List of notable Atlantic hurricanes

 

This is a list of notable Atlantic hurricanes — tropical cyclones in the northern Atlantic Ocean — subdivided by reason for notability.

Retired names

Hurricane names can be retired due to the notoriety of the storm if a nation affected by the storm lobbies the World Meteorological Organization.

Further information: List of retired Atlantic hurricanes

Retired Atlantic hurricane names
1950s	Carol • Edna • Hazel • Connie • Diane • Ione • Janet • Audrey • Gracie
1960s	Donna • Carla • Hattie • Flora • Cleo • Dora • Hilda • Betsy • Inez • Beulah • Camille
1970s	Celia • Agnes • Carmen • Fifi • Eloise • Anita • David • Frederic
1980s	Allen • Alicia • Elena • Gloria • Gilbert • Joan • Hugo
1990s	Diana • Klaus • Bob • Andrew • Luis • Marilyn • Opal • Roxanne • Cesar • Fran • Hortense • Georges • Mitch • Floyd • Lenny
2000s	Keith • Allison • Iris • Michelle • Isidore • Lili • Fabian • Isabel • Juan • Charley • Frances • Ivan • Jeanne • Dennis • Katrina • Rita • Stan • Wilma

Unnamed but historically significant

Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale
TD	TS	1	2	3	4	5

Name	Year	Notes
Columbus Hurricane	1495	Reported by Christopher Columbus; First definite hurricane report; three ships sank
Great Colonial Hurricane	1635	First recorded hurricane to hit New England
Harry Cane of 1667	1667	First recorded major hurricane to hit Virginia, estimated 10,000 homes destroyed, estimated Cat 3/4
Newfoundland Hurricane	1775	Killed over 4,000 people
Great Hurricane	1780	Deadliest Atlantic hurricane on record; over 22,000 killed
Great September Gale	1815	Category 4 New England strike
Norfolk and Long Island Hurricane	1821	200 deaths as it raced up the Atlantic coast
Racer's Storm	1837	105 deaths on 2,000 mile track from Caribbean to Texas to North Carolina
Last Island Hurricane	1856	400 people dead. The island and the resort on it never resurfaced.
Indianola Hurricane	1886	destroyed Indianola, Texas.
New York Hurricane	1893	Category 1 direct strike on New York City. Weakened from a category 3.
Sea Islands Hurricane	1893	killed 1,000 – 2,000 people on the Georgia and South Carolina coasts.
Chenier Caminanda Hurricane	1893	killed 2,000 people in Louisiana.
Hurricane San Ciriaco	1899	traversed the Atlantic for 31 days.
Galveston Hurricane of 1900	1900	Deadliest natural disaster in US history (as of 2005); 8,000 - 12,000 killed
March Hurricane	1908	reached Category 2 strength in March.
1915 Galveston Hurricane	1915	Strongest storm in 15 years; 17 foot tall seawall, built after 1900 storm, saved city.
Great Miami Hurricane	1926	Florida's economy didn't recover until the 1950s.
Okeechobee Hurricane	1928	Wrecked Guadaloupe, Puerto Rico, and Florida; killed over 4,000
Dominican Republic Hurricane	1930	killed 8,000 people
Labor Day Hurricane	1935	Struck the Florida Keys; strongest storm to ever hit the United States. Killed 423.
Great New England Hurricane	1938	Killed 600, fastest moving hurricane recorded.
Surprise Hurricane	1943	First intentional flight into a hurricane; last hurricane advisory censored due to war; 19 killed.
Fort Lauderdale Hurricane	1947	Struck Fort Lauderdale as a large Category 4.
1991 Halloween Nor’easter	1991	Also known as "The Perfect Storm"

Effect

Deadliest Atlantic hurricanes Rank Hurricane Season Fatalities 1 "Great Hurricane" 1780 22,000 2 Mitch 1998 11,000 – 18,000 3 "Galveston" 1900 8,000 – 12,000 4 Fifi 1974 8,000 – 10,000 5 "Dominican Republic" 1930 2,000 – 8,000 6 Flora 1963 7,186 – 8,000 7 "Pointe-a-Pitre" 1776 6,000+ 8 "Newfoundland 1775 4,000 – 4,163 9 "Okeechobee" 1928 4,075+ 10 "San Ciriaco" 1899 3,433+ See also: List of deadliest Atlantic hurricanes

Costliest known Atlantic hurricanes as of 2007 Cost (billions) Name Year $81.2 Hurricane Katrina[1] 2005 $38.1 Hurricane Andrew[2] 1992 $30.4 Hurricane Wilma[3][4][5][6] 2005 $18.1 Hurricane Ivan[7][8] 2004 $16.2 Hurricane Charley[9][10] 2004 $15.23 Hurricane Agnes[11] 1972 $14.1 Hurricane Hugo[12][13] 1989 $10.5 Hurricane Rita[14] 2005 $10.4 Hurricane Frances[12][8][15] 2004 $9.35 Hurricane Betsy[12][16] 1965 $8 Hurricane Jeanne[12][8][17][18] 2004 $7.97 Hurricane Camille[12] 1969 $7.92 Hurricane Georges[19][20][18] 1998 $7.8 Hurricane Mitch[21][22][23][24][25] 1998 $6.5 Hurricane Frederic[12] 1979 $6.39 Tropical Storm Allison[26][27][28] 2001 $6.38 Hurricane Diane[12] 1955 $5.6 Hurricane Floyd[12] 1999

Listed by cost (United States only)

See also: Template:Costliest US Atlantic hurricanes

There are several ways to express the monetary cost of a hurricane, by inflation adjusted cost, cost at the time, and cost if the hurricane were to strike today. ^[29][30]

Care should be taken not to confuse "economic impact" estimates (often used for modern hurricanes like Katrina) with damage costs; it is the latter that are included in this list (and in all hurricane articles).

Note that these charts are only based on damage in the U.S.; the total in many of these storms is higher due to damage in the Caribbean, Central America, Mexico or Canada, but information for most storms that affected these areas is not consistently available except for very recent systems.

Inflation adjusted cost (for 2005) Source:[31] [32] Cost (billions) Name Year $81.2 Hurricane Katrina 2005 $44.9 Hurricane Andrew 1992 $22.5 Hurricane Donna 1960 $20.6 Hurricane Wilma 2005 $15.4 Hurricane Charley 2004 $14.2 Hurricane Ivan 2004 $12.6 Hurricane Hugo 1989 $11.6 Hurricane Agnes 1972 $11.1 Hurricane Betsy 1965 $10.0 Hurricane Rita 2005 $9.1 Hurricane Frances 2004 $9.1 Hurricane Camille 1969 $7.2 Hurricane Diane 1955 $7.1 Hurricane Jeanne 2004 $6.5 Hurricane Frederic 1979 $6.2 New England Hurricane of 1938 1938 $6.0 Tropical Storm Allison 2001 $6.0 Hurricane Floyd 1999 $5.5 Great Atlantic Hurricane of 1944 1944 $4.6 Hurricane Fran 1996 $4.5 Hurricane Alicia 1983 $4.4 Hurricane Opal 1995 $4.0 Hurricane Carol 1954 $3.7 Hurricane Isabel 2003 $3.2 Hurricane Juan* 1985 $3.1 Hurricane Donna 1960 $2.9 Hurricane Celia 1970 $2.7 Hurricane Bob 1991 $2.7 Hurricane Elena 1985 $2.5 Hurricane Carla 1961 $2.23 Hurricane Dennis 2005 $2.2 Great Miami Hurricane of 1926 1926 $2.1 Hurricane Eloise 1975 $2.1 Galveston Hurricane of 1915 1915 $2.1 Hurricane Dora 1964

Cost at the time Source: [33] Cost (billions) Name Year $81.2 Hurricane Katrina 2005 $26.5 Hurricane Andrew 1992 $16.8 Hurricane Wilma 2005 $15.0 Hurricane Charley 2004 $14.2 Hurricane Ivan 2004 $9.4 Hurricane Rita 2005 $8.9 Hurricane Frances 2004 $7.0 Hurricane Hugo 1989 $6.9 Hurricane Jeanne 2004 $5.0 Tropical Storm Allison 2001 $4.5 Hurricane Floyd 1999 $3.37 Hurricane Isabel 2003 $3.2 Hurricane Fran 1996 $3.0 Hurricane Opal 1995 $2.3 Hurricane Frederic 1979 $2.23 Hurricane Dennis 2005 $2.1 Hurricane Agnes 1972 $2.0 Hurricane Alicia 1983 $1.5 Hurricane Bob 1991 $1.5 Hurricane Juan* 1985 $1.42 Hurricane Camille 1969 $1.42 Hurricane Betsy 1965 $1.25 Hurricane Elena 1985 $1.155 Hurricane Georges 1998 $0.9 Hurricane Gloria 1985 $0.9 Hurricane Humberto 2007 $0.86 Hurricane Lili 2002 $0.83 Hurricane Diane 1955 $0.8 Hurricane Irene* 1999 $0.72 Hurricane Bonnie* 1998 $0.7 Hurricane Erin* 1995 $0.5 Tropical Storm Allison* 1989 $0.5 Tropical Storm Alberto* 1994 $0.5 Tropical Storm Frances* 1998 $0.5 Tropical Storm Ernesto* 2006

Cost adjusted for wealth normalization for 2004 1 Source: [34] Cost (billions) Name Year $101.97 Great Miami Hurricane 1926 $81.20 Hurricane Katrina 2005 $43.15 Hurricane Andrew 1992 $37.54 Galveston Hurricane of 1900 1900 $31.81 Galveston Hurricane of 1915 1915 $23.78 Sanibel Island Hurricane of 1944 1944 $23.45 New England Hurricane of 1938 1938 $19.46 Lake Okeechobee Hurricane of 1928 1928 $17.54 Hurricane Betsy 1965 $16.99 Hurricane Donna 1960 $15.46 Hurricane Camille 1969 $15.10 Hurricane Agnes 1972 $15.00 Hurricane Charley 2004 $14.43 Hurricane Diane 1955 $14.20 Hurricane Ivan 2004 $13.23 Hurricane Hugo 1989 $12.79 Hurricane Carol 1954 $12.20 Hurricane Wilma 2005 $11.72 Fort Lauderdale Hurricane of 1947 1947 $9.97 Hurricane Carla 1961 $9.93 Hurricane Hazel 1954 $9.40 Hurricane Rita 2005 $9.11 Great Atlantic Hurricane of 1944 1944 $8.90 South Florida Hurricane of 1945 1945 $8.90 Hurricane Frances 2004 $8.88 Hurricane Frederic 1979 $8.23 South Florida Hurricane of 1949 1949 $7.54 South Texas Hurricane of 1919 1919 $6.90 Hurricane Jeanne 2004 $6.25 Tropical Storm Allison 2001 $5.72 Hurricane Alicia 1983 $5.48 Hurricane Floyd 1999 $4.71 Hurricane Celia 1970

Notes

^* Storms with a * next to their name indicates the name was not retired.

¹ This list is adjusted for 2004 inflation and wealth normalization, which is basically an estimation of what the hurricane would cost if it struck today. Estimates have been made for hurricanes that occurred after 2004.

Characteristics

See also: History of tropical cyclone-spawned tornadoes

Note that tornado detection has increased markedly in recent decades, so the number of tornadoes are underestimated for older events.

Number of tornadoes spawned[35] Count Name Year 117 Hurricane Ivan 2004 115 Hurricane Beulah 1967 101 Hurricane Frances 2004[36] 86 Hurricane Rita 2005 62 Hurricane Katrina 2005 39 Hurricane Danny 1985 34 Hurricane David 1979 33 Hurricane Cindy 2005 31 Hurricane Opal 1995 29 Hurricane Allen 1980 29 Hurricane Gilbert 1988 23 Hurricane Alicia 1983 21 Hurricane Audrey 1957 20 Hurricane Carla 1961

Greatest duration † Sources: NOAA [37], [38][39] Duration (days) Name Date 28 Hurricane San Ciriaco August 1899 27.25 Hurricane Ginger September 1971 24.75 Hurricane Inga September 1969 22 Hurricane Kyle September 2002 20.75 Hurricane Carrie September 1957 Hurricane Inez September 1966 19.75 Hurricane Alberto August 2000 19.5 Storm 4 September 1926 19.25 Storm 9 September 1893 18.75 Hurricane Ivan September 2004 18.50 "Sea Islands" August 1893 18 Storm 2 August 1930 Hurricane Irene August 2005

Fastest forward speed ‡ Rank Speed Name Year Day Time 1 70 mph (110 km/h) Great New England Hurricane 1938 September 15 0600 UTC 2 66 mph (107 km/h) Tropical Storm Four 1970 August 18 1800 UTC 3 65 mph (105 km/h) Hurricane Luis 1995 September 11 1200 UTC 4 63 mph (101 km/h) Hurricane Lisa 1998 October 9 1800 UTC 7 62 mph (100 km/h) Hurricane Fox 1951 September 10 0600 UTC Tropical Storm Helene 2000 September 25 1200 UTC Hurricane Irene 1999 October 19 0000 UTC [40]

Notes

^† Only those lasting longer the 18 days. Hurricane Joan-Miriam lasted 22 days total, but is not placed here because it lasted that long between two basins: the Atlantic and the East Pacific.

^‡ These are the fastest estimated recorded speeds of any tropical system (including tropical depressions, tropical storms, and hurricanes) between 1851 and 2005. It does not include extratropical systems which routinely reach very high forward speeds.

Seasonal activity

A hurricane with a peak intensity of category 3 or higher on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale is classified as major. Seasons prior to 1965 are not included due to lack of accurate data for the period.

Most storms Tropical storms Year Hurricanes Notes Total Minor Major 28 2005 15 8 7 4 category 5s, 1 subtropical storm 21 1933 10 5 5 19 1887 11 9 2 1995 11 6 5 18 1969 12 7 5 1 subtropical storm, 1 category 5 16 1936 7 6 1 2003 7 4 3 1 category 5 15 2000 8 5 3 1 subtropical storm 2001 9 5 4 2004 9 3 6 1 subtropical storm, 1 category 5 14 1953 6 2 4 1990 8 7 1 1998 10 7 3 1 category 5 13 1949 7 4 3 1950 11 3 8 1 category 5 1971 6 5 1 1984 5 4 1 1 subtropical storm 1996 9 3 6 2007 4 2 2 2 category 5s, 1 subtropical storm 12 1878 10 8 2 1886 10 6 4 1893 10 5 5 1901 5 5 0 1955 9 3 6 1 category 5 1964 6 0 6 1978 5 3 2 1 subtropical storm 1981 7 4 3 1 subtropical storm 1988 5 2 3 1 category 5 1999 8 3 5 2002 4 2 2

Fewest storms Total storms Year Tropical storms Hurricanes Notes Minor Major 4 1983 1 2 1 6 1965 2 3 1 1977 1 4 1 1 category 5 1982 3 1 1 1 subtropical storm 1986 2 4 0 7 1972 1 3 0 3 subtropical storms 1987 4 2 1 1992 2 3 1 1 subtropical storm, 1 category 5 1994 4 3 0

Off-season storms

This section lists Atlantic storms that formed outside of the official hurricane season; June 1 - November 30. These storms are very unusual and thus they all merit inclusion on this page. The majority of off-season storms formed in May, with 19 total storms since 1851 [1].

• Tropical Storm One, 1865 - formed sometime before May 30.
• Tropical Storm One, 1887 - formed May 15.
• Tropical Storm Two, 1887 - formed May 17.
• Hurricane Eighteen, 1887 - formed December 4.
• Tropical Storm Nineteen, 1887 - formed December 7, making 1887 the year with the most off season storms (four). 19 also made the only recorded landfall in Costa Rica.
• Hurricane One, 1889 - formed May 16 and travelled north along the Gulf Stream before becoming extratropical on May 22 while southeast of New Jersey.
• Tropical Storm One, 1890 - formed May 27 off the western tip of Cuba and became a tropical storm in the Gulf of Mexico before losing its idenity sometime at the end of the month.
• March Hurricane of 1908 – formed March 6. Earliest formation of a hurricane and only storm in March. Reached Category 2 status.
• Hurricane Two, 1908 - formed May 24.
• Tropical Storm One, 1932 - formed May 5 and lasted until May 11.
• Tropical Storm One, 1933 - formed May 14 in the southwest Caribbean.
• Tropical storm One, 1934 - formed on May 27 and lasted until the 31st. It struck the Everglades and became one of the earliest ever U.S. landfalling storms.
• Tropical Storm One, 1940 - formed May 19 north of Hispaniola, tracking to the north before turning northeast out into the Atlantic while off North Carolina's Outer Banks.
• Hurricane Able - Category 3 in May 1951. Earliest major hurricane.
• 1952 Groundhog Day Storm, 1952 - formed on February 2 and hit south Florida. Earliest U.S. landfall and only storm in February.
• Tropical Storm Alice, 1953 - formed on May 25.
• Tropical Storm 14, 1953 - formed on December 7.
• Hurricane Alice, 1954 - formed in late December and continued until early January. Alice is the latest storm to form in a season.
• Tropical Storm Arlene, 1959 - formed May 28 in the eastern Gulf of Mexico. Hit southern Louisiana on May 30 with 55 mph winds.
• Hurricane Alma, 1970 - formed May 17.
• Subtropical Storm Alpha, 1972 - formed May 23 off the northwest coast of the Florida peninsula, where it later made landfall as a subtropical depression. It peaked just below hurricane intensity.
• Subtropical Storm Two, 1975 - formed December 9.
• Subtropical Storm One, 1976 - formed May 21 in the Gulf of Mexico and later hit Florida with tropical storm force winds.
• Subtropical Storm One, 1978 - formed January 18, the earliest formation on record in the Atlantic since record keeping began in 1851. Only storm to form in January. One of only three storms to exist in January, the other two being Alice (54-55) and Zeta (05-06).
• Tropical Storm Arlene, 1981 - formed May 6.
• Hurricane Lili, 1984 - formed December 12. Latest Atlantic landfall ever recorded; made landfall on the Dominican Republic on December 24 as a depression.
• Subtropical Storm One, 1992 - One of only five subtropical or tropical cyclones to develop in the Atlantic from January to April on record [2]. Formed April 21.
• Subtropical Storm One, 1997 - Formed to the east of Florida on May 31; remained over open waters throughout its duration
• Tropical Storm Ana, 2003 - First North Atlantic tropical system ever recorded to develop in April (April 21).
• Tropical Storm Odette, 2003 - First tropical system to develop in December in the Caribbean Sea in recorded history.
• Tropical Storm Peter, 2003 - First time two tropical systems developed in December in 116 years.
• Tropical Storm Zeta, 2005 - formed December 30, just falling short of Alice's record for latest storm development on record.
• Subtropical Storm Andrea, 2007 - formed May 9 and lasted until May 11. The first May storm in 26 years (1997's subtropical storm existed in May for just six hours as a subtropical depression).

Category 5 hurricanes

Becoming a Category 5 (sustained windspeeds greater than 155 mph) is achieved on a regular basis in the Western Pacific but is less common in the Atlantic. Only 31 Atlantic hurricanes are known to have reached Category 5 and only 13 made landfall while at this intensity.

1. "Okeechobee" (Puerto Rico) 1928
2. "Bahamas" (Bahamas) 1932
3. "Labor Day" (Florida Keys) 1935
4. "Fort Lauderdale" (Bahamas) 1947
5. Janet (Mexico) 1955
6. Camille (Louisiana/Mississippi) 1969
7. Edith (Nicaragua) 1971
8. Anita (Mexico) 1977
9. David (Dominican Republic) 1979
10. Gilbert (Mexico) 1988
11. Andrew (Florida) 1992
12. Dean (Mexico) 2007
13. Felix (Nicaragua) 2007

Only four times have more than one Category 5 formed in the same season: two in 1960, 1961, and 2007, and four in 2005. (Several earlier storms may have also reached Category 5 intensity, but their peak winds cannot be verified due to the lack of technology necessary to measure wind speeds.)

Category 5 Atlantic hurricanes

Name	Season	Name	Season
"Okeechobee"	1928	"Bahamas"	1932
"Labor Day"	1935	"New England"	1938
"Fort Lauderdale"	1947	Dog	1950
Easy	1951	Janet	1955
Cleo	1958	Donna	1960
Ethel	1960	Carla	1961
Hattie	1961	Beulah	1967
Camille	1969	Edith	1971
Anita	1977	David	1979
Allen	1980	Gilbert	1988
Hugo	1989	Andrew	1992
Mitch	1998	Isabel	2003
Ivan	2004	Emily	2005
Katrina	2005	Rita	2005
Wilma	2005	Dean	2007
Felix	2007
Main article: List of Category 5 Atlantic hurricanes

Listed by intensity

Most intense Atlantic hurricanes
Intensity is measured solely by central pressure

Rank	Hurricane	Season	Min. pressure
1	Wilma	2005	882 mbar (hPa)
2	Gilbert	1988	888 mbar (hPa)
3	"Labor Day"	1935	892 mbar (hPa)
4	Rita	2005	895 mbar (hPa)
5	Allen	1980	899 mbar (hPa)
6	Katrina	2005	902 mbar (hPa)
7	Camille</