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Subject: E20) When are the major hurricanes likely to strike different states?

Contributed by Chris Landsea (NHC)

This table shows the incidence of major hurricanes by months for the U.S. mainland and individual states. September has as many major hurricane landfalls as October and August combined. Texas and Louisiana are the prime targets for pre-August major hurricanes. The threat of major hurricanes increases from west to east during August with major hurricanes favoring the U.S. East Coast by late September. Most major October hurricanes occur in southern Florida (from Blake et al. 2005).

Major hurricane direct hits on the U.S. mainland and individual states
1851-2018

AREA		JUNE	JULY	AUG.	SEPT.	OCT.	ALL
U.S. Coastline (Texas to Maine)		2	5	27	47	17	92
Texas		1	2	11	9	0	19
	North	1	1	3	4	0	7
	Central	0	2	3	0	0	4
	South	0	6	3	0	0	8
Louisiana		2	0	7	9	3	20
Mississippi		0	1	4	4	0	9
Alabama		0	1	1	4	0	6
Florida		0	2	6	20	10	37
	Northwest	0	2	1	7	4	14
	Northeast	0	0	0	1	0	1
	Southwest	0	0	2	6	6	13
	Southeast	0	0	4	8	3	15
Georgia		0	0	1	1	1	3
South Carolina		0	0	2	2	2	6
North Carolina		0	0	4	7	1	12
Virginia		0	0	0	1	0	1
Maryland		0	0	0	0	0	0
Delaware		0	0	0	0	0	0
New Jersey		0	0	0	0	0	0
Pennsylvania		0	0	0	0	0	0
New York		0	0	1	4	0	5
Connecticut		0	0	1	2	0	3
Rhode Island		0	0	1	3	0	4
Massachusetts		0	0	0	3	0	3
New Hampshire		0	0	0	0	0	0
Maine		0	0	0	0	0	0

Note: State totals do not equal U.S. totals.
Texas and Florida totals do not necessarily equal the sum of sectional entries.
Florida and Texas regional definitions are found in Appendix A.

Reference

Blake, E.S., E.N. Rappaport, J.D. Jarell, and C.W. Landsea, 2005: "The Deadliest, Costliest, and Most Intense United States Hurricanes from 1851 to 2004 (and Other Frequently Requested Hurricane Facts.) NOAA Technical Memorandum NWS-TPC-4, 48 pp.

Last Revised : June 19, 2019

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