Today marks the first day of the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season, with intense storm activity on the horizon. In May, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicted the most named storms ever forecast in its seasonal outlook.
Exploring the history of hurricanes in your area can provide fascinating insight into past storm activity. As these conditions approach in the new season, go back in time to see how many hurricanes and tropical storms have passed through your area since 1851.
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Although it is rare for a hurricane to reach the Midwest, the remnants of storms like Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and Tropical Storm Claudette in 1979 have encroached within a 10-mile radius of cities like Columbus, Ohio, and St. . Louis, Missouri.
Other storm-prone regions, such as the Florida Panhandle or Outer Banks, have experienced dozens, if not more than 100, hurricanes over the past century and a half. In fact, Florida alone has borne the brunt of 40 percent of all hurricanes in the United States, according to NOAA’s Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory.
How many hurricanes have there been in total?
Since 1851, NOAA reports that more than 300 hurricanes have crossed the coast and hit the continental United States, averaging nearly 18 hurricanes per decade.
The deadliest hurricane in U.S. history was the Galveston Hurricane of 1900, which claimed an estimated 8,000 to 12,000 lives, according to NOAA.
Hurricane Katrina was the deadliest hurricane in the last century, with at least 1,500 deaths. Katrina also holds the record for costliest storm, causing nearly $200 billion in inflation-adjusted damage, according to NOAA.
More:Nation’s Leading Hurricane Forecaster Issues 5 Warnings as Dangerous Hurricane Season Begins
Why do hurricanes start in June?
Ocean temperatures must be warm enough to produce a hurricane, which typically occurs in the Atlantic in summer and fall.
Even though hurricane season officially begins in June, the first storm can form even earlier. In fact, according to NOAA, the first hurricane observed in the Atlantic occurred on March 7, 1908, an unnamed storm that arrived months before the season officially began.
According to NOAA data, the peak of the Atlantic hurricane season is in September, with most activity and landfall occurring between mid-August and mid-October. Although hurricanes making landfall in June are rare, tropical storms can still have an impact.