Hypothetical Events Wiki
Register
Advertisement

This is a list of Atlantic hurricane records, according to the SDTWFC What Might Have Been Series.

Earliest formation records by storm number[]

Earliest formation of North Atlantic tropical cyclones by storm number
Number Date of formation Name
1 January 18, 1978 Anya
2 April 24, 1973 Bethany
3 May 2, 1973 Coryn
4 May 11, 1973 Diane
5 June 7, 1973 Ernie
6 June 23, 1973 Flora
7 July 1, 1973 Garry
8 July 9, 1973 Hannah
9 July 19, 1973 Igor
10 July 22, 1973 Tropical Depression 10
11 July 30, 1973 Jasmine
12 August 9, 1973 Kyle
13 August 18, 1973 Linda
14 August 25, 1973 McKenna
15 August 30, 1979 Orion
16 September 1, 1979 Peggy
17 September 4, 1979 Rosa
18 September 11, 1971 Philippe
19 September 16, 1979 Serena
20 September 19, 1979 Trudy
21 September 21, 1979 Vina
22 October 4, 1967 Tropical Depression 22
23 October 5, 1967 Tropical Depression 23
24 October 8, 1967 Tropical Depression 24
25 October 12, 1967 Wilma
26 October 15, 1967 Alpha
27 October 16, 1967 Beta
28 October 19, 1967 Gamma
29 October 25, 1967 Delta

Earliest and latest formations for each category[]

Earliest and latest forming Atlantic tropical cyclones by Saffir–Simpson classification
Earliest Formation Latest Formation
Category Year Storm Date Reached Year Storm Date Reached
Tropical Storm 1978 Anya January 19 1954 Patsy December 27
Category 1 1970 Alex May 18 1954 Patsy December 29
Category 2 1969 Douglas June 14 1954 Patsy December 31
Category 3 1969 Douglas June 15 1964 Michael November 7
Category 4 1967 Edith July 12 1981 Robert November 5
Category 5 1979 Hannah July 24 1961 Ilima November 2
Category 6 1967 Martha September 10 1978 Orpha September 21

Seasonal activity[]

Generally, seasons are ranked in activity by the number of named storms that form within in the season. However, the SDTWFC uses the number of depressions that form in a season to rank seasons by activity.

Seasons ranked in order of activity[]

North Atlantic hurricane seasons ranked by activity
Rank Year Tropical
depressions
Tropical
storms
Hurricanes
Hurricanes Major
1 1967 29 25 13 6
2 1979 27 26 13 4
3 1969 24 23 11 7
1978 24 23 10 4
4 1973 23 21 9 4
5 1971 22 20 10 5
1975 22 21 8 5
6 1970 19 18 8 4
1972 19 18 8 3
1974 19 19 9 5
1984 19 18 8 2
7 1981 18 18 9 5
8 1954 17 18 8 3
9 1968 16 15 8 2
1977 16 16 9 4
1988 16 14 7 3
10 1980 15 14 6 3
1989 15 14 6 2
11 1959 14 14 10 2
1966 14 13 6 3
1987 14 14 7 3
12 1955 13 13 11 6
1956 13 13 8 2
1964 13 13 8 6
1985 13 12 5 1
13 1958 12 12 8 4
14 1961 11 11 9 6
1976 11 10 6 3
15 1963 9 9 7 5
1982 9 8 3 1
1986 9 8 3 1
16 1957 8 8 6 2
1960 8 8 6 3
1962 8 7 3 1
17 1983 7 7 3 1
18 1965 6 6 2 1

Intensity and strength records[]

Most intense by pressure[]

Rank Storm Season Peak classification Pressure
1 Orpha 1978 Category 6 877 mBar
2 Joseph 1989 Category 6 883 mBar
3 Martha 1967 Category 6 888 mBar
4 George 1964 Category 5 893 mBar
5 Philippe 1971 Category 5 898 mBar
6 Edna 1960 Category 5 899 mBar
7 McKenna 1973 Category 5 903 mBar
8 Janet 1955 Category 5 905 mBar
9 Grayson 1963 Category 5 906 mBar
10 Henry 1977 Category 5 907 mBar

Most intense landfalling hurricanes by pressure[]

Bold italics indicates the hurricane made landfall at peak intensity

Rank Storm Season Landfall location Classification at landfall Landfall pressure
1 Joseph 1989 Brunswick, Georgia Category 6 889 mBar
2 Philippe 1971 Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic Category 5 898 mBar
3 McKenna 1973 Ragged Island, Bahamas Category 5 903 mBar
4 Edna 1960 Morehead City, North Carolina Category 5 904 mBar
5 Hank 1969 Venice, Florida Category 5 909 mBar
6 Janet 1955 Mahahaul, Quintana Roo Category 5 910 mBar
7 Michelle 1974 Chauvin, Louisiana Category 5 911 mBar
8 Linda 1973 Port Aransas, Texas Category 5 912 mBar
Orpha 1978 Clearwater, Florida Category 5 912 mBar
9 Henry 1977 San Antonio Del Sur, Cuba Category 5 914 mBar
Betsy 1980 Felipe Carillo Puerto, Quintana Roo Category 5 914 mBar
10 Cynthia 1961 Zamach, Quintana Roo Category 5 915 mBar
Grayson 1963 Near Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic Category 5 915 mBar

Strongest by wind speed[]

Only the top 5 storms are shown here

Rank Storm Season Peak classification Wind speed
1 Orpha 1978 Category 6 195 mph
Joseph 1989 Category 6 195 mph
2 Martha 1967 Category 6 190 mph
3 Janet 1955 Category 5 185 mph
Edna 1960 Category 5 185 mph
George 1964 Category 5 185 mph
McKenna 1973 Category 5 185 mph
4 Grayson 1963 Category 5 180 mph
Philippe 1971 Category 5 180 mph
Betsy 1980 Category 5 180 mph
5 Nathan 1970 Category 5 175 mph
Michelle 1974 Category 5 175 mph
Paula 1974 Category 5 175 mph
Miranda 1988 Category 5 175 mph

Strongest landfalling hurricanes by wind speed[]

Only the top 5 storms are shown here

Rank Storm Season Landfall location Classification at landfall Landfall wind speed
1 Joseph 1989 Brunswick, Georgia Category 6 190 mph
2 McKenna 1973 Ragged Island, Bahamas Category 5 185 mph
3 Edna 1960 Morehead City, North Carolina Category 5 180 mph
Philippe 1971 Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic Category 5 180 mph
4 Janet 1955 Mahahaul, Quintana Roo Category 5 175 mph
Michelle 1974 Chauvin, Louisiana Category 5 175 mph
Betsy 1980 Felipe Carillo Puerto, Quintana Roo Category 5 175 mph
Miranda 1988 Near Bluefields, Nicaragua Category 5 175 mph
5 Cynthia 1961 Zamach, Quintana Roo Category 5 170 mph
Grayson 1963 Near Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic Category 5 170 mph
Martha 1967 Xcalak, Quintana Roo Category 5 170 mph
Nathan 1970 Pascagoula, Mississippi Category 5 170 mph
Orpha 1978 Clearwater, Florida Category 5 170 mph
Advertisement