NASA On Air: No Major Category 3 Hurricane U.S. Landfalls In Past 9 Years (5/13/2015)

  • Released Wednesday, May 13, 2015
View full credits

LEAD: The first tropical storm of 2015 drenched North Carolina this week (May 10) with 6 inches of rain and 60 mph winds. Ana hit even before June 1, the official start date of the 2015 hurricane season. What’s ahead for the summer? Will it be like the past 9 years?

1. Over the past 9 years there have been 59 Atlantic hurricanes. But during that time no hurricanes of Category 3 or higher have hit the U.S. coastline. Such a string of lucky years is likely to happen only once in 177 years, according to a new NASA study.

2. Weaker storms than Category 3 can still be dangerous. Sandy in 2012, Irene in 2011 and Ike in 2008 together caused over 100 billion dollars of damage.

3. But what about this upcoming hurricane season? Statistical analysis indicates that for any given year there is 40% chance of a Category 3 or higher hurricane landing across the U.S. coastline.

TAG: But remember it only takes one storm in your area. Be prepared this summer.

For More Information

See the following sources:

Credits

Please give credit for this item to:
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center

This page was originally published on Wednesday, May 13, 2015.
This page was last updated on Wednesday, May 3, 2023 at 1:49 PM EDT.