The red tracks show the tracks of all Atlantic Basin hurricanes from 2016-19. U.S. landfalls of the most damaging hurricanes, and the Bahamas landfall of Dorian, are labeled.The last four Atlantic hurricane seasons have claimed over 3,000 lives and inflicted the costliest four year stretch for hurricanes and tropical storms on record in the United States.
Beginning with Hurricane Matthew in 2016, through Tropical Storm Imelda in 2019, a siege of eight destructive storms over four hurricane seasons was responsible for just under $346 billion damage in the U.S., according to estimates compiled by NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information. This is more than the gross domestic product of Ireland.
(MORE: 2020 Atlantic Hurricane Season Outlook)
U.S. damage estimates adjusted for inflation to 2020 in billions of dollars of the big eight storms from 2016-19, beginning with Hurricane Matthew in 2016 through Tropical Storm Imelda in 2019.According to NOAA's billon dollar disaster database, 2016 through 2019 was the costliest four year stretch for tropical cyclones in the U.S. dating to 1980.
Three of the five costliest hurricanes in U.S. history occurred in 2017 – Harvey, Irma and Maria.
Hurricane Michael's Category 5 landfall in 2018, the third most intense mainland U.S. landfall by central pressure, added a fourth hurricane from the past few seasons to the top 10 costliest hurricanes list.
(MORE: The Four Category 5 U.S. Hurricane Landfalls)
The 10 costliest U.S. hurricanes as of early 2020. All damage estimates are in billions of dollars, adjusted for inflation to 2020. Those hurricanes in the list that have occurred since 2016 are highlighted by light blue bars.These billion dollar U.S. hurricanes and tropical storms don't happen every year.
NOAA's database lists 45 tropical storms and hurricanes that have caused at least $1 billion in the U.S. since 1980.
Before 2016, the U.S. went three straight years without a billion-dollar tropical storm or hurricane following Superstorm Sandy. There were also two-year stretches without these particularly costly and destructive storms after the 2008 and historic 2005 hurricane seasons.
The siege of eight hurricanes from Charley in 2004 through Wilma in 2005 inflicted just under $300 billion damage in the U.S., after adjusting for inflation to 2020.
Of course, this parade of storms since 2016 has also been deadly.
Hurricane Maria in 2017 claimed just under 3,000 lives in what was the strongest hurricane landfall in Puerto Rico since 1928.
Hurricane Harvey was the deadliest hurricane in Texas since 1919, according to the National Hurricane Center, claiming at least 68 lives there.
As bad as that all sounds, it could have been worse.
Hurricane Dorian's catastrophic Category 5 stall inflicted an estimated $3.4 billion damage in the northwestern Bahamas, with a storm surge of up to 28.25 feet, according to the Bahamas Weather Service.
If Dorian's track was about 75 miles farther west, it could've delivered a more devastating blow to Florida's Atlantic coast, the Georgia coast and the Carolinas.
As it was, Dorian was a billion-dollar U.S. hurricane ($1.6 billion damage), with North Carolina's Outer Banks, especially Ocracoke Island, taking the hardest hit from storm-surge flooding.
The Weather Company’s primary journalistic mission is to report on breaking weather news, the environment and the importance of science to our lives. This story does not necessarily represent the position of our parent company, IBM.
The Weather Company’s primary journalistic mission is to report on breaking weather news, the environment and the importance of science to our lives. This story does not necessarily represent the position of our parent company, IBM.
No comments:
Post a Comment