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Subject: E19) How many direct hits by hurricanes of various categories have affected each state?

Contributed by Chris Landsea (NHC)

This table, updated from Jarrell et al. (2001), shows the number of hurricanes affecting the United States and individual states, i.e., direct hits. The table shows that, on the average, close to seven hurricanes every four years (~1.75 per year) strike the United States, while about three major hurricanes cross the U.S. coast every five years (0.60 per year). Other noteworthy facts, updated from Jarrell et al. (2001), are:

• Forty percent of all U.S. hurricanes hit Florida
• Eighty-eight percent of Major hurricanes strikes have hit either Florida or Texas
• Pennsylvania's only hurricane strike between 1851-2018 was in 1898 (from Blake et al. 2005).

Hurricane direct hits on the mainland U.S. coastline and for individual states by Saffir/Simpson category
1851-2018

AREA		CATEGORY						Major Hurricanes
		1	2	3	4	5	ALL
U.S. Coastline (Texas to Maine)		121	80	64	24	3	292	91
Texas		29	16	12	7	0	64	19
	North	14	10	3	3	0	30	6
	Central	12	5	3	2	0	22	5
	South	11	4	7	2	0	24	9
Louisiana		23	14	14	2	1	54	17
Mississippi		5	6	7	0	1	19	8
Alabama		14	5	5	0	0	24	5
Florida		47	36	24	11	2	120	37
	Northwest	35	17	13	0	1	66	14
	Southwest	21	12	9	6	1	49	17
	Southeast	18	14	8	7	2	49	16
	Northeast	19	6	1	0	0	26	1
Georgia		16	3	2	1	0	22	3
South Carolina		17	8	2	3	0	30	5
North Carolina		31	12	6	1	0	56	7
Virginia		10	2	0	0	0	12	0
Maryland		2	0	0	0	0	2	0
Delaware		2	0	0	0	0	2	0
New Jersey		4	0	0	0	0	4	0
Pennsylvania		1	0	0	0	0	1	0
New York		9	3	3	0	0	15	3
Connecticut		7	2	2	0	0	11	2
Rhode Island		5	2	3	0	0	10	3
Massachusetts		7	4	1	0	0	12	1
New Hampshire		0	1	0	0	0	1	0
Maine		2	1	0	0	0	3	0

Notes:

State totals will not equal U.S. totals and Texas and Florida totals will not necessarily equal sum of sectional totals since storms may be counted for more than one state or region.

Regional definitions are found in Appenix A of Jarrell et al. (2001).

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.

Jarell, J.D., B.M. Mayfield, E.N. Rappaport, and C.W. Landsea, 2001: "The Deadliest, Costliest, and Most Intense United States Hurricanes from 1900 to 2000 (and Other Frequently Requested Hurricane Facts.) NOAA Technical Memorandum NWS-TPC-3, 30 pp.

Last Revised : June 19, 2019

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