Most Intense1 Hurricanes in the United States2
Updated June 26, 2019 |
Infoplease Staff
(U.S. Mainland)
Rank | Hurricane | Year | Category3 |
---|---|---|---|
1. | Florida Keys | 1935 | 5 |
2. | Camille (Miss./La./Va.) | 1969 | 5 |
3. | Katrina (La./Miss.)4 | 2005 | 3 |
4. | Andrew (Fla./La.) | 1992 | 5 |
5. | Indianola, Tex. | 1886 | 4 |
6. | Florida Keys/Tex. | 1919 | 4 |
7. | Lake Okeechobee, Fla. | 1928 | 4 |
8. | Donna (Fla./Eastern U.S.) | 1960 | 4 |
9. | New Orleans, La. | 1915 | 4 |
9. | Carla (Tex.) | 1961 | 4 |
11. | Last Island, La. | 1856 | 4 |
11. | Hugo (S.C.) | 1989 | 4 |
1. Intensity and category are for time of landfall; hurricanes may have been stronger at other times.
2. 1851–2013.
3. Saffir-Simpson Hurricane scale: Cat. 1 = weak; Cat. 5 = devastating.
4. While a hurricane's category is determined by maximum sustained wind speed, its intensity is determined by barometric central pressure. As Katrina illustrates, the two do not have a direct one-to-one relationship.
Sources: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
Billion Dollar U.S. Weather Disasters, 1980–2013 | Weather | Costliest Hurricanes in the United States (U.S. Mainland) |