Destructive July Hurricanes

Category 5 Hurricane Emily July 2005  (Source: NOAA)

Although July is one of the quieter months of the Atlantic hurricane season which spans six months from June through November, there have been significant hurricanes during the month.  They include the following storms.

Chris (2018):  Not a particularly strong or destructive storm, but I’m partial to mentioning my namesake storm.  “Chris” first appeared on the list of names for Atlantic tropical systems in 1982.  It has been a named storm every six years since then and was a hurricane three times, most recently in 2018. 

On July 11, 2018 it reached its peak intensity as a Category 2 storm with sustained winds of 105 mph.  Fortunately, it was a safe distance off the East Coast and west of Bermuda and didn’t have any major impacts.

Arthur (2014):  Arthur developed off the southeast coast of the United States and became a Category 2 hurricane with sustained winds of 100 mph at its peak.  It made landfall in the Outer Banks of North Carolina over the July 4 holiday, much to the consternation of beach goers.  However, the strongest part of the storm – as is typical in the Northern Hemisphere – was on the northeastern side of the storm and remained offshore.

Emily (2005):  The 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a record-setting year that the earliest Category 5 hurricane.  Hurricane Emily briefly reached Category 5 strength on July 16 with sustained winds of 160 mph and a minimum air pressure of 929 millibars (mb).  Standard sea level air pressure is 1013 mb.  Fortunately, Emily only caused minor damage in southern Texas after making landfall in northern Mexico on July 20.

A little more than a week earlier, Hurricane Dennis was the previous record-holder for strongest Atlantic hurricane to develop during July.  At peak intensity, Dennis was a Category 4 hurricane with sustained winds of 150 mph.  It weakened before making landfall near Pensacola, Florida as a Category 3 storm with sustained winds of 120 mph. 

Bertha (1996):  Often overshadowed by the stronger and more destructive Hurricane Fran that made landfall less than two months later, Hurricane Bertha was an early season Cape Verde hurricane.  At peak intensity, it was a Category 3 storm with sustained winds of 115 mph.  However, it weakened to a Category 1 storm with sustained winds of 90 mph prior to its North Carolina landfall.  This version of Bertha was a significant hurricane but the name wasn’t retired. 

Consequently, there was another Hurricane Bertha in July 2008.  This version was even stronger with sustained winds of 125 mph.  Fortunately, it never made landfall and remained over the open Atlantic Ocean.  But it was a long-lasting system, having been a tropical storm or hurricane from July 3 – July 20.  That made the 2008 version of Hurricane Bertha the longest lasting July tropical storm or hurricane on record in the Atlantic Ocean.