July: Do you remember?

 

Hurricane Beryl at peak intensity (Source: NOAA)

The tropical Atlantic sometimes sees an uptick in tropical storm and hurricane development during July as conditions become more favorable. Although not as busy as late August or September, there have been significant July hurricanes.

Beryl (2024): Beryl reached Category 5 intensity late on July 1. Beryl’s sustained winds were 165 mph at peak intensity, combined with a minimum central air pressure of 932 millibars (mb). Standard sea level air pressure is 1013 mb. Beryl was the earliest Category 5 Atlantic hurricane. Beryl ultimately made landfall in Texas on July 8 as a Category 1 storm. Beryl spawned a series of tornadoes in the United States and its remnants caused a total of over $7 billion in damages according to NOAA.

Chris (2018): Although it’s never been a strong or destructive storm, 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. The strongest version reached its peak intensity as a Category 2 storm on July 11, 2018, with sustained winds of 105 mph. Fortunately, it was a safe distance off the U.S. east coast and west of Bermuda and didn’t have any major impacts.

Arthur (2014): Hurricane Arthur menaced beach-goers in North Carolina over the July 4 holiday 11 years ago. Arthur became North Carolina’s earliest landfalling hurricane on record. At peak intensity, Arthur was a Category 2 hurricane with sustained winds of 100 mph and minimum central air pressure of 973 mb. It made landfall near Cape Lookout, North Carolina at this intensity early on July 4. Although damage was relatively minimal, the impacts were high since it forced holiday travelers to either leave early or postpone their travel plans altogether.

Emily (2005): The 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a record-setting year that saw 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 mb. Fortunately, Emily only caused minor damage in southern Texas, after making landfall in northern Mexico on July 20. Emily had the distinction of being the only Category 5 Atlantic hurricane in July until Beryl in 2024.