Significant August Hurricanes

 

Hurricane Charley, 2004  (Source: NOAA)

The Atlantic hurricane season often gets much more active during the month of August with the peak of the season occurring in September.  There have been numerous memorable Atlantic hurricanes during August.

Harvey (2017): The first major hurricane of 2017, Harvey was a Category 4 with sustained winds of 130 mph at peak intensity.  When Harvey made landfall in Texas it was the first major hurricane to make landfall in the United States since Wilma in 2005.  Unfortunately, Harvey was a slow moving storm that left widespread damage at the coast as well as across inland areas.  Harvey remains one of the costliest hurricanes on record in the United States, having done approximately $136 billion in damage.

Irene (2011):  Irene was the first major hurricane of 2011.  However, Irene weakened to Category 1 status before its first landfall in North Carolina on August 27.  Its impacts were far reaching from the Mid-Atlantic to New England and caused $16.5 billion in damage.  Irene was the first hurricane to make landfall in the United States since Ike in 2008.  Many of the same areas that felt Irene’s impacts were also impacted by Sandy just over a year later in late October and early November 2012.

Charley (2004):  A relatively compact hurricane, Charley was the second major hurricane of the 2004 season.  Initially, it was feared that Charley would make landfall in the major urban area of Tampa-St Petersburg.  However, its path shifted and it came ashore near the town of Punta Gorda (south of Tampa) on August 13.  Charley made landfall as a Category 4 storm with sustained winds of 150 mph and was the strongest hurricane to make landfall in the United States since Andrew in 1992.  Hurricane Charley did roughly $23 billion in damages.

Hurricane Bob (1991) – Bob was a rare major hurricane to affect 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 $6 billion in damages.  It remains the last hurricane to make landfall anywhere in New England.  Henri was a tropical storm with 60 mph sustained winds when it made landfall in Rhode Island on August 22.