hurricanes facts page

Hurricanes & Tropical Storms
Interesting Facts in a Nutshell

Visitor Number Hit Counter since September 9, 2005

Interesting & Historical Facts Categories

Category 5 Storms 1851 - 2006
Highest Sustained Winds
Lowest Pressures
Most Deadly
Most Expensive
Most Used Names
Retired Names
Years of Most Storms

Lowest Pressures
These are the storms that have impacted the United States only.

Rank	Storm Name	Year	Pressure (mb)
1	Gilbert	1988	888
2	Labor Day Storm	1935	892
3	Rita	2005	897
4	Allen	1980	899
5	Katrina	2005	902
6	Camille	1969	909
7	Andrew	1992	922
8	Texas (Indianola)	1886	925
9	Florida Keys	1919	927
10	Florida (Lake Okeechobee)	1928	929
11	Donna	1960	930
12 (tie)	Unnamed (New Orleans)	1915	931
12 (tie)	Carla	1961	931
13	Hugo	1989	934
14
15
16
17
18
19
20

Lowest Pressures
These are the statistics from all storms since 1851 with the lowest pressure.

Rank	Storm Name	Year	Pressure (mb)
1	Wilma	2005	882
2	Gilbert	1988	888
3	Labor Day Storm	1935	892
4	Rita	2005	897
5	Allen	1980	899
6	Katrina	2005	902
7	Camille	1969	909
8	Ivan	2004	910
9	Janet	1955	914
10	Isabel	2003	915
11	Opal	1995	916
12	Hugo	1989	918
13	Hattie	1961	920
14	Gloria	1985	920
15	Floydo	1999	921
16	Andrew	1992	922
17	Beulah	1967	923
18	Hurricane #3	1853	924
19	David	1979	924
20	Anita	1977	926
21 (tie)	Florida Keys	1919	927
21 (tie)	Esther	1961	927
21 (tie)	Gabrielle	1989	927

Highest Sustained Winds
These are the statistics from all storms 1851 - 2005.
Winds are listed in knots (1 knot = 1.15 mph)

Rank	Storm Name	Year	Wind	Category
1	Hurricane Camille	1969	165	5
2	Hurricane Allen	1980	165	5
3	Hurricane Dog	1950	160	5
4	Hurricane Gilbert	1988	160	5
5	Hurricane Mitch	1998	155	5
6	Hurricane Janet	1955	150	5
7	Hurricane Carla	1961	150	5
8	Hurricane Anita	1977	150	5
9	Hurricane David	1979	150	5
10	Hurricane Katrina	2005	150	5
11	Hurricane Rita	2005	150	5
12	Hurricane Isabel	2003	145	5
13	Hurricane Ivan	2004	145	5
14	Hurricane #4	1928	140	5
15	Hurricane #4	1932	140	5
16	Hurricane #2	1935	140	5
17	Hurricane #4	1938	140	5
18	Hurricane #4	1947	140	5
19	Hurricane Easy	1951	140	5
20	Hurricane Cleo	1958	140	5
21	Hurricane Donna	1960	140	5
22	Hurricane Ethel	1960	140	5
23	Hurricane Hattie	1961	140	5
24	Hurricane Beulah	1967	140	5
25	Hurricane Edith	1971	140	5
26	Hurricane Hugo	1989	140	5

Category 5 Storms 1851 - 2005

Year Order	Storm Name	Year	Wind	Pressure
1	Hurricane #4	1928	140	929
2	Hurricane #4	1932	140	---
3	Hurricane #2	1935	140	892
4	Hurricane #4	1938	140	938
5	Hurricane #4	1947	140	947
6	Hurricane Dog	1950	160	---
7	Hurricane Easy	1951	140	---
8	Hurricane Janet	1955	150	914
9	Hurricane Cleo	1958	140	948
10	Hurricane Donna	1960	140	932
11	Hurricane Ethel	1961	140	981
12	Hurricane Carla	1961	150	931
13	Hurricane Hattie	1961	140	920
14	Hurricane Cleo	1964	135	950
15	Hurricane Betsy	1965	135	941
16	Hurricane Beulah	1967	140	923
17	Hurricane Camille	1969	165	905
18	Hurricane Edith	1971	140	943
19	Hurricane Anita	1977	150	926
20	Hurricane David	1979	150	924
21	Hurricane Allen	1980	165	899
22	Hurricane Gilbert	1988	160	888
23	Hurricane Hugo	1989	140	918
24	Hurricane Andrew	1992	135	922
25	Hurricane Mitch	1998	155	---
26	Hurricane Isabel	2003	145	915
27	Hurricane Ivan	2004	145	910
28	Hurricane Katrina	2005	150	902
29	Hurricane Rita	2005	150	897
30	Hurricane Wilma	2005	175	882

Most Deadly

Rank	Storm Name	Year	Category	Deaths
1	Texas (Galveston)	1900	4	8000+
2	Florida (Lake Okeechobee)	1928	4	1836
3	Katrina	2005	5	1800+
4	Florida Keys	1919	4	600
5	New England	1938	3	600
6	Florida Keys	1935	5	408
7	Audrey	1957	4	390
8	NE United States	1944	3	390
9	Louisiana (Grand Isle)	1909	4	350
10	Louisiana (New Orleans)	1915	4	275
11	Texas (Galveston)	1915	4	275
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20

Most Expensive

The Top 30 Most Expensive Atlantic Tropical Storms & Hurricanes
Damages are listed in US dollars and are not adjusted for inflation.
Note:Amounts are not yet known for Hurricanes Katrina & Rita of 2005.

Rank	Hurricane	Year	Category	Damage
1	Katrina (AL, LA, MS)	2005	4	75,000,000,000+
2	Andrew (SE FL, SE LA)	1992	5	26,500,000,000
3	Charley (SW FL)	2004	4	15,000,000,000
4	Ivan (AL/NW FL)	2004	3	14,200,000,000
5	Frances (FL)	2004	2	8,900,000,000
6	Hugo (SC)	1989	4	7,000,000,000
7	Jeanne (FL)	2004	3	6,900,000,000
8	Allison (N TX)	2001	TS	5,000,000,000
9	Floyd (Mid-Atlantic & NE U.S.)	1999	2	4,500,000,000
10	Isabel (Mid-Atlantic)	2003	2	3,370,000,000
11	Fran (NC)	1996	3	3,200,000,000
12	Opal (NW FL, AL)	1995	3	3,000,000,000
13	Frederic (AL, MS)	1979	3	2,300,000,000
14	Agnes (FL, NE U.S.)	1972	1	2,100,000,000
15	Alicia (N TX)	1983	3	2,000,000,000
16	Bob (NC, NE U.S.)	1991	2	1,500,000,000
17	Juan (LA)	1985	1	1,500,000,000
18	Camille (MS, SE LA, VA)	1969	5	1,420,700,000
19	Betsy (SE FL, SE LA)	1965	3	1,420,500,000
20	Elena (MS, AL, NW FL)	1985	3	1,250,000,000
21	Georges (FL Keys, MS, AL)	1998	2	1,155,000,000
22	Gloria (Eastern US)	1985	3	900,000,000
23	Lili (SC LA)	2002	1	860,000,000
24	Diane (NE U.S.)	1955	1	831,700,000
25	Bonnie (NC, VA)	1998	2	720,000,000
26	Erin (NW FL)	1995	2	700,000,000
27	Allison (N TX)	1989	TS	500,000,000
28	Alberto (NW FL, GA, AL)	1994	TS	500,000,000
29	Frances (TX)	1998	TS	500,000,000
30	Eloise (NW FL)	1975	3	490,000,000
31	Carol (NE U.S.)	1954	3	461,000,000

Note: These are the storms that hit the lower 48 states only.

Most Used Names

# Times Used	Name & Years Used
10
9	Arlene - 1959, 1963, 1967, 1971, 1981, 1987, 1993, 1999, 2005
8	Frances - 1961, 1968, 1976, 1980, 1986, 1992, 1998, 2004
7	Cindy - 1959, 1963, 1981, 1987, 1993, 1999, 2005 Florence - 1953, 1954, 1960, 1964, 1988, 1994, 2000
6	Dolly - 1953, 1954, 1968, 1974, 1996, 2002
5	Alma - 1958, 1962, 1966, 1970, 1974 Ana - 1979, 1985, 1991, 1997, 2003 Anna - 1956, 1961, 1965, 1969, 1976 Becky - 1958, 1962, 1966, 1970, 1974 Bertha - 1957, 1984, 1990, 1996, 2002 Bonnie - 1980, 1986, 1992, 1998, 2004 Brenda - 1955, 1960, 1964, 1968, 1973 Bret - 1981, 1987, 1993, 1999, 2005 Charley - 1980, 1986, 1992, 1998, 2004 Claudette - 1979, 1985, 1991, 1997, 2003 Danielle - 1980, 1986, 1992, 1998, 2004 Dennis - 1981, 1987, 1993, 1999, 2005 Earl - 1980, 1986, 1992, 1998, 2004 Edith - 1955, 1959, 1963, 1967, 1971 Ella - 1958, 1962, 1966, 1970, 1978 Emily - 1981, 1987, 1993, 1999, 2005 Irene - 1959, 1971, 1981, 1999, 2005

Retired Names

The NHC/TPC does not control the naming of tropical storms. Instead, a list of names has been established by an international committee of the World Meteorological Organization. For Atlantic hurricanes, there is actually one list for each of six years. In other words, one list is repeated every seventh year. The only time that there is a change is if a storm is so deadly or costly that the future use of its name on a different storm would be inappropriate for obvious reasons of sensitivity. If that occurs, then at an annual meeting by the committee (called primarily to discuss many other issues) the offending name is stricken from the list and another name is selected to replace it. (The six year list is on the Hurricanes page.)

Several names have been changed since the lists were last used. Four names from the 1995 list have been retired. On the 2001 list, Lorenzo has replaced Luis, Michelle has replaced Marilyn, Olga has replaced Opal, and Rebekah has replaced Roxanne. Three names from the 1996 list have been retired. On the 2002 list, Cristobal has replaced Cesar, Fay has replaced Fran, and Hanna has replaced Hortense. Two names from the 1998 list have been retired. On the 2004 list, Gaston has replaced Georges and Matthew has replaced Mitch. On the 2006 list, Kirk has replaced Keith. There is an exception to the retirement rule, however. Before 1979, when the first permanent six-year storm name list began, some storm names were simply not used anymore. For example, in 1966, "Fern" was substituted for "Frieda," and no reason was cited.

I got this list from the NOAA website, but I am confused. They show that Carol was retired in 1954. However, there was another Hurricane Carol in 1965. I've also included Katrina 2005 in this list since it will obviously be retired when WMO meets for it's annual review.

Below is the list of retired names for the Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea, and the Gulf of Mexico, first in alphabetical order and second, by year. There are, however, a great number of destructive storms not included on this list because they occurred before the hurricane naming convention was established in 1950.

Alphabetical List of Retired Names

A

Agnes 1972
Alicia 1983
Allen 1980
Allison 2001
Andrew 1992
Anita 1977
Audrey 1957

B

Betsy 1965
Beulah 1967
Bob 1991

C

Camille 1969
Carla 1961
Carmen 1974
Carol 1954?, 1955?
Celia 1970
Cesar 1996
Charley 2004
Cleo 1964
Connie 1955

D

David 1979
Dennis 2005
Diana 1990
Diane 1955
Donna 1960
Dora 1964

E

Edna 1968
Elena 1985
Eloise 1975

F

Fabian 1975
Fifi 1974
Flora 1963
Floyd 1999
Fran 1996
Frances 2004
Frederic 1979

G

Georges 1998
Gilbert 1988
Gloria 1985

H

Hattie 1961
Hazel 1954
Hilda 1964
Hortense 1996
Hugo 1989

I

Inez 1966
Ione 1955
Iris 2001
Isabel 2003
Isidore 2002
Ivan 2004

J

Janet 1955
Jeanne 2004
Joan 1988
Juan 2003

K

Katrina 2005
Keith 2000
Klaus 1990

L

Lenny 1999
Lili 2002
Luis 1995

M

Marilyn 1995
Michelle 2001
Mitch 1998

N

O

Opal 1995

P

R

Rita 2005
Roxanne 1995

S

Stan 2005

R

V

W

Wilma 2005

List of Retired Names by Year

1950	1951	1952	1953	1954 Carol ? Hazel	1955 Connie Diane Ione Janet	1956
1957 Audrey	1958	1959	1960 Donna	1961 Carla Hattie	1962	1963 Flora
1964 Cleo Dora Hilda	1965 Betsy Carol ?	1966 Inez	1967 Beulah	1968 Edna	1969 Camille	1970 Celia
1971	1972 Agnes	1973	1974 Carmen Fifi	1975 Eloise	1976	1977 Anita
1978	1979 David Frederic	1980 Allen	1981	1982	1983 Alicia	1984
1985 Elena Gloria	1986	1987	1988 Gilbert Joan	1989 Hugo	1990 Diana Klaus	1991 Bob
1992 Andrew	1993	1994	1995 Luis Marilyn Opal Roxanne	1996 Cesar Fran Hortense	1997	1998 Georges Mitch
1999 Floyd Lenny	2000 Keith	2001 Allison Iris Michelle	2002 Isidore Lili	2003 Fabian Isabel Juan	2004 Charley Frances Ivan Jeanne	2005 Dennis Katrina Rita Stan Wilma
2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012

Years of Most Storms
1851 - 2005

Number of Storms in One Year	Actual Years
25
24	2005
23
22
21	1933, 1995
20
19
18	1969, 2000
17	1887, 2001
16	1936, 1999, 2003
15	2004
14	1916, 1953, 1990, 1998, 2002
13	1949, 1950, 1971, 1984, 1996
12	1878, 1893, 1955, 1964, 1978, 1981, 1988
11	1870, 1880, 1891, 1906, 1926, 1932, 1934, 1944, 1945, 1954, 1959, 1961, 1966, 1974, 1980, 1985, 1989
10	1869, 1886, 1901, 1909, 1942, 1943, 1951, 1958, 1970, 1976
9	1863, 1867, 1888, 1889, 1892, 1989, 1903, 1931, 1937, 1947, 1948, 1963, 1975, 1979
8	1853, 1859, 1861, 1871, 1877, 1879, 1885, 1908, 1924, 1938, 1940, 1956, 1957, 1967, 1968, 1973, 1991, 1993, 1997
7	1860, 1865, 1866, 1874, 1881, 1900, 1923, 1927, 1952, 1960, 1972, 1987, 1992, 1994
6	1851, 1856, 1858, 1862, 1875, 1882, 1894, 1895, 1896, 1899, 1912, 1921, 1928, 1935, 1941, 1946, 1965, 1977, 1982, 1986
5	1852, 1854, 1855, 1864, 1872, 1873, 1876, 1897, 1902, 1904, 1905, 1915, 1918, 1939, 1962
4	1857, 1868, 1883, 1884, 1907, 1910, 1911, 1913, 1920, 1922, 1983
3	1917, 1919, 1929
2	1925, 1930
1	1890, 1914

Why are my numbers different than what the news media are reporting?

They are going strictly by the number of named storms, exception is prior to 1950, where they didn't name the storms. Sub-tropical storms had a different numbering system until recently, so were not included in the total number of storms. The numbers I have listed above include sub-tropical storms completely, as well as the tropical depressions that are given a number by NHC/NOAA (National Hurricane Center...). That is why I show 2005 as a record year with 21 named storms and 3 tropical depressions, when the Weather Channel^TM and news stations say we are tied with 1933 & 1995 with 21 storms. If NHC/NOAA feel a tropical depression warrants a number, I've been counting it, as they do on their website. Since my data is totally from their posted data, you can see why the numbers differ.

I want to do a graphic showing the number of storms per year, but that will be coming soon! Has Global Warming increased the number of Hurricanes and Tropical Storms? Or is it a cylic phenomena concerning the rotation and orbit of the earth around the sun? What do you think?

All Winds are in knots (1 knot = 1.15 mph), pressures are in millibars and category is based on the Saffir-Simpson scale.

Sources:

National Hurricane Center
NOAA