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The official Atlantic hurricane season runs from June through November, but occasionally storms form outside those months. Seasonal hurricane forecasting from Colorado State University is available here.
A tropical cyclone is a rotating low-pressure weather system that has organized thunderstorms but no fronts, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Hurricanes are tropical cyclones which have sustained winds of 74 mph. At this point a hurricane reaches Category 1 on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale, which has a range of 1 to 5, based on the hurricane's intensity at the time of landfall at the location experiencing the strongest winds. The scale provides examples of the type of damage and impacts in the United States associated with winds of the indicated intensity. It does not address the potential for other hurricane-related phenomena such as storm surge, rainfall-induced floods and tornadoes.
The chart below shows insured losses in dollars for the top 10 costliest hurricanes in the United States when they occurred and in 2021 dollars, adjusted for inflation. According to Aon, Katrina was the costliest hurricane on record, causing $65 billion in insured losses when it occurred in 2005, including losses from the NFIP. Losses from Katrina totaled $89.7 billion in 2021 dollars.
($ millions)
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(1) Includes Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands and losses sustained by private insurers and government-sponsored programs such as the National Flood Insurance Program. Includes hurricanes that occurred through 2021. Subject to change as loss estimates are further developed. As of February 2, 2022. Ranked on insured losses in 2021 dollars.
(2) Adjusted for inflation by Aon using the U.S. Consumer Price Index.
Source: Aon.
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(1) Atlantic Basin.
(2) Includes fatalities from high winds of less than hurricane force from tropical storms.
(3) Includes one hurricane (Hanna) which made landfall as a tropical storm.
(4) Hurricane Ida, which made landfall as a tropical storm.
(5) Excludes Hurricane Sandy which made landfall as a post-tropical storm.
(6) All fatalities in 2019 are from storms that did not make landfall in the United States.
Source: Insurance Information Institute from data supplied by the U.S. Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Hurricane Center.
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(1) The risk categories are cumulative and increase in value from Category 1 to Category 5. Category 1 represents the higher risk of damage from a weak hurricane; Category 5 includes Categories 1 to 4 and the low risk of damage from a Category 5 hurricane.
(2) Measured in units.
(3) Storm surge risk for Category 5 storms for homes on the northeastern Atlantic Coast is not shown due to the extremely low probability of a Category 5 storm affecting these areas.
(4) Represents the cost to completely rebuild including labor and materials by geographic location.
Source: CoreLogic®, a property data and analytics company.
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(1) Includes events from 1978 to December 31, 2021 as of March 9, 2022. Defined by the National Flood Insurance Program as an event that produces at least 1,500 paid losses. Stated in dollars when occurred.
Source: Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) data; analysis courtesy of Aon.