From the record
Seven articles that answer common questions about hurricanes with numbers worked out from NOAA's best-track files: how many storms reached Category 5, which states see the most landfalls, when the season peaks, and more.
- How many Category 5 hurricanes are on record
44 in the Atlantic since 1851 and 24 in the eastern Pacific since 1949, most of them recent.
- The strongest Atlantic hurricanes, by wind and by pressure
Allen and Melissa share the top wind; Wilma holds the lowest pressure. Fifteen-storm tables for both.
- Which US states get the most hurricane landfalls
Florida leads with 229 storms since 1851; the table covers every state and territory in the record.
- When hurricanes form: the season month by month
September dominates the Atlantic; the eastern Pacific peaks in August and starts earlier.
- Accumulated cyclone energy: how busy seasons are measured
1933 and 2005 top the Atlantic; 2015 leads the Pacific. How the number is built.
- Rapid intensification: the biggest one-day jumps in wind
Wilma gained 95 knots in 24 hours, Patricia 105. How often hurricanes jump 30 knots in a day.
- Eastern Pacific hurricanes: Mexico, Hawaii and the open ocean
Since 1989 only 14% of Pacific storms have a landfall record; nearly all of those hit Mexico.