List of Atlantic hurricane records

[1] Though a majority of these cyclones have fallen within climatological averages, prevailing atmospheric conditions occasionally lead to anomalous tropical systems which at times reach extremes in statistical record-keeping including in duration and intensity.

[2] The scope of this list is limited to tropical cyclone records solely within the North Atlantic Ocean and is subdivided by their reason for notability.

[4] Although this modern invention was now available, the systems were initially not fully active enough to provide daily images of the storms.

[5] Data for the North Atlantic region remained sparse as late as 1964 due to a lack of complete satellite coverage.

The most active Atlantic hurricane season on record in terms of total storms took place in 2020, with 30 documented.

[8] December, the only month of the year after the hurricane season, has featured the cyclogenesis of fourteen tropical cyclones.

[11][9][nb 2] The Atlantic hurricane season presently runs from June 1 through November 30 each year, with peak activity occurring between August and October.

Generally speaking, the intensity of a tropical cyclone is determined by either the storm's maximum sustained winds or lowest barometric pressure.

[55] Nonetheless, the pressure remains too high to list Opal as one of the ten strongest Atlantic tropical cyclones.

[11] Currently, Hurricane Wilma is the strongest Atlantic hurricane ever recorded, after reaching an intensity of 882 mbar (hPa; 26.05 inHg) in October 2005;[53] at the time, this also made Wilma the strongest tropical cyclone worldwide outside of the West Pacific,[56][57][58][59][60] where seven tropical cyclones have been recorded to intensify to lower pressures.

[11] However, with a barometric pressure of 895 mbar (hPa; 26.43 inHg), Rita is the strongest tropical cyclone ever recorded in the Gulf of Mexico.

Currently, Mitch and Dean share intensities for the eighth strongest Atlantic hurricane at 905 mbar (hPa; 26.73 inHg).

[63] Hurricane Maria is in tenth place for most intense Atlantic tropical cyclone, with a pressure as low as 908 mbar (hPa; 26.81 inHg).

[66] Many of the strongest recorded tropical cyclones weakened prior to their eventual landfall or demise.

The 10 costliest Atlantic hurricanes as of January 2023.
Monochrome radar image of a hurricane. Rain, which the radar detects, is shown as white regions. Concentric circles denote distances from the radar site, located slightly offset from the center of the image.
Radar image of Hurricane Alice (1954–55), the only Atlantic tropical cyclone on record to span two calendar years at hurricane strength
Hurricane Mitch killed at least 11,374 people in Central America in October 1998.
Tracks of the 50 mesocyclones and multiple tornado vortex signatures (denoted by inverted red triangles) identified by the NWS Office in Tallahassee Florida September 15–16, 2004.