Which states have the most hurricanes?
A total of 308 hurricanes have hit 20 U.S. states from 1851 to 2022, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). [1] No state has experienced more hurricanes during that span than Florida.
The Sunshine State has been hit by 125 hurricanes since the inception of the Saffir-Simpson wind scale. For context, Florida has seen almost twice as many hurricanes as Texas, the second-most hurricane ravaged state, in the nearly 175 years of NOAA record-keeping.
Every Atlantic and Gulf Coast state experienced a landfall hurricane, according to NOAA data. As you can see in the map above, states south of the Mason-Dixon line have been on the receiving end of most of those direct hits, accounting for 87% of all landfall hurricanes since 1851.
But just because a hurricane doesn’t make landfall doesn’t mean it can’t cause catastrophic damage to areas within its reach.
Hurricane Sandy in 2012, for example, intensified to a Category 3 storm (winds between 111 and 129 mph). However, by the time it reached Maryland, New Jersey, and New York — the states where Sandy inflicted the most damage — it had already “weakened” to a tropical storm. Sandy caused around $20 billion in damage to 16 states.
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States where major hurricanes hit the most
Of the 308 hurricanes that have made landfall in the U.S. since 1851, around 31% have been major hurricanes (Category 3 or greater). When a hurricane's maximum sustained wind speed reaches at least 111 mph, it officially becomes a major hurricane.
While Florida's 40 major hurricanes are double that of Texas, Mississippi has the highest proportion of major hurricanes in the United States. Almost 44% of Mississippi's 16 landfall hurricanes from 1851 to 2022 have been major storms.
Rank | State | Category 1 | Category 2 | Category 3 | Category 4 | Category 5 | Major hurricanes | All hurricanes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
- | Entire Atlantic & Gulf Coast | 127 | 86 | 63 | 28 | 4 | 95 | 308 |
1 | Florida | 49 | 36 | 25 | 13 | 2 | 40 | 125 |
2 | Texas | 30 | 16 | 12 | 8 | 0 | 20 | 66 |
3 | Louisiana | 25 | 20 | 13 | 5 | 1 | 19 | 64 |
4 | North Carolina | 32 | 19 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 9 | 60 |
5 | South Carolina | 17 | 9 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 32 |
6 | Alabama | 13 | 6 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 26 |
7 | Georgia | 15 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 24 |
8 | New York | 10 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 17 |
9 | Mississippi | 4 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 16 |
10 | Virginia | 11 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 14 |
11 | Massachusetts | 8 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 13 |
12 | Connecticut | 8 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 13 |
13 | Rhode Island | 6 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 11 |
14 | New Jersey | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 6 |
15 | Maine | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
16 | Maryland | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 4 |
17 | Delaware | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
18 | New Hampshire | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
19 | Pennsylvania | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
20 | Vermont | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Top 10 states with the most hurricanes
1. Florida: 125 hurricanes
The most hurricane-prone state in the country is Florida, a state that has been hit with 125 hurricanes since 1851, with 40 of those being classified as major. Although Florida hasn’t been hit with as many destructive hurricanes in recent years as some of its southern neighbors, the Sunshine State has seen many of the most deadly storms in history. Hurricane Andrew, a major hurricane that made landfall on August 24th, 1992, is the second most recent Category 5 to make landfall in the contiguous U.S. The major storm took out more than 25,000 homes in Florida alone, single-handedly forcing the residential home insurance sector to overhaul how it insures homes on the Atlantic coast. [2]
→ Take a deeper dive into hurricane season in Florida
2. Texas: 66 hurricanes
With 66 total hurricanes, 20 of which are major, Texas trails only Florida in hurricane frequency. Before 2017, the last major hurricane to strike the Texas coast was Celia back on August 3rd, 1970. But on August 25th, 2017, that changed when Hurricane Harvey hit the middle of the Texas coast. The Category 4 storm had actually weakened to a tropical depression before rapidly escalating into a major hurricane. Hurricane Harvey is one of the most devastating hurricanes in recorded history, causing around $125 billion in damages with a bulk of the destruction due to flooding after the hurricane. [3]
→ Take a deeper dive into hurricane season in Texas
3. Louisiana: 64 hurricanes
Aside from Florida, perhaps no state has been hit with more expensive and deadly storms than Louisiana. Hurricane Katrina in 2005 was by far the most destructive, killing almost 1,600 Pelican State residents and causing approximately $108 billion in damage. Since Katrina, Louisiana has been hit by seven hurricanes, including one major storm. [4]
→ Take a deeper dive into hurricane season in Louisiana
4. North Carolina: 60 hurricanes
With 60 landfall hurricanes, North Carolina is the fourth most hurricane-prone state in the country. The Tar Heel state has experienced nine major hurricanes, with the most destructive being Hurricane Hazel in 1954. The Category 4 tropical cyclone produced a storm surge of over 18 feet, killing 19 and inflicting $163 million in damages to the Carolinas. [5]
→ Take a deeper dive into hurricane season in North Carolina
5. South Carolina: 32 hurricanes
Just north of Georgia, South Carolina has a slightly longer stretch of coastline and has therefore experienced a few more direct tropical storm hits than its southern neighbor. Of the 32 landfall hurricanes South Carolina has experienced, six have been classified as major, including Hurricane Hugo in 1989. Hugo made landfall just north of Charleston as a Category 4 (wind gusts between 131–156 mph), producing the highest storm tide heights ever recorded along the U.S. East Coast and causing nearly $7 billion in damage. [6]
→ Take a deeper dive into hurricane season in South Carolina
6. Alabama: 26 hurricanes
Similar to Mississippi, Alabama has a small stretch of coastline (53 miles) but has nevertheless managed to see the 6th most hurricanes of any U.S. state. Also known for its land-based cyclones, Alabama also sees its share of hurricane warnings once hurricane season rolls around. Bama has been directly hit by 26 hurricanes since 1851, five of which have been Category 3 or higher.
→ Take a deeper dive into hurricane season in Alabama
7. Georgia: 24 hurricanes
With 24 hurricanes, five of which have been classified as major, Georgia experiences the 7th most hurricanes in the country. One of the most recent was Hurricane Michael in 2018, a hurricane that reached the Florida panhandle as a Category 5 (peak winds of 160 mph) but had weakened to a Category 2 by the time it hit the Peach State.
8. New York: 17 hurricanes
New York is the last northern state in the top 10, as it has suffered 17 direct hits from hurricanes, four of which have been Category 3 or higher. The most infamous in recent memory was Hurricane Sandy in 2012, one of the most expensive natural disasters ever. Sandy never officially made landfall in New York, but it did have hurricane-force winds by the time it arrived in the Big Apple on October 28th. The storm’s wind gusts were around 80 mph in parts of the New York Metropolitan area, all but shutting down the Tri-state area for months. [7]
9. Mississippi: 16 hurricanes
With 16 hurricanes, seven of which have been major, Mississippi is the 9th most hurricane-prone state in the country. Keep in mind that the Magnolia State only has 44 miles of coastline (second least of any state south of the Mason-Dixon line) so although Mississippi may not see many direct hits, it still experiences its share of tropical storms.
10. Virginia: 14 hurricanes
Virginia has been been hit with 14 hurricanes in recorded history, with just one major tropical cyclone reaching its coastline. Hurricane Isabel in 2003 made landfall as a Category 2 near Cape Lookout in North Carolina, before entering Virginia as a Category 1. Despite its weakened condition, Hurricane Isabel's strong winds and storm surge still managed to devastate the southeastern portion of the state and cause billions of dollars in damage to the state. The National Weather Service named it among the most significant hurricanes to hit the region since 1933's Chesapeake-Potomac hurricane. [8]
→ How to prepare for a hurricane: 9 things to do TODAY
What is a hurricane?
Now you may be asking yourself, what even is a hurricane? What separates a hurricane from, say, a tropical storm? Well, you came to the right place.
A hurricane is a type of tropical cyclone that forms when water warms up to around 80 degrees near the equator. Around spring and early summer, when the water gets warmer in the Northern Hemisphere, it turns into moist air and rises, creating what is called a low-pressure system. (Think of low pressure as clouds, precipitation, and heavy winds that spin counterclockwise inward, and high pressure as cool, dry air with calmer wind that flows clockwise outward.)
As the pressure difference between the highs and lows increases, the winds begin to pick up at the center, or “eye” (the lowest pressure area of the storm), forming a counterclockwise swirl of wind. This creates what is essentially an engine, gaining size and momentum as it moves through more warm water. Once the cyclone winds reach 74 miles per hour, it officially becomes a hurricane. The highest incidence of these storms, believe it or not, occurs during hurricane season (June 1–November 30), when the water is the warmest.
Storm surge, not wind, is the most deadly
Storm surge, not wind, is the most dangerous component of a hurricane, according to the NOAA. [9] Storm surge is water that is pushed onto land by tropical storm winds — a major hurricane can create a surge of up to 20 feet high or more, causing severe flooding and extensive property damage after landfall occurs. It’s estimated that storm surge is responsible for half of hurricane-related fatalities. [10]
Storm surge is also one of the primary culprits of uninsured property loss, as many coastal area residents are without flood insurance because they incorrectly assume their home insurance covers hurricane-related flood damage.
As hurricanes continue to intensify in size and frequency due to climate change, it’s especially important for Gulf and Atlantic Coast homeowners to have flood coverage, a type of property insurance that can cost as little as $400 a year depending on where you live.
→ Find out how much hurricane insurance you need in 2023
About the data
The NOAA data cited in this story is specifically for Category 1 through 5 hurricanes that made landfall from 1851 to 2020. [11] We also layered in supplemental research from the NOAA to include hurricanes that made landfall in the U.S. in 2021 and 2022.
Landfall is a shortened way of saying that the center of the storm reached the coast while the hurricane was still intact and hasn’t yet been downgraded to a tropical storm (winds of 39–73 mph) or tropical depression (winds of less than 39 mph).
Bear in mind it’s possible for the hurricane’s strongest winds to happen over land even if landfall doesn’t occur. On the flip side, it’s possible for a hurricane to make landfall and have its strongest winds over the water.
