Number of hurricanes by Saffir-Simpson Category to strike the mainland U.S. each decade.
| Decade | Saffir-Simpson Category | All 1,2,3,4,5 | Major 3,4,5 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |||
| 1851-1860 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 20 | 6 |
| 1861-1870 | 8 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 1 |
| 1871-1880 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 7 |
| 1881-1890 | 9 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 21 | 4 |
| 1891-1900 | 8 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 21 | 8 |
| 1901-1910 | 10 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 4 |
| 1911-1920 | 8 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 20 | 7 |
| 1921-1930 | 7 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 14 | 5 |
| 1931-1940 | 9 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 21 | 5 |
| 1941-1950 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 24 | 10 |
| 1951-1960 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 17 | 6 |
| 1961-1970 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 12 | 6 |
| 1971-1980 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 4 |
| 1981-1990 | 9 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 15 | 5 |
| 1991-2000 | 3 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 14 | 5 |
| 2001-2010 | 8 | 4 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 18 | 7 |
| 2011-2020 | 11 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 19 | 4 |
| 2021-2023 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 3 |
| 1851-2023 | 128 | 81 | 65 | 28 | 4 | 305 | 97 |
| Average Per Decade | 7.4 | 4.7 | 3.7 | 1.6 | 0.2 | 17.7 | 5.6 |
Note: The number and intensities of U.S. hurricane is underestimated here before 1901 because of the sparsely populated U.S. coastline, particularly along part of Florida, Louisiana, and Texas. Howver, the values are likely complete and accurate from 1901 onward.
Christopher W. Landsea
NOAA/AOML/Hurricane Research Division
Miami, Florida
Full Report available in PDF format.
