Hurricane Guide: 2008 Season Gets Busy

LiveScience Staff

Date: 27 May 2005 Time: 12:19 PM ET

Hurricane season in the Atlantic Basin, which includes the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico, runs from June 1 to Nov. 30.

ON THIS PAGE
Saffir-Simpson Scale | Deadliest | Costliest
Vulnerable States | Busiest Months | 2008 Names

Image Galleries

From above ...

... and on the ground

Katrina in 2005

THE 2008 SEASON

Gallery: The Fury of Ike
Ike Underscores Foolishness of Building on Barrier Islands
Why Ike's Storm Surge Could Devastate Galveston
Why Ike Could Be Texas' Worst Nightmare
Hurricane History: Texas a Top Target
Hurricane Gustav
Is New Orleans Ready for Another Storm?
9 Hurricanes Predicted for 2008
Busy Year Predicted

Resources

Hurricane Science News

Hurricanes: Our 5 Worst Fears
How Strong Can a Hurricane Get?
Hurricane Evacuations: A Better Way
Flying into a Hurricane: First-Hand Account
Warmer Atlantic Worsens Hurricanes ... but ...
Study: Fewer Hurricanes in Warming World
... and Forecasters Debate Hurricanes, Warming
Calm Eye Fuels Hurricane Ferocity
Forecasters Call for New Hurricane Classification
Better Predictions for Hurricanes' Deadly Storm Surges
Super-Hurricane Threat Extremely Low
Key Found to Changes in Hurricane Intensity
Old Data Supports Global Warming Link to Stronger Hurricanes

THE 2007 SEASON

Forecast for Rest of Season: Busy
Category 5 Felix Comes Ashore
Hurricane Dean Slams Mexico, Twice
Government Lowers Hurricane Forecast
Forecasters Predict Fewer Hurricanes
Where are All the Hurricanes?
Premature Tropical Storm Not Due to Global Warming, Scientists Say
Forecasters: 'Very Active' 2007 Hurricane Season
La Nina Brewing, More Hurricanes Possible
Forecaster Sees High Hurricane Activity in '07
2006 Forecast Flops

THE 2006 SEASON

Ultimately, Forecast Flops
Revised Forecast: 7 to 9 Hurricanes
The Pre-Season Forecast: 8 to 10 Hurricanes

News from 2006

Man-made Climate Change Causing Stronger Hurricanes
Hurricane Predictions: Can You Trust Them?
Hurricanes to Unleash Dormant, Hidden Power
Florida Gov. Bush Hears Scientists on Warming and Hurricanes
New Orleans Sinking Faster Than Expected
Hurricane Alley Heats Up
New Eye on Hurricanes Could Improve Forecasts
Warmer Seas Creating Stronger Hurricanes, Study Confirms

THE 2005 SEASON

The Season that Wouldn't End

Hurricanes Shape New Natural Order
Lots of Lightning in 2005 Hurricanes Baffles Scientists
Rare December Hurricane Caps Record Year
Record Hurricane Season Goes Out with a Bang
Hurricane Forecasting Gets Budget Boost
Hurricane Beta Sets Record for Most in a Season

A Year of Concern and Reflection

Schemes to Control the Weather Clouded by Failure
Increase in Major Hurricanes Linked to Warmer Seas
Global Warming Making Hurricanes Stronger
Wilma's Rage Suggests New Hurricane Categories Needed
Wilma at 175 mph: Briefly the Strongest Atlantic Hurricane Ever

Katrina: The Worst Storm Ever

Dire Katrina Predictions Were on Track
Katrina The Most Destructive U.S. Storm Ever
After Katrina: Many More Hurricanes to Come
Katrina Joins List of Worst Weather Disasters

More News from 2005

Historians Track Hurricanes Back to 1700s
Hurricane Center May Run Out of Names
Trees Hold Record of Ancient Hurricane Activity
Hurricane's Waves Soared to Nearly 100 Feet
Surprise New Technique Improves Hurricane Tracking
Like Wolves, Hurricanes Come in Packs
History Reveals Hurricane Threat to New York City
New Hurricane Forecasting Method Proposed
Vote Calls for Keeping Hurricane 'Line'

Related Stories

Rating Hurricanes: The Saffir-Simpson Scale

Cat.	Winds (mph)	Damage	Examples
1	74-95	Damage to unanchored mobile homes, shrubbery, trees, poorly constructed signs	Allison, 1995; Danny, 1997
2	96-110	Breakage of roofs, doors, windows; small trees blown down; flooding 2-4 hrs before hurricane	Bonnie, 1998; Georges, 1998
3	111-130	Mobile homes destroyed; large trees blown down; flooding 3-5 hrs before hurricane	Roxanne, 1995; Fran, 1996
4	131-155	Curtainwall failures in small residences; 10 ft flooding; evacuation as far inland as 6 miles	Luis, Felix, and Opal, 1995
5	155+	Complete roof failure; escape routes cut by 15 ft flooding; evacuation as far inland as 10 miles	Mitch and Gilbert, 1998

Summary by Category:
Hurricanes that Hit U.S. Coast (Texas to Main) from 1900-2004

Category Number					All (1-5)	Major (3-5)
1	2	3	4	5	All (1-5)	Major (3-5)
65	41	50	16	2	174	68

Deadliest Atlantic-basin Hurricanes
(Not updated to include Katrina in 2005)

Rank	Areas Worst Hit	Month/Year	Deaths
1	Martinique; St. Eustatius; Barbados; offshore	Oct 1780	20,000-22,000
2	Galveston, TX	Sep 1900	8,000-12,000
3	Honduras (FIFI)	Sep 1974	3,000-10,000
4	Dominican Republic	Sep 1930	2,000-8,000
5	Haiti; Cuba (FLORA)	Oct 1963	7,186-8,000
6	Pointe-a-Pitre Bay, Guadoloupe	Sep 1776	6,000+
7	Newfoundland Banks	Sep 1775	4,000
8	Puerto Rico; Carolinas	Aug 1899	3,064+
9	Florida; Guadeloupe; Puerto Rico; Turks Islands; Martinique	Sep 1928	3,375-4,075
10	Cuba; Cayman Islands; Jamaica	Nov 1932	2,500+

Costliest U.S. Hurricanes (adjusted for inflation, in year-2000 dollars)
(Not updated to include Katrina in 2005)

Rank	Hurricane	Year	Cat.	Damage
1	Andrew (SE FL, SE LA)	1992	5	34,954,825,000
2	Hugo (SC)	1989	4	9,739,820,675
3	Agnes (FL, NE U.S.)	1972	1	8,602,500,000
4	Betsy (SE FL, SE LA)	1965	3	8,516,866,023
5	Camille (MS, SE LA, VA)	1969	5	6,992,441,549
6	Diane (NE U.S.)	1955	1	5,540,676,187
7	Frederic (AL, MS)	1979	3	4,965,327,332
8	Floyd (Mid Atlantic & NE U.S.)	1999	2	4,666,817,360
9	Unnamed (New England)	1938	3	4,748,580,000
10	Georges (USVI, PR)	1998	3	3,888,000,000

Direct Hits, 1900-2004

Florida	64
Texas	38
North Carolina	29
Louisiana	27
South Carolina	16
Alabama	12
Mississippi	9
New York	9
Connecticut	8
Massachusetts	6
Georgia	5
Maine	5
Rhode Island	5
Virginia	5
New Hampshire	2
Maryland	1
New Jersey	1
Delaware	0

Major Hurricanes (Cat. 3-5)
to Hit U.S. Coast (Texas to Main) from 1900-2004

Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Total
2	3	17	38	8	68

Tropical Storm Names

2008 Names

Arthur
Bertha
Cristobal
Dolly
Edouard
Fay
Gustav
Hanna
Ike
Josephine
Kyle
Laura
Marco
Nana
Omar
Paloma
Rene
Sally
Teddy
Vicky
Wilfred

Military weather forecasters began giving women's names to significant storms during WWII, then in 1950 the World Meteorological Organization agreed to an alphabetical naming system, using the military's radio code. The first named Atlantic hurricane was Able in 1950.

Officials soon realized the naming convention would cause problems in the history books if more than one powerful Hurricane Able made landfall. So, in 1953 the organization adopted a rotating series of women's names, planning to retire names of significant storms.

Feminists urged the WMO to add men's names, which was done in 1979. The boy-girl-boy-girl naming convention evolved to include French and Spanish names in the Atlantic system, reflecting the languages of the nations affected by Carribean hurricanes.

Twenty-one names are reserved each year (the letters q, u, x, y and z are not used), and the names are recycled every six years, minus those retired. When a name is retired, the World Meteorological Organization chooses a new name to replace it.