List of notable tropical cyclones - Definition and Overview

This is a list of notable tropical cyclones, subdivided by basin and reason for notability. It does not include tropical storms which may have caused destructive inland flooding, but whose names are not retired. There are rare exceptions, like Tropical Storm Allison, which caused so much flood damage that its name was retired.

Hurricane names are retired due to the notoriety of the storm to which they are attached. See naming of tropical cyclones.

North Atlantic basin

Retired names

• Carol, 1954-caused over $1 billion in damage in New England.
• Hazel, 1954 - killed 1,000 in Haiti, caused heavy damage and killed nearly 200 in the US east coast from the Carolinas to New York and in Canada.
• Connie, 1955 - caused extensive flooding in New England.
• Diane, 1955 - struck the same area five days after Connie, and the two storms killed over 400.
• Ione, 1955 - third storm to strike the same area, causing further damage to North Carolina.
• Janet†, 1955 - struck Grenada and Belize, killing over 500.
• Audrey, 1957 - killed 390 in Texas and Louisiana.
• Gracie, 1959 - killed 22 in South Carolina, Virginia and Georgia.
• Donna, 1960 - impacted every U.S. state on the east coast, killing 50 and causing $1 billion damage.
• Carla, 1961 - large hurricane that caused damage in Texas as far inland as Dallas.
• Hattie, 1961 - hit British Honduras, destroying Belize City and killing 400.
• Flora, 1963 - killed over 7,000 people in Haiti and Cuba.
• Cleo, 1964 - killed over 150 in Guadeloupe and Hispaniola, then struck Miami, Florida.
• Dora, 1964 - only hurricane on record to strike Jacksonville, Florida.
• Hilda, 1964 - damaged New Orleans, Louisiana, killed 38.
• Betsy, 1965 - caused $1.42 billion ($8 billion in 2000 dollars) damage and killed 76 in Louisiana.
• Inez, 1966 - killed 1,000 in Jamaica, Haiti, Cuba and Mexico.
• Beulah, 1967 - dropped almost 30 inches of rain on Beeville, Texas.
• Edna, 1968
• Camille†, 1969 - one of the strongest storms ever recorded, killed 143 along the U.S. Gulf coast.
• Celia, 1970 - killed 20 people after hitting Corpus Christi, Texas.
• Agnes, 1972 - caused flooding that killed 122 in the United States and $3.1 billion damage.
• Carmen, 1974 - caused $150 million damage in the United States.
• Fifi, 1974 - killed 8,000 in Honduras.
• Eloise, 1975 - killed 76 from Hispaniola to Florida and northwards.
• Anita, 1977 - struck Mexico near the Texas border, killing 10.
• David, 1979 - killed over 2,000 people, mostly in the Dominican Republic and Dominica.
• Frederic, 1979 - caused from $1 to $3 billion damage on the U.S. Gulf coast.
• Allen, 1980 - one of the strongest hurricanes ever, spawned a tornado that alone caused $100 million damage.
• Alicia, 1983 - struck Galveston, Texas then Houston, killing 22 and causing $2 billion damage.
• Elena, 1985 - caused $1.25 billion damage in Florida and Mississippi.
• Gloria, 1985 - hit New York's Long Island, among other areas, causing $900 million damage.
• Gilbert†, 1988 - strongest hurricane ever recorded, killed 318 and caused $5 billion damage.
• Joan, 1988 - killed 148 in Nicaragua and 68 in other nations.
• Hugo, 1989 - caused $10 billion damage and killed 76, mostly in the Carolinas, Puerto Rico, Guadeloupe, Montserrat, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
• Diana, 1990 - killed 96 in Mexico.
• Klaus, 1990 - a weak storm that burst a dam in Georgia, killing 4.
• Bob, 1991 - struck New England and the Canadian Maritimes, killing 18.
• Andrew†, 1992 - costliest American natural disaster ever at $26.5 billion and over 23 deaths.
• Luis, 1995 - caused much damage to St. Martin, Antigua, Barbuda, and the British Virgin Islands.
• Marilyn, 1995 - caused much damage to St. Thomas.
• Opal, 1995 - killed 59 in Guatemala, Mexico and the United States, causing $3 billion damage.
• Roxanne, 1995 - hit same area of Mexico as Opal, killing 14 and causing $1.5 billion damage.
• Cesar, 1996 - flooded Central America.
• Fran, 1996 - killed 26 and caused $3.2 billion damage after striking Cape Fear, North Carolina.
• Hortense, 1996 - killed 21 from floods.
• Georges, 1998 - killed 533 in Hispaniola, caused $5.9 billion damage in the United States.
• Mitch, 1998 - killed about 11,000 in Honduras and neighboring countries, more than any storm in over 200 years.
• Floyd, 1999 - flooded eastern North Carolina, killing 77 in multiple states and causing $6 billion damage.
• Lenny, 1999 - killed 17 in the Lesser Antilles.
• Keith, 2000 - killed 70 in Central America.
• Allison‡, 2001 - flooded Texas and caused $5 billion damage and 41 deaths.
• Iris, 2001 - devastated Belize.
• Michelle, 2001 - killed 17 in Honduras, Belize, Cuba and Jamaica.
• Isidore, 2002 - killed 7 and caused $330 million damage over Yucatan and the United States.
• Lili, 2002 - killed 13, mostly in St. Vincent and Jamaica, and caused $860 million damage to the United States.
• Fabian, 2003 - did serious damage to Bermuda, killing 8
• Isabel, 2003 - a large storm that hit Washington, D.C. and other northeast areas from North Carolina to the Great Lakes, killing 51.
• Juan, 2003 - first strong hurricane to hit Halifax, Nova Scotia in over 100 years.

Hurricane names expected to be retired, but not officially retired yet; a case has been made from the National Hurricane Center and a decision will come from the WMO in April 2005:

• Charley, 2004 - devastated southwest Florida with $14 billion damage
• Frances, 2004 - struck the Bahamas and central Florida causing $9 billion in damage and flooded the Appalachians
• Ivan, 2004 - monster storm that flattened Grenada and also devastated the Cayman Islands, Cuba, Jamaica and the eastern United States
• Jeanne, 2004 - killed over 3,000 in Haiti and hit central Florida in the same area as Frances, causing $6 billion in damage.

Unnamed but historically significant

• The Great Colonial Hurricane of 1635 - First recorded hurricane to hit New England
• The Great Hurricane of 1780 - Deadliest Atlantic hurricane on record, over 20,000 killed
• The Great September Gale of 1815
• Galveston Hurricane of 1900 - Deadliest natural disaster in American history.
• The Great Miami Hurricane of 1926-Florida's economy didn't even begin to recover until the 1950s.
• The Lake Okeechobee Hurricane of 1928-Second deadliest hurricane in US history.
• The Great August Gale of 1934 - A surprise hurricane which struck Canada.
• Labor Day Hurricane of 1935† - struck the Florida Keys, strongest storm to ever hit the United States.
• The Great New England Hurricane of 1938 - Killed 600.
• 1943 Surprise Hurricane - First intentional flight into a hurricane
• The Perfect Storm of 1991

Longest-lived Atlantic tropical cyclones

Storms which have lived longer than twenty days:

1. Hurricane Ginger in September 1971 lasted 27.25 days.
2. Hurricane Inga in September 1969 lasted 24.75 days.
3. Hurricane Kyle in October 2002 and Hurricane Ivan in September 2004 each lasted 22 days.
4. Hurricane Carrie in September 1957 and Storm 9 in September 1893 each lasted 20.75 days.
5. Hurricane Inez in September 1966 lasted 20.25 days.

Source: NOAA [1] (http://www.aoml.noaa.gov/hrd/tcfaq/E6.html), [2] (http://www.hpc.ncep.noaa.gov/tropical/rain/ivan2004.html)

Canadian hurricanes

• Hurricane Juan, 2003
• The Perfect Storm, 1991
• Hurricane Hazel, 1954
• Great August Gale, 1934
• Saxby Gale, 1869

Off-season storms

• Hurricane Alice, 1954-formed in late December and continued until early January.
• Tropical Storm Ana - First North Atlantic tropical system ever recorded to develop in April (2003).
• Tropical Storm Odette - First tropical system to develop in December (2003) in 115 years.
• Tropical Storm Peter - Second tropical system to develop in December (2003) in 115 years.

Costliest U.S. Hurricanes (not adjusted for inflation)

1. Hurricane Andrew 1992 - 25.Billion
2. Hurricane Ivan 2004 - 15.Billion
3. Hurricane Charley 2004 - 14.Billion
4. Hurricane Frances 2004 9.Billion
5. Hurricane Hugo 1989 - 7.Billion
6. Hurricane Jeanne 2004- 6.Billion
7. Hurricane Floyd 1999 - 4.Billion
8. Hurricane Fran 1996 - 3.2.Billion
9. Hurricane Opal 1995 - 3.Billion
10. Hurricane Georges 1998 - 2.Billion
11. Hurricane Frederic 1979 - 2.Billion
12. Hurricane Agnes 1972 - 2.Billion

Forgotten but significant hurricanes

• The Last Island Hurricane of 1856-400 people dead. The island and the resort on it never resurfaced.
• The Indianola Hurricane of 1886 - destroyed Indianola, Texas.
• The New York Hurricane of 1893-A Category 1 went straight down Broadway.
• The Sea Islands Hurricane of 1893-Killed 2,000 people on the Georgia and South Carolina coasts.
• The Chenier Caminada Hurricane of 1893-Killed 2,000 people in Louisiana.
• The Puerto Rican Hurricane of 1899-Treversed the Atlantic for 31 days.
• The March Hurricane of 1908-Hurricane reached Category 2 strength in March.
• The Dominican Republic Hurricane of 1930-Killed 8,000 people
• The Forgotten Hurricane of 1947-Stormed through Miami just weakened from a Category 5.
• Alice, 1954-55-Formed after Christmas and continued into January.

South Atlantic basin

• The Angola Cyclone, 1991-a tropical storm formed off Angola in April.
• The January Storm, 2004-a cyclone of depression and possibly storm strength formed in January.
• Cyclone Catarina, 2004 - first positively observed hurricane in the South Atlantic Ocean.

Eastern Pacific basin

Retired names

• Fico, 1978
• Knut‡, 1987
• Iva, 1988
• Fefa, 1991
• Ismael, 1995
• Pauline, 1997
• Adolph, 2001
• Kenna, 2002

Longest-lived Eastern Pacific storm

• John, 1994

Central Pacific basin

Retired names

• Iwa, 1982
• Iniki, 1992, Hawaii

Western Pacific basin

Named

• Paka, 1997, Guam
• Pamela, 1976, Guam
• Tip, 1979, Japan
• Nancy, 1971, Japan

Unnamed

• The Great Hong Kong Typhoon, 1937
• The Typhoon of 1944, 17-18 December, three US destroyers lost

Australian hurricanes

• Cyclone Tracy, 1974

Most intense storms on record

1. Typhoon Tip - 870 mb, Western Pacific, 1979
2. Typhoon Zeb - 872 mb, Western Pacific, 1998
3. Typhoon Gay - 872 mb, Western Pacific, 1992
4. Typhoon Keith - 872 mb, Western Pacific, 1997
5. Typhoon Joan - 872 mb, Western Pacific, 1997
6. Typhoon Ivan - 872 mb, Western Pacific, 1997
7. Typhoon Forrest - 876 mb, Western Pacific, 1983
8. Typhoon Yuri - 885 mb, Western Pacific, 1991
9. Hurricane Gilbert - 888 mb, Atlantic, 1988
10. Typhoon Nancy - 888 mb, Western Pacific, 1961
11. Labor Day Hurricane - 892 mb, Atlantic, 1935
12. Hurricane Allen - 899 mb, Atlantic, 1980
13. Hurricane Linda - 900 mb, Eastern Pacific, 1997
14. Hurricane Camille - 905 mb, Atlantic Ocean, 1969
15. Hurricane Mitch - 905 mb, Atlantic Ocean, 1998
16. Hurricane Ivan - 910 mb, Atlantic Ocean, 2004
17. Hurricane Isabel - 915 mb, Atlantic Ocean, 2003

[3] (http://www.weatherwatchers.org/tropical/1998/13/mitch.html)

Size extremes

• Typhoon Tip is the largest tropical cyclone on record at 1350 miles (2170 km) wide, October (1979)
• Cyclone Tracy is the smallest tropical cyclone on record at 30 miles (48 km) wide, December (1974)

The relative sizes of Typhoon Tip, Tropical Cyclone Tracy, and the United States.

Notes

• †: a very severe hurricane (category 5 at landfall on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale)
• ‡: a tropical storm, not a hurricane

See also

• List of Atlantic hurricane seasons