jamaica"
 1  "Florida"
 2  "New Jersey"
1904 6 4 0 30.35 112 $2.5M  1  Two  1  One
1905 5 1 1 28.38 8 Unknown  3  Four
1906 11 6 3 162.88 381 $25.4M  4  Four  3  "Mississippi"
 3  "Florida Keys"
1907 5 0 0 13.06 None Unknown  TS  One One of two seasons with no recorded hurricanes, the other being 1914.
1908 10 6 1 95.11 37 Unknown  3  Six Includes the only known March tropical cyclone in the basin.
1909 12 6 4 93.34 4,673 $77.3M  3  "Grand Isle"  3  "Velasco"
 3  "Monterrey"
 3  "Grand Isle"
 3  "Florida Keys"
 2  "Greater Antilles"

1910s

YearTSHMHACEDeathsDamageStrongest stormMajor landfalling stormsNotes
1910 5 3 1 63.90 100 $1.25M  4  "Cuba"  4  "Cuba"
1911 6 3 0 34.29 27 $3M  2  Three
1912 7 4 1 57.26 116 $1.6M  3  "Jamaica"  3  "Jamaica"
1913 6 4 0 35.60 5 $4M  1  Four
1914 1 0 0 2.53 0 Unknown  TS  One Least active season on record.
One of two seasons with no recorded hurricanes, along with 1907.
1915 6 5 3 130.10 675 $63M  4  "New Orleans"  4  "Galveston"
 4  "New Orleans"		 Two Category 4 hurricanes made landfall in the United States.
1916 15 10 5 144.01 31 $5.9M  4  "Texas"  3  "Gulf Coast"
 3  "Charleston"
 4  "Texas"
1917 4 2 2 60.67 76 $170,000  4  "Nueva Gerona"  4  "Nueva Gerona"
1918 6 4 1 39.87 55 $5M  3  "Louisiana"  3  "Louisiana"
1919 5 2 1 55.04 828 $22M  4  "Florida Keys"  4  "Florida Keys"

1920s

YearTSHMHACEDeathsDamageStrongest stormMajor landfalling stormsNotes
1920 5 4 0 29.81 1 $1.5M  2  "Louisiana"  2  "Louisiana"
1921 7 5 2 86.53 6 $36.5M  4  "Tampa Bay"  3  "San Pedro"
 4  "Tampa Bay"
1922 5 3 1 54.52 105 $2.3M  3  Two
1923 9 4 1 49.31 15 $1.3M  3  Five
1924 11 5 2 100.19 179 Unknown  5  "Cuba"  5  "Cuba" First official Category 5 Atlantic hurricane on the Saffir–Simpson scale.
1925 4 1 0 7.25 59+ $19.9M  1  One  TS  "Florida"
1926 11 8 6 229.56 1,448 $247.4M  4  "Miami"  4  "Nassau"
 3  "Nova Scotia"
 3  "Louisiana"
 4  "Miami"
 4  "Havana–Bermuda"
1927 8 4 1 56.48 184 Unknown  3  "Nova Scotia"  3  "Nova Scotia"
1928 6 4 1 83.48 4,289 $102M  5  "Okeechobee"  5  "Okeechobee"
1929 5 3 1 48.07 62 $10.0M  4  "Bahamas"  4  "Bahamas"

1930s

YearTSHMHACEDeathsDamageStrongest stormMajor landfalling stormsNotes
1930 3 2 2 49.77 8,000 $50M  4  "San Zenón"  4  "San Zenón" The San Zenón hurricane was the fifth deadliest on record.
1931 13 3 1 47.84 2,502 $7.5M  4  "British Honduras"  4  "British Honduras"
1932 15 6 4 169.66 3,315 $37M  5  "Cuba"  4  "Freeport"
 5  "Bahamas"
 4  "San Ciprián"
 5  "Cuba"		 Only season with a Category 5 hurricane in November.
1933 20 11 6 258.57 651 $86.6M  5  "Tampico"  4  "Chesapeake–Potomac"
 5  "Cuba–Brownsville"
 4  "Treasure Coast"
 4  "Outer Banks"
 5  "Tampico"		 Fourth most active season on record.

Most Accumulated Cyclone Energy (ACE) in an Atlantic season on record.

1934 13 7 1 79.07 2,017 $4.26M  3  Thirteen
1935 8 5 3 106.21 2,604 $12.5M  5  "Labor Day"  5  "Labor Day"
 4  "Cuba"		 Most intense landfalling Atlantic hurricane known to date ("Labor Day").
1936 17 7 1 99.78 5 $1.23M  3  "Mid-Atlantic"
1937 11 4 1 65.85 0 Unknown  3  Six
1938 9 4 2 77.58 ~700 $290.3M  5  "New England"  5  "New England" Earliest-starting season on record (January 3).
1939 6 3 1 43.68 5 Unknown  4  Five

1940s

YearTSHMHACEDeathsDamageStrongest stormMajor landfalling stormsNotes
1940 9 6 0 67.79 101 $4.7M  2  "New England"  2  "South Carolina"
1941 6 4 3 51.77 63 $10M  3  "Florida"  3  "Texas"
 4  "Nicaragua"
 3  "Florida"
1942 11 4 1 62.49 17 $30.6M  3  "Matagorda"  3  "Matagorda"
1943 10 5 2 94.01 19 $17.2M  4  Three  2  "Surprise" First year of hurricane hunters.
1944 14 8 3 104.45 1,153 $202M  5  "Great Atlantic"  5  "Great Atlantic"
 4  "Cuba–Florida"
1945 11 5 2 63.42 80 $80M  4  "Homestead"  3  "Texas"
 4  "Homestead"
1946 7 3 0 19.61 5 $5.2M  2  Four  2  "Florida"
1947 10 5 2 88.49 94 $145.3M  4  "Fort Lauderdale"  4  "Fort Lauderdale" (George)
 2  "Cape Sable" (King)		 First year of internal Atlantic tropical cyclone naming.[45]
1948 10 6 4 94.98 94 $30.9M  4  "Florida"  4  "Florida" (Easy)
 3  "Miami" (Fox)
1949 16 7 3 96.45 3 $58.2M  4  "Florida"  4  "Florida"
 2  "Texas"

1950s

YearTSHMHACEDeathsDamageStrongest stormRetired namesNotes
1950 16 11 6 211.28 20 $37M  4  Dog None Record-breaking 8 tropical storms in October.
1951 12 8 3 126.33 257 $80M  4  Easy None
1952 11 5 2 69.08 607 $3.75M  4  Fox None Includes the only known February tropical cyclone in the basin.
1953 14 7 3 98.51 1 $6M  5  Carol None First year of female names for storms.[46]
One of only 4 seasons to have both a preseason and postseason storm.
1954 16 7 3 110.88 1,069 $752M  4  Hazel  3  Carol
 3  Edna
 4  Hazel		 Includes Alice, one of two storms in the basin to span two calendar years.[47]
1955 13 9 4 158.17 1,518 $1.2bn  5  Janet  4  Connie
 2  Diane
 4  Ione
 5  Janet
1956 12 4 1 56.67 76 $67.8M  3  Betsy None
1957 8 3 2 78.66 513 $152.5M  4  Carrie  3  Audrey One of only two seasons to feature a major hurricane in June.
1958 12 7 3 109.69 41 $12M  4  Helene None
1959 14 7 2 77.11 59 $23.3M  4  Gracie None
Total12868291096.384,161$2.54bnJanet8 names

1960s

YearTSHMHACEDeathsDamageStrongest
storm		Retired
names		Notes
1960 8 4 2 72.90 455 $442.34M  4  Donna  4  Donna
1961 12 8 5 188.89 345 $392M  5  Hattie  4  Carla
 5  Hattie		 Two Category 5 hurricanes.
Lowest number of named storms for an extremely active season.
1962 7 4 0 50.45 39 >$4.88M  2  Ella None
1963 10 7 3 112.09 7,225 $589M  4  Flora  4  Flora Flora was the sixth-deadliest hurricane on record.
1964 13 7 5 153.04 261 $605M  4  Cleo  4  Cleo
 4  Dora
 4  Hilda
1965 10 4 1 86.74 76 $1.45bn  4  Betsy  4  Betsy
1966 15 7 3 138.68 1,094 $410M  5  Inez  5  Inez One of only two seasons to feature a major hurricane in June.
1967 15 6 1 125.43 64 $217M  5  Beulah  5  Beulah First hurricane season in the modern satellite era.
Features the highest number of tropical depressions in a season at the time.
1968 8 5 0 46.60 10 $10M  2  Gladys None There was one subtropical storm with Category 1 hurricane strength.
1969 18 12 3 149.25 364 $1.7bn  5  Camille  5  Camille Tied for the third most hurricanes in a season on record.
Total11664231124.099,933$5.82bnCamille11 names

1970s

YearTSHMHACEDeathsDamageStrongest
storm		Retired
names		Notes
1970 14 7 2 66.63 71 $454M  4  Celia  4  Celia First season of a 24-year period of decreased activity in the Atlantic (-AMO)
Current extent of the reanalysis project as of January 2022
1971 13 6 1 96.53 45 $213M  5  Edith None Includes first documented Hurricane to cross Central America, Irene.
1972 7 3 0 35.61 122 $2.1bn  2  Betty  1  Agnes Includes three subtropical storms.
1973 8 4 1 47.85 15 $18M  3  Ellen None
1974 11 4 2 68.13 8,260+ $1.97bn  4  Carmen  4  Carmen
 2  Fifi		 Includes four subtropical storms.
Fifi was the fourth-deadliest hurricane on record.
1975 9 6 3 76.06 80 $100M  4  Gladys  3  Eloise
1976 10 6 2 84.17 72 $100M  3  Belle None Includes two subtropical storms.
1977 6 5 1 25.32 10 $10M  5  Anita  5  Anita Features the strongest Atlantic hurricane to strike Mexico.
1978 12 5 2 63.22 37 $45M  4  Greta  4  Greta Includes one off-season subtropical storm.
1979 9 6 2 92.92 2,118 $4.3bn  5  David  5  David
 4  Frederic		 First year for alternating male/female names.
Includes one subtropical storm of Category 1 strength.
Total99511665710,830+$9.31bnDavid9 names

1980s

YearTCTSHMHACEDeathsDamageStrongest
storm		Retired
names		Notes
1980 18 11 9 2 148.94 256 $1bn  5  Allen  5  Allen Includes the storm with the highest sustained winds attained so far in the Atlantic.
1981 22 12 7 3 100.38 10 $45M  4  Harvey None
1982 9 6 2 1 31.50 141 $100M  4  Debby None
1983 7 4 3 1 17.40 22 $2.6bn  3  Alicia  3  Alicia Least active hurricane season in the satellite era.
1984 20 13 5 1 84.30 35 $66M  4  Diana None
1985 14 11 7 3 87.98 241 $4.5bn  4  Gloria  3  Elena
 4  Gloria		 Hurricane Kate struck Florida on November 21, the latest United States hurricane landfall.
1986 10 6 4 0 35.79 70 $57M  2  Earl None
1987 14 7 3 1 34.36 10 $90M  3  Emily None
1988 19 12 5 3 102.99 550 $7bn  5  Gilbert  5  Gilbert
 4  Joan		 Included the strongest hurricane on record until 2005
First hurricane since 1978 to cross Central America
1989 15 11 7 2 135.13 112 $10.7bn  5  Hugo  5  Hugo
Total148935217778.711,447$26.2bnGilbert7 names

1990s

YearTCTSHMHACEDeathsDamageStrongest
storm		Retired
names		Notes
1990 16 14 8 1 96.80 116 $150M  3  Gustav  2  Diana
 1  Klaus		 No tropical storms or hurricanes made landfall in the United States.
1991 12 8 4 2 35.54 30 $2.5bn  4  Claudette  3  Bob
1992 10 7 4 1 76.22 66 $27bn  5  Andrew  5  Andrew Hurricane Andrew was the costliest U.S. hurricane until 2005.
1993 10 8 4 1 38.67 274 $271M  3  Emily None
1994 12 7 3 0 32.02 1,184 $1.56bn  2  Florence None Last season of a 24-year period of decreased activity in the Atlantic (-AMO).
1995 21 19 11 5 227.10 115 $9.3bn  4  Opal  4  Luis
 3  Marilyn
 4  Opal
 3  Roxanne		 Tied for fifth most active season on record (with 1887, 2010, 2011 and 2012).
First season of an ongoing period of increased activity in the Atlantic (+AMO).
1996 13 13 9 6 166.18 179 $3.8bn  4  Edouard  1  Cesar
 3  Fran
 4  Hortense		 Highest number of major hurricanes at the time.
1997 9 8 3 1 40.93 11 $110M  3  Erika None
1998 14 14 10 3 181.77 12,000+ $12.2bn  5  Mitch  4  Georges
 5  Mitch		 Four simultaneous hurricanes on September 26, the first time since 1893.
Mitch was the deadliest hurricane in over 200 years.
1999 16 12 8 5 176.53 465 $5.9bn  4  Floyd  4  Floyd
 4  Lenny		 Most Category 4 hurricanes on record, later tied by 2005 and 2020.
Total13311064251071.7514,440$62.7bnMitch15 names

2000s

NOTE: In the following tables, all estimates of damage costs are expressed in contemporaneous US dollars (USD).

2000s

YearTCTSHMHACEDeathsDamageStrongest
storm		Retired namesNotes
2000 19 15 8 3 119.14 105 $1.3bn  4  Keith  4  Keith
2001 17 15 9 4 110.32 153 $11.4bn  4  Michelle  TS  Allison
 4  Iris
 4  Michelle		 Allison was the first Atlantic tropical storm to have its name retired.
2002 14 12 4 2 67.99 50 $2.5bn  3  Isidore  3  Isidore
 4  Lili		 Record-tying 8 named storms formed in September.
2003 21 16 7 3 176.84 93 $6.3bn  5  Isabel  4  Fabian
 5  Isabel
 2  Juan		 Includes 3 off-season storms.
2004 16 15 9 6 226.88 3,260 $61.2bn  5  Ivan  4  Charley
 4  Frances
 5  Ivan
 3  Jeanne		 Record-tying 8 named storms forming in August.
2005 31 28 15 7 250.13 3,912 $171.8bn  5  Wilma  4  Dennis
 5  Katrina
 5  Rita
 1  Stan
 5  Wilma		 Second-costliest hurricane season on record.
Holds the records for most hurricanes, major hurricanes, and Category 5 hurricanes.
Most retired names.
The first year to use the Greek alphabet, later also used in 2020.
The first season on record with a Category 5 hurricane in July.
Includes 1 subtropical storm and 1 subtropical depression.
2006 10 10 5 2 78.54 14 $504.4M  3  Gordon
 3  Helene		 None
2007 17 15 6 2 73.89 478 $3.4bn  5  Dean  5  Dean
 5  Felix
 1  Noel		 First season on record with two hurricanes landfalling at Category 5 intensity (Dean and Felix).
2008 17 16 8 5 145.72 1,073 $49.4bn  4  Ike  4  Gustav
 4  Ike
 4  Paloma		 Only year on record in which a major hurricane existed in every month from July through November.
2009 11 9 3 2 52.58 9 $58M  4  Bill None
Total17315174361302.029,146$307.9bnWilma24 names

2010s

YearTCTSHMHACEDeathsDamageStrongest
storm		Retired namesNotes
2010 21 19 12 5 165.48 393 $7.4bn  4  Igor  4  Igor
 2  Tomas		 Fifth most active season on record (tied with 1887, 1995, 2011 and 2012).
Tied for third most hurricanes in a season with twelve.
2011 20 19 7 4 126.30 112 $17.4bn  4  Ophelia  3  Irene Fifth most active season on record (tied with 1887, 1995, 2010 and 2012).
2012 19 19 10 2 132.63 355 $72.3bn  3  Sandy  3  Sandy Fifth most active season on record (tied with 1887, 1995, 2010 and 2011).
2013 15 14 2 0 36.12 54 $1.5bn  1  Humberto  1  Ingrid Featured one unnamed subtropical storm in December.
First season since 1994 with no major hurricanes.
First season in the satellite era where no hurricanes reached Category 2 strength.
2014 9 8 6 2 66.73 21 $371.6M  4  Gonzalo None Featured the fewest tropical storms since 1997.
2015 12 11 4 2 62.69 89 $813.9M  4  Joaquin  TS  Erika
 4  Joaquin		 First season of a 7-year period of early season activity in the Atlantic.
Erika was the second Atlantic tropical storm to have its name retired, following Allison in 2001.
2016 16 15 7 4 141.25 736 ≥$17.5bn  5  Matthew  5  Matthew
 3  Otto		 Record for earliest formation of 4th named storm (Danielle).
2017 18 17 10 6 224.87 3,364 ≥$294.7bn  5  Maria  4  Harvey
 5  Irma
 5  Maria
 1  Nate		 Costliest hurricane season on record.
Earliest Main Development Region named storm on record (Bret).
2018 16 15 8 2 132.58 172 ≥$50.5bn  5  Michael  4  Florence
 5  Michael		 Includes a record seven storms that were subtropical at one point.
2019 20 18 6 3 132.20 118 $11.6bn  5  Dorian  5  Dorian Record fifth consecutive season for a storm to develop before the official start.
Includes two subtropical storms.
Record fourth consecutive season with a Category 5 hurricane.
Total16615572301220.865,413$474.1bnMaria16 names

2020s

YearTCTSHMHACEDeathsDamageStrongest
storm		Retired
names		Notes
2020 31 30 14 7 180.37 ≥417 >$51.1bn  4  Iota  4  Laura
 4  Eta
 4  Iota		 Most active season in terms of tropical depressions and named storms.
Holds record for the earliest formation date for the third, sixth, and every storm after.
Second and final season after 2005 to use the Greek alphabet.
Tied with 2005 for a record 7 tropical cyclones that became major hurricanes.
Second most hurricanes in a season with fourteen.
Record-breaking fifth consecutive above-normal season.
Record sixth straight season with at least one pre-season storm.
First recorded season with two major hurricanes in November.
2021 21 21 7 4 145.55 195 $80.7bn  4  Sam  4  Ida Record seventh consecutive season for a storm to develop before the official start (Ana).
Third most active season on record.
Record for the earliest formation date for the fifth storm (Elsa).
Record-breaking sixth consecutive above-normal season.
2022 16 14 8 2 95.1 337 >$118.3bn  4  Fiona
 4  Fiona
 5  Ian		 First season since 1997 in which no tropical cyclones formed in August.
First season not to have above-average activity since 2015.
First season since 1996 with more than one Atlantic–Pacific crossover hurricane (Bonnie and Julia).
Featured the formation of two hurricanes in November.
Hurricane Ian was the hurricane with the strongest winds of 2022.[48]
First Category 5 hurricane since 2019.
2023 21 20 7 3 145.6 15 >$4.2bn  5  Lee TBD Featured one unnamed subtropical storm in January.
First season since 1968 in which two named storms were simultaneously active in June (Bret and Cindy)
Fourth most active season on record (tied with 1933).
2024 0 0 0 0 0 None None TBD
Total89853616557.82≥964>$254.3bnIota6 names

Number of tropical storms and hurricanes per season

A 2011 study analyzing one of the main sources of hurricanes - the African easterly wave (AEW) - found that the change in AEWs is closely linked to increased activity of intense hurricanes in the North Atlantic. The synoptic concurrence of AEWs in driving the dynamics of the Sahel greening also appears to increase tropical cyclogenesis over the North Atlantic.[49]

Tropical cyclone count adjusted for lack of observation prior to 1965.
Tropical cyclone count adjusted for lack of observation prior to 1965.


The 20-year average of the number of annual Category 4 and 5 hurricanes in the Atlantic region has approximately doubled since the year 2000.[50]
The number of $1 billion Atlantic hurricanes almost doubled from the 1980s to the 2010s, and inflation-adjusted costs have increased more than elevenfold.[51] The increases have been attributed to climate change and to greater numbers of people moving to coastal areas.[51]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Landsea, Chris. "Total and Average Number of Tropical Cylones by Month (1851-2017)". aoml.noaa.gov. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory. Archived from the original on September 1, 2018.
  2. ↑ "Hurricanes Frequently Asked Questions". Miami, Florida: NOAA Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory. June 1, 2021. Retrieved May 7, 2023.
  3. ↑ Masters, Jeff (September 9, 2021). "Mindy hits Florida Panhandle; Cat 1 Larry grazes Bermuda; Cat 4 Chanthu takes aim at Taiwan, and Cat 1 Olaf threatens Baja". New Haven, Connecticut: Yale Climate Connections. Retrieved May 7, 2023.
  4. ↑ "The peak of the hurricane season – why now? | National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration". www.noaa.gov. Retrieved September 24, 2020.
  5. ↑ "Atlantic hurricane best track (HURDAT version 2)" (Database). United States National Hurricane Center. April 5, 2023. Retrieved January 10, 2024. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  6. 1 2 3 "Observations on Hurricanes". The Seaman's Practical Guide, for Barbadoes and the Leeward Islands; with Observations on the Islands From Blanco to the Rocas, on the Coast of La Guayra. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1832. p. 15.
  7. 1 2 de Saint-Méry, Médéric Louis Élie Moreau (1798). "Gales and Hurricanes". A Topographic and Political Description of the Spanish part of Saint-Domingo. Vol. 1. Translated by Cobbett, William. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. p. 26.
  8. ↑ Dampier, William (1700). "Chapter VI: Of Storms". Voyages and Descriptions. Vol. 2 (2nd ed.). London. p. 68.
  9. ↑ Long, Edward (1784). "General Description of Jamaica". The History of Jamaica, or, General Survey of the Antient and Modern State. Vol. 1. London: T. Lowndes. p. 364.
  10. ↑ Beatson, Robert (1790). Naval and Military Memoirs of Great Britain, From the Year 1727, to the Present Time. Vol. 3. London: J. Strachan. p. 171.
  11. ↑ "The political History of Europe, for the Year 1782, Chapter IX". The Gentleman's and London Magazine, for January 1785. John Exshaw. January 1785. p. 650.
  12. ↑ Campbell, John (1785). Lives of the British Admirals: Containing a New and Accurate Naval History, From the Earliest Periods. Vol. 4. London. p. 212.
  13. ↑ Vernon, Edward (1740). Britain's Mistakes in the Commencement and Conduct of the Present War. London: T. Cooper. p. 18.
  14. ↑ Morse, Jedidiah (1819). "West-Indies". The American Universal Geography. Vol. 1 (7th ed.). Charlestown, Boston, Massachusetts: S. Etheridge. p. 706.
  15. ↑ "Theory of Storms". The North American Review (Literature Review). 58 (123): 339. April 1844. JSTOR 25099713.
  16. ↑ Rosser, W. H. (1876). "Hurricane Seasons and Storm Paths". The Law of Storms Considered Practically. London: Charles Wilson. p. 90.
  17. ↑ "Hurricane Signals". Report of the Commissioner of Navigation (Report). Washington, D. C.: Government Printing Office. 1885. p. 166.
  18. ↑ Pietruska, Jamie L. (2016). "Hurricanes, Crops, and Capital: The Meteorological Infrastructure of American Empire in the West Indies". The Journal of the Gilded Age and Progressive Era. Cambridge University Press. 15 (4): 418–445. doi:10.1017/S1537781416000256. S2CID 164639962.
  19. ↑ Hayes, M. W. (1902). "Value of the Climate and Crop and Storm Warning Services of the Weather Bureau to the Industries of Cuba and Other Islands of the West Indies". In Alexander, William H. (ed.). Hurricanes: Especially Those of Porto Rico and St. Kitts. p. 58 – via Google Books.
  20. ↑ Alexander, William H. (1902). "United States Weather Bureau in the West Indies". In Alexander, William H. (ed.). Hurricanes: Especially Those of Porto Rico and St. Kitts. p. 43 – via Google Books.
  21. ↑ Moore, Willis L. (1908). "List of Observing Stations and Changes Therin During 1906". Report of the Chief of the Weather Bureau 1906–1907. Washington, D. C.: United States Weather Bureau. p. 7 – via Google Books.
  22. ↑ Marvin, Charles F. (1916). "List of Observing Stations and Changes Therin During 1915". Report of the Chief of the Weather Bureau 1915–1916. Washington, D. C.: United States Weather Bureau. p. 37 – via Google Books.
  23. ↑ Brooks, Charles F. (March 16, 1917). "Notes on Meteorology and Climatology". Science. 45 (1159): 263–265. doi:10.1126/science.45.1159.263. PMID 17758376.
  24. ↑ Marvin, Charles F. (1917). "Administrative Report". Report of the Chief of the Weather Bureau 1916–1917. Washington, D. C.: United States Weather Bureau. p. 10 – via Google Books.
  25. ↑ "Distribution of Weather Information and Warnings for the Caribbean Sea". Monthly Weather Review. American Meteorological Society. 50 (8): 428. August 1, 1922. doi:10.1175/1520-0493(1922)50<428a:DOWIAW>2.0.CO;2.
  26. ↑ "Hurricane Bureau Begins Season's Vigil Tonight". St. Petersburg Times. Associated Press. June 15, 1941. Retrieved July 9, 2011.
  27. 1 2 "1959 Hurricane Season Opens Officially Today". Meridian Record. Associated Press. June 15, 1959. Retrieved July 9, 2011.
  28. ↑ "Hurricane Season Opens; New England Joins Circuit". The Robesonian. Associated Press. June 15, 1955. Retrieved July 9, 2011.
  29. 1 2 "1960 Hurricane Season Open As Planes Prowl". The Evening Independent. Associated Press. June 15, 1960. Retrieved July 9, 2011.
  30. ↑ Neal Dorst (January 21, 2010). "Subject: G1) When is hurricane season ?". National Hurricane Center. Archived from the original on June 28, 2011. Retrieved July 9, 2011.
  31. ↑ Brownsville Herald (June 1, 1965). Hurricane Season Officially Opened.
  32. ↑ United Press International (May 30, 1966). "Hurricane Season Opens This Week". The News and Courier. Retrieved July 9, 2011.
  33. ↑ "Tropical storms and hurricanes in winter and spring?". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. April 17, 2019. Retrieved November 25, 2022.
  34. ↑ Truchelut, Ryan E.; Klotzbach, Philip J.; Staehling, Erica M.; Wood, Kimberly M.; Halperin, Daniel J.; Schreck, Carl J.; Blake, Eric S. (August 16, 2022). "Earlier onset of North Atlantic hurricane season with warming oceans". Nature Communications. 13 (1): 4646. doi:10.1038/s41467-022-31821-3. PMC 9381499. PMID 35973988.
  35. ↑ "When Is Hurricane Season?". Hurricanes Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ). Miami, Florida: Atlantic Oceanographic & Meteorological Laboratory. June 1, 2021. Retrieved November 25, 2022.
  36. ↑ Cappucci, Matthew (February 26, 2021). "NOAA mulls moving start of Atlantic hurricane season up to May 15". The Washington Post. Retrieved November 25, 2022.
  37. ↑ Puleo, Mark (April 5, 2022). "Change to the start date of hurricane season is still under consideration". AccuWeather. Retrieved November 25, 2022.
  38. ↑ Bayles, Tom (April 7, 2022). "Hurricane season may soon move up two weeks to May 15". WJCT News. WJCT Public Media. WGCU. Retrieved November 25, 2022.
  39. ↑ Chinchar, Allison (May 15, 2021). "Saturday is the brand new 'unofficial' start to hurricane season". CNN. Retrieved November 25, 2022.
  40. ↑ National Hurricane Center (2011). "Atlantic Graphical Tropical Weather Outlook". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Archived from the original on June 23, 2011. Retrieved July 9, 2011.
  41. ↑ United States Department of Commerce (2006). Assessment: Hurricane Katrina, August 23–31, 2005. Retrieved on 2008-09-03.
  42. ↑ "HURDAT Re-analysis".
  43. ↑ "Hurricane Protection Magazine - Special Report". Archived from the original on October 6, 2008. Retrieved November 5, 2011.
  44. ↑ Hurricane Research Division (2008). "Chronological List of All Hurricanes which Affected the Continental United States: 1851-2007". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved March 21, 2008.
  45. ↑ Dorst, Neal (October 23, 2012). "They Called the Wind Mahina: The History of Naming Cyclones" (PPTX). Hurricane Research Division, Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. p. Slides 49–51.
  46. ↑ "Tropical Cyclone Naming History and Retired Names". www.nhc.noaa.gov. Retrieved November 1, 2021.
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  48. ↑ Korosec, Marko (September 25, 2022). "Ian Heads for a Major Impact on the Eastern Gulf Coast and Florida this Week, Forecast to Become the Most Intense Storm of the Atlantic Hurricane Season 2022". Severe Weather Europe. Retrieved April 29, 2023.
  49. ↑ Shih-Yu Wang; Robert R. Gillies (2011). "Observed Change in Sahel Rainfall, Circulations, African Easterly Waves, and Atlantic Hurricanes Since 1979". International Journal of Geophysics. 2011: 1–14. doi:10.1155/2011/259529.
  50. ↑ Leonhardt, David; Moses, Claire; Philbrick, Ian Prasad (September 29, 2022). "Ian Moves North / Category 4 and 5 Atlantic hurricanes since 1980". The New York Times. Archived from the original on September 30, 2022. Source: NOAA - Graphic by Ashley Wu, The New York Times (cites for 2022— data)
  51. 1 2 Philbrick, Ian Pasad; Wu, Ashley (December 2, 2022). "Population Growth Is Making Hurricanes More Expensive". The New York Times. Archived from the original on December 6, 2022. Newspaper states data source: NOAA.
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