What was the most intense hurricane ever

The George Washington University, with the help of other educational institutions and Puerto Rican authorities, analyzed data and other factors to get to the current and accepted fatality count of 2, [3]. This places Hurricane Maria as the deadliest hurricane to make landfall on an inhabited U. It would also place it as the second-deadliest hurricane to strike the United States or its territories. Along with being the deadliest hurricane, Hurricane Maria was also the costliest hurricane to hit an inhabited U.

Hurricane Maria tracked in a northwest direction across the main island of Puerto Rico. There was not a single municipality on the island that was not affected by this hurricane. The destruction was so widespread that shortly after the hurricane went through, all of Puerto Rico was declared a Federal Disaster Zone.

The Okeechobee Hurricane, also known as the San Felipe Segundo Hurricane, had the highest wind speed at landfall of any hurricane to impact an inhabited U. It had wind speeds of miles per hour when it made landfall in Puerto Rico in Damage from the Great Galveston Hurricane Damage from the Galveston Hurricane of was caused by the hurricane itself and its resulting storm surge. Deadliest Hurricanes in U.

Costliest Hurricanes in U. Damage costs adjusted for inflation to dollars. Data from NOAA. Blake, Christopher W. Landsea, and Ethan J. Find Other Topics on Geology. Maps Volcanoes World Maps. Damage from the Great Galveston Hurricane. Deadliest Hurricanes in United States History.

Costliest Hurricanes in United States History. Hurricanes with the Highest Wind Speed at Landfall. Hurricane Category. Largest Hurricanes to Hit Inhabited U. Tallest Mountain. Largest Tsunami. Hurricane Michael made a catastrophic Category 5 landfall on Oct.

The estimated minimum central pressure was millibars and maximum sustained winds were determined to be mph in post-storm analysis. Landfall on Record. The majority of continental U. Category 4 and 5 hurricane landfalls have typically happened in August or September, but Michael made landfall in the Florida Panhandle in October, unusually late for such a strong landfall in the U.

Michael produced devastating storm surge, wind damage and flooding. Katrina struck both Florida and the central Gulf Coast as a damaging hurricane, but its greatest fury was reserved for its second landfall in Louisiana. Katrina made landfall near Buras, Louisiana, with a pressure of millibars. It remains the lowest pressure on record for a Category 3 landfall. Katrina was a large hurricane, guaranteeing a devastating storm surge that was estimated as peaking at nearly 28 feet around Waveland and Pass Christian, Mississippi, the highest surge on record in the U.

The surge penetrated six miles inland across most of southern Mississippi and up to 12 miles inland along bays and rivers. Over people lost their lives in Mississippi, mostly due to the surge. Michael's winds puts it just shy of a Category 5 storm the cut off is mph. But that's not the only element of a hurricane that causes damage. Flooding from heavy rain and storm surge , metrics those categories don't take into account, often pose the biggest threats to human life and property. To put big storms into perspective, here are 11 hurricanes that topped the charts as the strongest in the Atlantic Ocean, based on their maximum sustained wind speeds.

Hurricane Katrina intensified to a Category 5 with winds up to mph in the Gulf of Mexico, before striking Louisiana as a Category 3 storm. Katrina was the third deadliest hurricane in US history, with more than 1, deaths. About 25 years ago, the Category 5 Hurricane Andrew ripped through Florida with mph winds , leaving millions without power and many neighborhoods completely destroyed.

Camille caused more than deaths and is considered one of the most intense hurricane to hit the US based on its pressure, which was measured at millibars.

The more intense a hurricane is, the lower its pressure. Its strong winds and storm surge had devastating consequences. Hurricane Mitch hit Central America with mph winds in The storm led to disastrous flooding in Honduras. It's often referred to as the " forgotten storm " of the horrific season. An unnamed storm that tore up the Florida Keys over Labor Day in is still considered one of the "most intense" storm in US history, based on wind speeds and pressure.

Most victims were in Louisiana, but neighboring Mississippi also was hard hit. That ranked as the most expensive storm in U. South in More than a dozen people were directly killed by the storm in Florida, with others dying of indirect causes.

The hurricane destroyed the Texas town of Indianola, which at the time was vying with Galveston to become the state's main port. Several dozen people were killed in the storm, which also ended a catastrophic drought in the region.