U.S. Hurricanes

Updated April 19, 2023 | Infoplease Staff

Find data about the most intense and deadliest hurricanes to strike the U.S. Figures include U.S. deaths only, except where noted. Damages are actual cost in U.S. dollars, followed in parentheses by dollar figures adjusted to the year 2000.

1776

Sept. 2–9, N.C. to Nova Scotia: called the “Hurricane of Independence,” it is believed that 4,170 in the U.S. and Canada died in the storm.

1856

Aug. 11, Last Island, La.: 400 died.

1893

Aug. 28, Savannah, Ga., Charleston, S.C., Sea Islands, S.C.: at least 1,000 died.

1900

Sept. 8, Galveston, Tex.: an estimated 6,000–8,000 died in hurricane and tidal surge. The “Galveston Hurricane” is considered the deadliest in U.S. history.

1909

Sept. 10–21, La. and Miss.: 350 deaths.

1915

Aug. 5–23, Galveston, Tex., and New Orleans, La.: 275 killed.

1919

Sept. 2–15, Fla. Keys, La., and southern Tex.: more than 600 killed, mostly lost on ships at sea.

1926

Sept. 11–22, southeast Fla. and Ala.: 243 deaths.

1928

Sept. 6–20, Lake Okeechobee, southeast Fla.: 1,836 deaths. Second-deadliest U.S. hurricane on record.

1935

Aug. 29–Sept. 10, Fla. Keys: “Labor Day Hurricane”; 408 deaths.

1938

Sept. 10–22, Long Island, N.Y., and southern New England: “New England Hurricane”; 600 deaths.

1944

Sept. 9–16, N.C. to New England: 390 deaths, 344 of which were at sea.

1947

Sept. 4–21, southeast Fla., La., Miss., Ala.: 51 killed.

1954

Aug. 25–31, N.C. to New England: “Carol” killed 60 in Long Island–New England area.

Oct. 5–18, S.C. to N.Y.: “Hazel” killed 95 in U.S.; about 400–1,000 in Haiti; 78 in Canada.

1955

Aug. 7–21, N.C. to New England: “Diane” took 184 lives and cost $8.3 million ($5.5 billion).

1957

June 25–28, southwest La. and northern Tex.: “Audrey” wiped out Cameron, La., causing 390 deaths.

1960

Aug. 29–Sept. 13, Fla. to New England: “Donna” killed 50 in the U.S.; 115 deaths in Antilles.

1961

Sept. 3–15, Tex. coast: “Carla” devastated Tex. gulf cities, taking 46 lives.

1965

Aug. 27–Sept. 12, southern Fla. and La.: “Betsy” killed 75 and cost more than $1.4 ($8.5) billion.

1969

Aug. 14–22, Miss., La., Ala., Va., and W. Va.: 256 killed as a result of “Camille.” Damages estimated at $1.4 ($6.9) billion.

1972

June 14–23, northwest Fla. to N.Y.: “Agnes” caused widespread flash floods killing 117 (50 in Pa). Damages estimated at over $2.1 ($8.6) billion. Still the worst natural disaster ever in Pa.

1979

Aug. 25–Sept. 7, Caribbean to New England: “David” caused five U.S. deaths; 1,200 in the Dominican Republic.

Aug. 29–Sept. 15, Ala. and Miss.: “Frederic” devastated Mobile, Ala., and caused $2.3 ($4.9) billion in damage overall.

1980

Aug. 3–10, Caribbean to Tex. Gulf: “Allen” killed 28 in U.S.; over 200 in Caribbean.

1983

Aug. 15–21, Galveston and Houston, Tex.: “Alicia” caused 21 deaths and $2 ($3.4) billion in damages.

1985

Oct. 6–Nov. 1, La. southeast U.S.: “Juan,” a Category 1 hurricane, caused severe flooding and $1.5 ($2.4) billion in damages; 63 people died.

1989

Sept. 10–22, Caribbean Sea, S.C., and N.C.: “Hugo” claimed 86 lives (57 U.S. mainland) and damages estimated over $7 ($9.7) billion.

1991

Oct. 30–Nov. 1, Eastern Atlantic seaboard: an unnamed hurricane labeled the “perfect storm” caused extensive erosion and flooding along the Atlantic seaboard and created 39-foot waves.

1992

Aug. 22–26, Bahamas, southern Fla., and La.: Hurricane “Andrew” left 26 dead and more than 100,000 homes destroyed or damaged. Total U.S. damages estimated at $26.5 ($34.9) billion.

1994

Nov. 8–21, Caribbean and southern Fla.: “Gordon” led to an estimated 1,122 deaths in Haiti. Eight died in Fla.

1995

Nov. 29, Fla. Panhandle and Ala.: storm surge during “Opal” caused extensive damage to coastal areas; nine U.S. deaths and damages of $3 ($3.5) billion.

1996

Sept. 5, N.C. and Va.: “Fran” took 37 lives and caused more than $3.2 ($3.6) billion in damage.

1999

Sept. 14–18, Bahamas to New England: “Floyd” and associated flooding caused at least 57 deaths. Damage estimated at $4.5 ($4.6) billion.

2001

June 8–15, Gulf Coast to southern New England: tropical storm “Allison” caused severe flooding, damage estimated at $5 billion (actual cost); 41 deaths.

2003

Sept. 18, N.C. and Va.: “Isabel” took 50 lives and caused more than $3.7 billion in damage.

2004

Aug. 13–Sept. 26, Fla., Ala., and southern U.S.: Four major hurricanes hit Fla. in 6 weeks. “Charley,” on Aug. 13, a Category 4 hurricane, killed 34; “Frances,” on Sept. 5, killed 48. “Ivan” swept from Grenada to Ala. and Fla. on Sept. 16, killing 57 in the U.S. and 66 in the Caribbean. “Jeanne,” on Sept. 26, flooded Fla. again, killing 28. Total U.S. damages from the 4 hurricanes estimated to exceed $35 billion.

2005

Aug. 25–Aug. 30, Fla., Miss., and La.: “Katrina” hit southern Fla. on Aug. 25th and on Aug. 29th slammed the Gulf Coast with 127 mph winds and major storm surges, destroying hundreds of homes and businesses and causing massive flooding in Miss., Ala., and New Orleans where the levees failed. The death toll was c. 1,800, with 1,464 of those in La. “Katrina” was among the most devastating of U.S. hurricanes with damages estimated at $100 billion.

Sept. 18–Sept. 30, Tex. and La.: “Rita,” the 2nd Category 5 in the season, made landfall Sept. 24th on the Texas/Louisiana border as a Category 3 storm, with 15-ft storm surges caused estimated damages of $8 billion. A massive evacuation of the coastal area kept the death toll to 119 storm-related deaths.

Oct. 18–Oct. 24, Caribbean, Mexico, and Fla.: “Wilma” moved through Haiti, killing 11, Jamaica, and on to Mexico where she battered The Yucatan peninsula for more than 24 hours before moving on to Cuba and southern Fla. causing extensive damage; left more than 6 million without power and killed 35 with estimated costs over $10 billion.

Dec. 30–Jan. 7, 2006, U.S.: “Zeta,” the last hurricane of the most active season in 154 years.

2006

Aug. 25–Sept. 3, U.S.: “Ernesto” hit Florida on Aug. 30th and on Aug. 31st struck North Carolina with 70 mph winds and major storm surges.

2008

Sept. 1–2, Gulf Coast.: “Gustav,” a Category 2 hurricane, hit the Gulf Coast on Sept. 1 with 110 mph winds, killing at least 26 people in three states and leaving more than one million homes without power before moving into central Louisiana as a tropical depression.

Sept. 13–14, southern U.S.: "Ike," hit Texas and caused at least 30 deaths, thousands more evacuated their homes, and millions lost power in Houston alone. Ike hit the island city of Galveston Bay the hardest, knocking out water, power, and sewer lines. Despite requests to evacuate, at least 15,000 people remained in Galveston amid worsening sanitary conditions.

Sept. 14–16, midwestern U.S.: As Ike traveled inland, the storm weakened to a tropical depression, but torrential rain caused severe flooding and power outages in parts of Louisiana, Kansas, Missouri, and Illinois. At least 17 people died and more than two million homes and businesses lost power.

2011

Aug. 27–29, East Coast.: “Irene,” began as a Category 3 hurricane and was downgraded to a Category 1 before hitting the Outer Banks of North Carolina on Aug. 27. Irene passed through Virginia, New Jersey, and New York City before transitioning into an extratropical cyclone in Vermont and New Hampshire. Irene caused at least 56 deaths and an estimated $15.6 billion in damages, making it the sixth costliest hurricane in the United States.

2012

Oct. 29–30, East Coast.: “Sandy,” started in the Caribbean as a tropical storm and gained intensity—becoming a Category 2 hurricane—as it tore through Jamaica, Haiti, and Cuba, killing 44 people. It was downgraded to a Category 1 as it neared Florida. Although it was downgraded, the storm actually picked up energy when it collided with a midlatitude trough (a storm system that causes severe winter weather). The storm system grew as it barreled up the East Coast, spreading to some 1,000 miles wide. Sandy made landfall on Oct. 29 in Atlantic City, N.J., and was re-classified as a post-tropical cyclone. New Jersey, New York, and Connecticut were hardest hit by Sandy, and about 8 million people lost power as a result of the storm. So far Sandy has caused at least 100 deaths and an estimated $30 billion in damages, making it the second costliest hurricane in the United States, behind Katrina.

See also Hurricane Katrina