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Facts + Statistics: Hurricanes Hurricanes

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Facts + Statistics: Hurricanes Hurricanes Facts + Statistics: Hurricanes Catastrophes IN THIS FACTS + STATISTICS 2021 Hurricane Season 2020 Hurricane Season 2019 and 2018 Hurricane Seasons Earlier Hurricane Seasons Costliest U.S. Hurricanes Top 10 Costliest Hurricanes In The United States (1) Estimated Insured Losses For The Top 10 Historical Hurricanes Based On Current Exposures (1) Hurricanes And Related Deaths In The United States, 2000-2020 Storm Surge Risk By State By Number Of Single-Family Homes and Reconstruction Value, 2020 (1) Top 10 States, By Population Change In Coastal Counties, 1960-2010 Top Coastal Counties Most Frequently Hit By Hurricanes: 1960-2008 Top 10 Most Significant Flood Events By National Flood Insurance Program Payouts (1) SHARE THIS DOWNLOAD TO PDF The official Atlantic hurricane season runs from June through November, but occasionally storms form outside those months. September is the most common month for hurricanes making landfall in the U.S., followed by August and October, according to an analysis of 1851 to 2015 data by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. No hurricanes made U.S. landfall before June and after November during the period studied. A tropical cyclone is a rotating low-pressure weather system that has organized thunderstorms but no fronts, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Hurricanes are tropical cyclones which have sustained winds of 74 mph. At this point a hurricane reaches Category 1 on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale, which has a range of 1 to 5, based on the hurricane's intensity at the time of landfall at the location experiencing the strongest winds. The scale provides examples of the type of damage and impacts in the United States associated with winds of the indicated intensity. It does not address the potential for other hurricane-related phenomena such as storm surge, rainfall- induced floods and tornadoes. 2021 Hurricane Season Atlantic Basin: The 2021 Atlantic basin hurricane season will continue to have above- normal activity, according to an August 5 report by atmospheric scientist and Triple-I non- resident scholar, Dr. Philip Klotzbach, and his team. However, the latest forecast is slightly improved from a month prior. The scientists cite warmer than normal sea surface temperatures across the tropical Atlantic and weaker wind shear for the above-average probability for major hurricanes making landfall along the contiguous United States coastline and in the Caribbean. The group now forecasts 18 named storms (including Ana, Bill, Claudette, Danny and Elsa, which formed before the August 5 report); eight hurricanes and four major (Category 3 and above) hurricanes for 2021. Storm averages for 1981 to 2020, which were developed and adopted in April 2021, are 14 named storms, seven hurricanes and three major hurricanes. Dr. Klotzbach and his team forecast normal hurricane activity for the two-week period until September 29. As of September 30, 2021, there were 20 named storms during the Atlantic hurricane season. There were seven hurricanes—Elsa, Grace, Henri, Ida, Larry, Nicholas and Sam. Grace, Ida, Larry and Sam were major hurricanes, Category 3 or higher. Ida and Sam reached Category 4 status. Tropical storm Ana, the first storm of the 2021 Atlantic hurricane season, formed as a subtropical storm on May 22 and became a tropical storm the next day. Ana makes 2021 the seventh consecutive year to have a named storm form before the official start of the hurricane season on June 1, according to Colorado State University atmospheric scientist and Triple-I non-resident scholar, Dr. Philip Klotzbach. Ana dissipated by May 24 northeast of Bermuda, according to the National Hurricane Center. Tropical storm Bill formed on June 14 east of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. The storm moved north and did not threaten land before it dissipated. Claudette became a tropical storm on June 19 near New Orleans, Louisiana. It was the first named storm to make landfall in the United States and brought heavy rain and wind to Alabama where 14 people perished. After it weakened it regained tropical storm strength again on June 21 in North Carolina and continued into the western Atlantic before dissipating near Nantucket, Massachusetts. Danny became a tropical storm on June 28 near Charleston, South Carolina and made landfall north of Hilton Head. Danny moved west into central Georgia as a remnant, bringing rain and windy conditions. Elsa became a tropical storm on July 1 southeast of the Windward Islands, the fifth named storm of the 2021 Atlantic hurricane season. Elsa is the earliest fifth named Atlantic storm on record, according to Dr. Philip Klotzbach, breaking the record set by Edouard in 2020. Elsa became a hurricane on July 2 near Barbados, the first hurricane of the 2021 season. After moving into the eastern Caribbean Sea Elsa was downgraded to a tropical storm and made landfall in Cuba on July 5. Elsa regained hurricane strength on July 6 and moved along the west coast of Florida, bringing heavy rain and gusty wind and made landfall in Taylor County along the North Florida Gulf Coast as a tropical storm. Elsa tracked north and brought torrential rain to Georgia and the Carolinas. Continuing northeastward Elsa dumped heavy rainfall and produced flash and urban flooding in the Mid-Atlantic to New England states and made landfall along the coast of Long Island near Southampton on July 9 and later near Watch Hill, Rhode Island. Post-tropically Elsa moved off the northeast coast into Atlantic Canada. Catastrophe modeler Karen Clark & Company estimates that Elsa’s insured losses in the United States will be $240 million from privately insured wind and storm surge damage to residential, commercial, and industrial properties and automobiles. After a quiet month, Tropical Storm Fred formed southwest of Puerto Rico on August 10 and made landfall on the Dominican Republic on August 11. Fred, the sixth storm of the 2021 hurricane season, weakened to a tropical depression after bringing heavy rainfall to the Dominican Republic and Haiti. The depression became largely disorganized and brought heavy rainfall to Cuba. Fred regained tropical storm status on August 15 over the eastern Gulf of Mexico and made landfall in northwest Florida on August 16 in the Panhandle with heavy rain, wind and flooding. Fred weakened to a tropical depression on August 17 as it moved into Alabama, Georgia and North Carolina, bringing heavy rain and flooding. Fred moved into Virginia and the Mid-Atlantic states, bringing heavy rain, flooding and tornadoes. Tropical Storm Grace formed on August 14 east of the Leeward Islands and moved westward, passing south of Puerto Rico and bringing heavy rain. Grace brought heavy rain to Haiti and the Dominican Republic as a tropical depression on August 16, causing floods. By August 17 Grace strengthened into a tropical storm over Jamaica and became the second hurricane of the 2021 Atlantic hurricane season on August 18 west of Grand Cayman Island. Grace made landfall on the eastern Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico near Tulum as a Category 1 hurricane. Grace continued westward and was headed to the southwest Gulf of Mexico and became a Category 3 storm on August 20. Grace made a second landfall on mainland Mexico on August 21 as a major storm before dissipating later that day. Henri, the eighth named storm of the 2021 Atlantic hurricane season, formed on August 16 southeast of Bermuda. According to Triple-I non-resident scholar and Colorado State University researcher Dr. Philip Klotzbach, eight or more named storms formed in the Atlantic Ocean by August 16 in only two years since 1966—2005 and 2020. Henri became the third hurricane of the season on August 21 in the Atlantic Ocean north of Bermuda and made landfall on the coast of Rhode Island as a tropical storm. Henri brought heavy rainfall to the northern Mid-Atlantic and southern New England states before dissipating on August 23. According to catastrophe modeler KCC, insured losses from Henri will reach $155 million excluding losses for the National Flood Insurance Program. Ida became a tropical storm on August 26 in the Caribbean Sea and made landfall in Cuba on August 27. Ida reached hurricane status in the Gulf of Mexico and strengthened to a major Category 3 hurricane by August 29, the second major hurricane of the 2021 season. Ida made landfall in southeastern Louisiana near Port Fourchon as a Category 4 storm, bringing catastrophic storm surge, extreme winds of 150 mph and flash flooding. The storm made a second landfall that day southwest of Galliano, Louisiana. Ida passed to the west of New Orleans as a Category 2 storm. The storm was downgraded to a tropical storm on August 30, moving northwestward and bringing heavy rainfall to Mississippi, Alabama and the Florida Panhandle and to the Ohio Valley, Mid-Atlantic and Northeast states as a tropical depression. Ida was the second strongest hurricane to make landfall in Louisiana, tied with Laura in 2020 and the Last Island storm of 1856, according to Dr. Philip Klotzbach. Hurricane Katrina in 2005 remains the strongest hurricane to hit Louisiana, causing $65 billion in insured losses, including flood claims from the National Flood Insurance Program, according to Aon. Losses from Katrina totaled $87 billion in 2020 dollars. Ida left than 1 million homes and businesses in Louisiana and Mississippi without power. The entire city of New Orleans, where levees largely held, was without power and officials say repairs could take weeks to complete. Widespread cellphone failure also affected the city. The storm caused damage to about 94 percent of oil and gas production in offshore Gulf of Mexico facilities. Insured losses are forecast to reach $18 billion to $29.5 billion according to catastrophe modelers. The latest estimate, from RMS for $27.2 billion to $38 billion, includes insured losses across Ida’s entire track for onshore and offshore wind, surge and private flood losses.
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