Michael and other Significant October Hurricanes

Hurricane Nate nearing landfall in October 2017  (Source: NOAA)

Michael was upgraded to hurricane status late this morning as it entered the southern Gulf of Mexico.  The National Hurricane Center currently expects Michael to be a major Category 3 hurricane when it approaches the Florida panhandle on Wednesday.  Let’s look at some other hurricanes that have impacted the United States in October. 

2017:  Hurricane Nate, made two landfalls in the United States in southeast Louisiana and near Biloxi, Mississippi on October 7-8 as a Category 1 hurricane.  According to the National Weather Service, Hurricane Nate at one point was moving 28 mph which set a record for fastest moving hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico.  It was also one of 10 consecutive hurricanes that developed last year in the Atlantic Ocean for the first time since 1893. 

2016: Hurricane Matthew was the first Category 5 hurricane to develop in the Atlantic Ocean since 2007.  That’s the second longest streak between Category 5 hurricanes on record in the Atlantic, behind the 15 years between the 1938 “New England” hurricane and Hurricane Carol in 1953.  At peak intensity with 165 mph sustained winds on October 1, Matthew weakened before it impacted Florida and the southeast coast of the United States.  The Carolinas saw record flooding that was eclipsed last month by Hurricane Florence.  

2002: Hurricane Lili reached peak intensity on October 2 while over the open Gulf of Mexico as a Category 4 storm with sustained winds of 145 mph.  Fortunately, Lili weakened precipitously before its landfall in Louisiana as a Category 1 hurricane.  It was the first hurricane to make landfall in the United States since Floyd in 1999.

1995:  At peak intensity on October 4, Opal was a powerful Category 4 storm with sustained winds of 150 mph and a minimum central air pressure of 916 millibars (mb).  The lower the air pressure, the stronger the storm is.  Standard sea level air pressure is approximately 1013.25 (mb).  Hurricane Opal broke the existing record set by Hurricane Gloria in 1985 (919 mb) for lowest air pressure in an Atlantic hurricane that did not reach Category 5 intensity.  By comparison, the lowest air pressure in Category 5 Hurricane Matthew was 934 mb two years ago. 

Although Opal weakened before landfall, it was still a major, Category 3 hurricane when it came ashore near Pensacola Beach, FL on October 4.  It had significant, far-reaching impacts both on the coast and inland.  The remnants of Hurricane Opal brought 1.99” of rain to the Nation’s Capital on October 5 and spawned three tornadoes in the Maryland (one each in Charles, Prince George’s and Anne Arundel Counties).