The deadliest, costliest, and most intense united states tropical cyclones from 1851 to 2010
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Figure 4. The most intense United States major hurricanes, ranked by pressure at landfall, 1851-2010. The black numbers are the ranks of a given storm on Table 4 (e.g. 1 has the lowest pressure all-time). The colors are the intensity of the tropical cyclone at its maximum impact on the United States. 
Table 5 summarizes the hurricane strikes on the U. S. mainland since 1851. About two major hurricanes every three years made landfall somewhere along the Gulf or Atlantic coast. (All categories combined average about five hurricanes every three years.) Note that not all areas of the U.S. were settled before 1900 and there could be substantial gaps in landfall data coverage, especially in south Florida (Landsea et al. 2004). Table 6, which lists hurricanes by decades since 1851, shows that during the 40-year period 1961‑2000 both the number and intensity of landfalling U.S. hurricanes decreased sharply. Based on 1901‑1960 statistics, the expected number of hurricanes and major hurricanes during the period 1961‑2000 would have been 77 and 30, respectively. However, only 55 (or 71%) of the expected number of hurricanes struck the U.S. with only 19 major hurricanes (or 63% of that expected number). However, landfall activity during the 2000’s has picked up significantly, and is now near the frequency seen in the very active 1950’s. These increased landfalls are very different than the late 1990’s, which showed average landfall frequencies despite having generally active seasons. 
Despite the increase in overall activity, the United States hasn’t seen a significant resurgence of exceptionally strong hurricane landfalls. During the past 40 years, the United States has experienced three Category 4 or stronger hurricanes: Charley in 2004, Andrew of 1992 and Hugo of 1989. However, on average, a category 4 or stronger hurricane strikes the United States about once every 8 years. We have seen fewer exceptionally strong hurricanes than an expected 40-year average of about 5. Fewer hurricanes, however, do not necessarily mean a lesser threat of disaster. The most intense U.S. hurricane in 1935, and the second costliest, Andrew in 1992, occurred in years which had much below-average hurricane activity. Directory: ms-word ms-word -> 1Tropical Cyclone Report ms-word -> 1Tropical Cyclone Report ms-word -> 1Tropical Cyclone Report ms-word -> 1Tropical Cyclone Report ms-word -> Updated: July 2009 ms-word -> 1Tropical Cyclone Report ms-word -> The deadliest, costliest, and most intense united states tropical cyclones from 1851 to 2006 ms-word -> 1Tropical Cyclone Report ms-word -> 1Tropical Cyclone Report ms-word -> Product changes for the 2009 hurricane season Download 9.2 Mb. Share with your friends:
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