Strong Hurricanes

As Hurricane Milton approaches Florida on the heels of Hurricane Helene, I’ve decided to look at the history of strong hurricanes in the United States since 1900. Here’s what I’ve found.

Note: The following is based mostly on these sources: Reuters, USA Today, and NBC.

• 1900 – Galveston Hurricane, Cat 4, Galveston – Killed 8,000 people
• 1919 – Florida Keys Hurricane, Cat 4, Florida Keys – Killed at least 287 – 600 people
• 1926 – Great Miami Hurricane, Cat 4, Miami – Killed 373 – 800 people
• 1928 – Okeechobee Hurricane, Cat 4, Florida – Killed at least 1836 – 2500
• 1932 – Freeport Hurricane, Cat 5, Texas – Killed 40 people
• 1935 – Florida Keys Labor Day, Cat 5, Florida Keys – Killed at least 408 people
• 1938 – New England Hurricane, Cat 3, Long Island – Killed about 600 people
• 1955 – Hurricane Diane, Cat 3, North Carolina – Killed at least 184 people
• 1957 – Hurricane Audrey, Cat 3, Louisiana – Killed over 400 people
• 1965 – Hurricane Betsy, Cat 4, Louisiana – Killed 76 people
• 1969 – Hurricane Camille, Cat 5, Mississippi – Killed over 250 people
• 1972 – Hurricane Agnes, Cat 1, East Coast – Killed 122 people
• 1980 – Hurricane Allen, Cat 4, Texas – Killed 269 people
• 1992 – Hurricane Andrew, Cat 5, Florida – Killed 65 people
• 2004 – Hurricane Charley, Cat 5, Florida – Killed 15 people
• 2005 – Hurricane Katrina, Cat 5, New Orleans – Killed at least 1245 people
• 2005 – Hurricane Wilma, Cat 5, Florida – Killed 52 people
• 2012 – Superstorm Sandy, Cat 2, 24 states – Killed 160 in NY and NJ
• 2017 – Hurricane Harvey, Cat 4, Houston – Killed 68 people
• 2017 – Hurricane Maria, Cat 4, Puerto Rico – Killed at least 64 – 2975 people 
• 2018 – Hurricane Michael, Cat 5, Florida – Killed at least 40 people
• 2020 – Hurricane Laura, Cat 5, Louisiana – Killed about 50 people
• 2021 – Hurricane Ida, Cat 4, Louisiana – Killed at least 92 people
• 2022 – Hurricane Ian, Cat 5, Florida – Killed at least150 people
• 2024 – Hurricane Helene, Cat 4, Florida – Killed at least 200 people
• 2024 – Hurricane Milton, Cat 4, Florida – Killed {TBD} people

While this is not an exhaustive list, it shows that strong hurricanes are forming at an increasing rate. This page has some nice visualizations of even more data.

How should we respond?

Personally, I don’t want to live close to the Gulf Coast or the Atlantic Coast year-round! There are many beautiful beaches I want to visit, just not during hurricane season.