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 ChannelTM 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




Copyright ©  2003 Marla Kay Urie Price