Interesting historic info on November hurricanes…
From Dr. Jeff Masters of www.wunderground.com:
Historically, only about 5% of all Atlantic tropical storm activity occurs after November 1. Between 1871 and 2007, 60 tropical storms formed in November. Of these, 29 became hurricanes, and four of these, major hurricanes. There have also been two major hurricanes that formed in October and continued on into November. On average, one tropical storm forms in November every other year, and we can expect a November hurricane about one year in five.
The six major November hurricanes were Hurricane Michelle of 2001 (Cat 4, 140 mph); Hurricane Lenny of 1999 (Cat 4, 150 mph); Hurricane Kate of 1985 (Cat 3, 120 mph); Hurricane Greta of 1956 (Cat 4, 140 mph); Hurricane 10 of 1932 (Cat 4, 135 mph); and Hurricane 7 of 1912 (Cat 3, 115 mph). There have been no major hurricanes in the months December through April.
Major hurricanes in the Atlantic by month, 1851-2008
———————————————————————-
May 1
June 3
July 9
August 80
September 149
October 60
November 6
In the list above, if a hurricane was at major hurricane strength in two separate months, it is counted as a major hurricane for both months.
November hurricanes of note
The most extraordinary November hurricane was “Wrong-Way Lenny”, which hit the northern Leeward Islands as a strong Category 4 hurricane with 155 mph winds on November 17-18, 1999. Lenny was the first storm to have an extended west-to-east track across the central and eastern Caribbean Sea in the 135-year Atlantic tropical cyclone record, and was the strongest November hurricane on record. Hurricane Gordon was the deadliest November hurricane. It claimed 1122 lives in Haiti when it passed just west of the country as a tropical storm on November 13, 1994. Lenny claimed six lives in Costa Rica, five in the Dominican Republic, two in Jamaica, two in Cuba, and eight in Florida. Property damage to the United States was estimated at $400 million (1994 dollars), and was severe in Haiti and Cuba as well.
Three November hurricanes have hit the U.S.–an unnamed 1916 Category 1 hurricane that hit the Florida Keys, an unnamed 1925 Category 1 hurricane that struck Sarasota, Florida, and Hurricane Kate, which struck the Florida Panhandle on November 22, 1985.
A new record for the hurricane season of 2008?
This year and 2005 are the only seasons that we’ve had major hurricanes in the Atlantic in four separate months–July, August, September, and October. If Paloma becomes a major hurricane, it will make 2008 the first year since record keeping began in 1851 to feature major hurricanes in five separate months.
I’ll have an update Saturday morning, and possibly later tonight.
Thank you for the knowledge Jaice very imformative. Wasnt there two hurricanes though a few years ago Alpha and Beta? Those names were used only becase all the rest were exhausted that year? Glad to see Chicago didnt get that blizzard. Or is that coming as something else here? BTW glad that you are doing great caught you on the air a few days ago. You looked beautiful as always
Thanks for the info. I had no idea about some of these, and I’m the resident hurricane expert in my house (having been through several). My husband and in-laws NEVER watched the tropics (living in north and central Texas) until I entered the picture (and still have family on the coast).
I remember Hurricane Kate. That one was a couple days off from school. I was in 5th grade. That got me looking back at other stuff from that year. I really remember Hurricane Elena. That one got turned our Labor Day weekend into a week long vacation. (As a kid in school, it was pretty cool to be out of school for a week.) During that storm, a tornado went up our street supposedly. I vividly remember going out exploring in the neighborhood afterwards with the buddies (all on bikes, of course) and all of us just ooohing and ah-ing over a tree sticking out of a neighbor’s roof. Then there was the flooding in the back end of the neighborhood. Now as an adult, I realize how STUPID we were for riding our bikes in the floodwaters. I gave up when the water was up to my knees and it wasn’t worth the effort. However, our neighborhood was known for having snakes, and that water was probably full of them.
It also made me remember one of the funnier post-hurricane conversations that I have had with my mom. Once I could get a hold of her to make sure that things were ok, her wrap up was “Dennis straighted the trees that Ivan bent”. (That is, the ones that were left, as Ivan decimated parts of Pensacola. I saw that damage first hand that Christmas. We drove around what was left of my grandmother’s neighborhood and saw many empty areas that once had houses. Luckily, hers was fine. She just got a new roof and had some water damage in the house as a result of the roof leaking. Mom also got a new roof, while the house next door had to be torn down and rebuilt.)
Very interesting history lesson – I’m impressed and enjoyed reading about the outliers
in November.
Busy day signing books and gymnastics with the kids. I’ll check in later to watch this
hurricane.
Regards,
Tony