People don’t typically think of Vermont when they consider hurricanes. Yet Hurricane Beryl triggered a tornado watch and left many towns in Vermont in shambles. By the time Beryl hit us, she wasn’t even a hurricane. It does make me wonder just what the fastest hurricane wind speeds are.
For a hurricane to develop, water temperatures need to be over 80 degrees, which leads to more evaporation and humidity. That’s added to the fact that the earth continually rotates, which impacts atmospheric pressure. Additionally, winds in the upper atmospheric levels and formations of thunderstorms that trigger tropical waves also help hurricanes develop.
Wind speeds play a key role in determining if a system is a tropical depression (38 mph or less), tropical storm (39 to 73 mph), hurricane (74 mph or higher), or major hurricane (111 mph or higher). In 2005 and 2020, seven major hurricanes started in the Atlantic. In the Pacific, 2015 had the most major hurricanes at 11, and 1992 and 2018 came in second with 10 each.
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration , the Atlantic hurricane season runs from June through November and has an average of:
- 14 named storms
- 7 hurricanes
- 3 major hurricanes
Compare that to the Pacific hurricane season, which runs from May through November. It has an average of:
- 15 named storms
- 8 hurricanes
- 4 major hurricanes
I find it surprising how many of the fastest hurricane wind speeds are attributed to storms before or just after I was born. While many of today’s hurricanes have been deadly, the wind speeds of major hurricanes have been alarmingly high throughout recorded history. (Also, find out how far inland past hurricanes made it by reading “ The Hurricane That Made It Farthest Inland .”)
To determine the fastest hurricane wind speeds ever recorded in the United States, 24/7 Tempo reviewed data on historical hurricane tracks from 1842 to 2022 from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration . Storm track segments were ranked based on maximum sustained wind speed recorded. Only storm track segments that intersect with the contiguous United States were considered.
Source: Public Domain via the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration / Wikimedia Commons
- Maximum sustained wind speed: 120.8 mph
- Site of record: George County, MS
- Date of record: September 13, 1979
Source: Rix Pix Photography / Shutterstock.com
- Maximum sustained wind speed: 120.8 mph
- Site of record: St. Mary Parish, LA
- Date of record: September 8, 1974
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
- Maximum sustained wind speed: 120.8 mph
- Site of record: Levy County, FL
- Date of record: September 5, 1950
Source: aappp / Shutterstock.com
- Maximum sustained wind speed: 120.8 mph
- Site of record: New Haven County, CT
- Date of record: September 21, 1938
Source: Bilanol / Shutterstock.com
- Maximum sustained wind speed: 120.8 mph
- Site of record: Cameron Parish, LA
- Date of record: August 6, 1918
Source: Unidentified photographer, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
- Maximum sustained wind speed: 120.8 mph
- Site of record: George County, MS
- Date of record: July 5, 1916
Source: State Archives of Florida, Florida Memory, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
- Maximum sustained wind speed: 120.8 mph
- Site of record: Monroe County, FL
- Date of record: October 18, 1906
Source: DynamicDepths / Shutterstock.com
- Maximum sustained wind speed: 120.8 mph
- Site of record: Bay County, FL
- Date of record: October 9, 1894
Source: Elizaveta Galitckaia / Shutterstock.com
- Maximum sustained wind speed: 120.8 mph
- Site of record: Cameron Parish, LA
- Date of record: October 12, 1886
Source: Chris Graythen / Getty Images News via Getty Images
- Maximum sustained wind speed: 126.6 mph
- Site of record: St. Tammany Parish, LA
- Date of record: August 29, 2005
Source: hurricane dennis bores down on jamaica, july 7, 2005 by Edu-Tourist / BY-SA 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/)
- Maximum sustained wind speed: 126.6 mph
- Site of record: Escambia County, FL
- Date of record: July 10, 2005
Source: FEMA, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
- Maximum sustained wind speed: 126.6 mph
- Site of record: Kenedy County, TX
- Date of record: August 22, 1999
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
- Maximum sustained wind speed: 126.6 mph
- Site of record: Coffee County, AL
- Date of record: September 23, 1975
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
- Maximum sustained wind speed: 126.6 mph
- Site of record: Cameron County, TX
- Date of record: September 20, 1967
Source: NOAA / Wikimedia Commons
- Maximum sustained wind speed: 126.6 mph
- Site of record: Cameron Parish, LA
- Date of record: June 27, 1957
Source: 145Patma / Shutterstock.com
- Maximum sustained wind speed: 126.6 mph
- Site of record: Martin County, FL
- Date of record: September 4, 1933
Source: Josh Foote / Shutterstock.com
- Maximum sustained wind speed: 126.6 mph
- Site of record: Cameron County, TX
- Date of record: September 5, 1933
Source: House Severely Damaged by Storm by Arlington County / BY-SA 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/)
- Maximum sustained wind speed: 126.6 mph
- Site of record: Lafourche Parish, LA
- Date of record: September 29, 1915
Source: nycshooter / Getty Images
- Maximum sustained wind speed: 126.6 mph
- Site of record: Gilchrist County, FL
- Date of record: September 29, 1896
Source: mphillips007 / Getty Images
- Maximum sustained wind speed: 126.6 mph
- Site of record: Broward County, FL
- Date of record: August 16, 1888
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
- Maximum sustained wind speed: 126.6 mph
- Site of record: Okaloosa County, FL
- Date of record: September 10, 1882
Source: Leslie Scarbrough / iStock via Getty Images
- Maximum sustained wind speed: 126.6 mph
- Site of record: St. Mary Parish, LA
- Date of record: September 1, 1879
Source: Public Domain via Wikimedia
- Maximum sustained wind speed: 128.9 mph
- Site of record: Fort Bend County, TX
- Date of record: September 9, 1900
Source: Spencer Platt / Getty Images News via Getty Images
- Maximum sustained wind speed: 132.3 mph
- Site of record: Monroe County, FL
- Date of record: September 10, 2017
Source: Handout / Getty Images News via Getty Images
- Maximum sustained wind speed: 132.3 mph
- Site of record: Aransas County, TX
- Date of record: August 26, 2017
Source: Hulton Archive / Getty Images
- Maximum sustained wind speed: 132.3 mph
- Site of record: Jefferson Parish, LA
- Date of record: September 10, 1965
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
- Maximum sustained wind speed: 132.3 mph
- Site of record: Colleton County, SC
- Date of record: September 29, 1959
Source: Hurricane Hazel — Albion bridge by Martin Taylor / BY-SA 3.0
- Maximum sustained wind speed: 132.3 mph
- Site of record: Horry County, SC
- Date of record: October 15, 1954
Source: Supportstorm, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
- Maximum sustained wind speed: 132.3 mph
- Site of record: Miami-Dade County, FL
- Date of record: October 18, 1950
Source: Florida Keys–Public Libraries / Flickr
- Maximum sustained wind speed: 132.3 mph
- Site of record: Monroe County, FL
- Date of record: September 22, 1948
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
- Maximum sustained wind speed: 132.3 mph
- Site of record: Broward County, FL
- Date of record: September 17, 1947
Source: Florida Chuck / Shutterstock.com
- Maximum sustained wind speed: 132.3 mph
- Site of record: Monroe County, FL
- Date of record: September 15, 1945
Source: Maximillian cabinet / Shutterstock.com
- Maximum sustained wind speed: 132.3 mph
- Site of record: Kenedy County, TX
- Date of record: August 18, 1916
Source: Maximillian cabinet / Shutterstock.com
- Maximum sustained wind speed: 132.3 mph
- Site of record: Camden County, GA
- Date of record: October 2, 1898
Source: Gary Williams / Hulton Archive via Getty Images
- Maximum sustained wind speed: 138.1 mph
- Site of record: Berkeley County, SC
- Date of record: September 22, 1989
Source: Jay Phagan / Wikimedia Commons
- Maximum sustained wind speed: 138.1 mph
- Site of record: Nueces County, TX
- Date of record: August 3, 1970
Source: Severe Storms Trigger Flooding From Texas to Wisconsin by NOAASatellites / PDM 1.0 (https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/)
- Maximum sustained wind speed: 138.1 mph
- Site of record: St. Mary Parish, LA
- Date of record: August 10, 1856
Source: 2022 Getty Images / Getty Images News via Getty Images
- Maximum sustained wind speed: 139.2 mph
- Site of record: DeSoto County, FL
- Date of record: September 28, 2022
Duval Street Key West (
CC BY 2.0 ) by
Mangrove Mike - Maximum sustained wind speed: 139.2 mph
- Site of record: DeSoto County, FL
- Date of record: August 13, 2004
Source: 145Patma / Shutterstock.com
- Maximum sustained wind speed: 139.2 mph
- Site of record: Cameron County, TX
- Date of record: August 13, 1880
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
- Maximum sustained wind speed: 143.8 mph
- Site of record: Calhoun County, TX
- Date of record: September 11, 1961
Source: Keystone / Hulton Archive via Getty Images
- Maximum sustained wind speed: 143.8 mph
- Site of record: Monroe County, FL
- Date of record: September 10, 1960
Source: Pensacola 1926 After the Great Miami Hurricane by Phillip Pessar / BY 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/)
- Maximum sustained wind speed: 143.8 mph
- Site of record: Miami-Dade County, FL
- Date of record: September 18, 1926
Source: 2021 Getty Images / Getty Images News via Getty Images
- Maximum sustained wind speed: 149.6 mph
- Site of record: Lafourche Parish, LA
- Date of record: August 29, 2021
Source: sentinelhub / Flickr
- Maximum sustained wind speed: 149.6 mph
- Site of record: Cameron Parish, LA
- Date of record: August 27, 2020
Source: Triff / Shutterstock.com
- Maximum sustained wind speed: 149.6 mph
- Site of record: Aransas County, TX
- Date of record: August 20, 1886
Source: Breawna Smith / iStock via Getty Images
- Maximum sustained wind speed: 161.1 mph
- Site of record: Bay County, FL
- Date of record: October 10, 2018
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
- Maximum sustained wind speed: 166.9 mph
- Site of record: Miami-Dade County, FL
- Date of record: August 24, 1992
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
- Maximum sustained wind speed: 172.6 mph
- Site of record: Hancock County, MS
- Date of record: August 18, 1969
Source: Florida Keys–Public Libraries / Flickr
- Maximum sustained wind speed: 184.1 mph
- Site of record: Monroe County, FL
- Date of record: September 3, 1935
The post This Hurricane Recorded Winds Equivalent to an F4 Tornado appeared first on 24/7 Tempo .
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