As hurricane season begins on June 1, predictions for the season have ranged from "very active" to "below average."
Part of the uncertainty around what 2023 has in store comes from the question of when El Niño will develop. Currently expected in the summer if not earlier, El Niño's environmental conditions include warmer Pacific waters, weaker trade winds, and heavier rain in the Southeast and Gulf Coast regions. While flooding may become more prominent, the Atlantic hurricane season is often less active during El Niño years.
2022's Atlantic hurricane season, which lasted roughly from June 1 to Nov. 30, was quieter than meteorologists predicted, but it still contained one of the most damaging storms in history: Hurricane Ian.
In the immediate aftermath of Ian's landfall, at least 2.5 million households in Florida lost power. Storm surges caused life-threatening floods throughout West and Central Florida. Roads, bridges, and homes were destroyed, and excessive rains caused inland rivers to break record flood levels. Ian continued to move up the Atlantic Coast before making landfall again, this time as a Category 1 storm in South Carolina.
Whether or not 2023 ends up having a high number of storms, a single hurricane can cause billions of dollars in damage, not to mention the physical and emotional toll it takes on those in its path.
Hurricane recovery plans include everything from the basic distribution of food and water supplies to the rebuilding of highways, energy grid improvements, and far-reaching infrastructure upgrades. Recovering after extensive hurricane damage can take years and can sometimes be sidetracked by additional storms.
Stacker dug into NOAA data to extrapolate the costliest hurricanes of all time. In this gallery, you'll find the peak category of the storm, the year it occurred, and how much damage it caused. Tropical storms, defined as cyclones with winds less than 74 mph, are not included in the analysis. The data includes hurricanes that impacted Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the costs listed are in current U.S. dollars, which have been adjusted for inflation. This data also addresses the cost of these hurricanes to the U.S. (and its territories), not to other countries or regions. More information on the methodology can be found at the National Hurricane Center.
Read on for the costliest hurricanes of all time.
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