Significant August Hurricanes

Category 5 Hurricane Allen (8-7-1980)  Source: NOAA

While Hurricane Andrew (1992) was a significant August hurricane, there are several other important storms that occurred in the 15 years prior to Andrew.

Hurricane Bob (1991) – Bob was a rare major hurricane to effect the Mid-Atlantic and northeastern United States.  Bob became a Category 3 hurricane with sustained winds of 115 mph while near the North Carolina Outer Banks and caused significant coastal erosion as it headed northward.  It weakened to Category 2 intensity before making landfall in Rhode Island on August 19.  Bob was the only hurricane to make landfall in the United States during the 1991 season and caused $1.5 billion in damages (unadjusted for inflation).  It remains the last hurricane to make landfall anywhere in New England.

Hurricane Alicia (1983) – Alicia became a major Category 3 hurricane on August 18 and made landfall in Texas with sustained winds of 115 mph.  A “major” hurricane is defined as a Category 3 or higher on the Saffir-Simpson Scale.  Alicia was the first hurricane to make landfall in the United States since Allen three years earlier.  It would remain the strongest hurricane to make landfall in Texas until Hurricane Bret in 1999 according to the National Hurricane Center.  Alicia was the costliest tropical system in the United States since Agnes in 1972 and caused $2.6 billion in damages (unadjusted for inflation).

Hurricane Allen (1980) – Allen was the first named storm of 1980 and set a few key records.  On August 7, Allen reached its peak intensity with 190 mph sustained winds and a minimum central air pressure of 899 millibars (standard sea level air pressure is approximately 1013 millibars).  Allen had the distinction of being the earliest Category 5 hurricane on record in the Atlantic Ocean, until Emily became a Category 5 on July 16, 2005.  Allen’s sustained winds remain the highest observed in any Atlantic hurricane and its minimum central air pressure makes it the Atlantic’s 5^th strongest hurricane on record.  Allen was also the first hurricane to intensify into a Category 5 on three separate occasions before it ultimately made landfall in south Texas as a Category 3 hurricane.

Hurricane David (1979) – David reached peak intensity on August 31 as a Category 5 storm with sustained winds of 175 mph and a minimum central air pressure of 924 millibars.  David remains a notorious storm in the Caribbean Sea since it not only caused extensive damage to a number of islands, but was one of the Dominican Republic’s deadliest hurricanes claiming over 2,000 lives.  Hurricanes bring copious amounts of rain and when an intense hurricane also brings high winds and storm surge, the results are often deadly.

There have been fewer hurricanes than average in the Atlantic Ocean during each season since 2013.  Just last week the Gulf of Mexico set a new record for longest period of time without a hurricane.  The last major hurricane to make landfall in the United States was Hurricane Wilma in October 2005.  Wilma was also the last hurricane to make landfall in the state of Florida.