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2017 Atlantic Hurricane Season By The Numbers: An Extremely Active Season
November 3, 2020
By WeatherBug Meteorologist, Alexa Maines
The destructive 2017 Atlantic hurricane season is finally over. As we head into the quieter winter months, it’s time to look back on this season. Here are a few statistics to summarize this year’s tropical trouble:
Number of storms, including depressions: 18
Number of named storms (sustained winds of at least 39 mph): 17
Number of hurricanes (sustained winds of at least 74 mph): 10
Number of major hurricanes (Category 3 and stronger): 6
Total fatalities: At least 464 (63 from Harvey, 134 from Irma, at least 97 from Maria, 43 from Nate)
Estimated total damages: $316 billion
In early September, Irma, Jose and Katia marked the first time three hurricanes were active in the Atlantic Ocean at the same time.
Irma and Harvey marked the first year on record that the U.S. has been impacted by two category 4 or stronger hurricanes in the same year. Harvey made landfall in southern Texas in late August and Irma made landfall in southern Florida in early September.
Although there were six major hurricanes this season, hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria impacted land the most. These three storms caused billions of dollars in damages to the Caribbean and U.S. and smashed several major records.
Estimated damages: More than $198 billion, making it the costliest tropical cyclone on record. More than $160 billion of the damages occurred in Texas.
Maximum sustained winds: 134 mph
Strength at U.S. landfall: 130 mph (Category 4)
More than 51 inches of rain fell in Cedar Bayou, Texas, setting a record for the most rainfall from a tropical cyclone in the United States.
Fatalities: 91 (88 in Texas)
Intense wind and floodwater damaged more than 200,000 homes and destroyed more than 12,000 homes.
More than one million cars were destroyed.
The average price of gasoline rose from $2.35 to $2.49 per gallon due to damage of Gulf Coast oil refineries.
Hurricane Irma
Dates: August 30 to September 16
Locations affected: Cape Verde, Windward Islands, Greater Antilles, Turks and Caicos Islands, the Bahamas, Florida and the southeastern U.S.
Strength at U.S. landfall: 130 mph (Category 4)
Maximum sustained winds: 185 mph
Fatalities: At least 134 (90 in Florida, 11 in Saint Martin and 10 in Cuba)
Estimated damages: More than $64 billion across the Windward Islands and U.S.
Leveled portions of the Windward Islands, including Barbuda, the British and U.S. Virgin Islands and Saint Martin.
The strongest recorded hurricane winds recorded that far east in the Atlantic basin
More than 5 million people were evacuated across Florida
The first storm on record to maintain 185 mph winds for 37 consecutive hours
The size of Irma spanned more than 300,000 square miles, making it larger than Texas.
Hurricane Maria
Locations affected: The Lesser Antilles, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Haiti, the Turks and Caicos Islands, the Bahamas and the U.S. East Coast Maximum sustained winds: 175 mph (Category 5)
Official death toll: At least 97 in Puerto Rico
Estimated damages: More than $51 billion, mainly in Puerto Rico, making it the fifth-costliest hurricane on record and the costliest in Puerto Rican history
All 3.4 million Puerto Rican residents were without power after the storm
95 percent of Puerto Rico’s cellular networks were down after the storm
Puerto Rico’s NEXRAD doppler weather radar was blown away by the wind