The 2011 Atlantic Hurricane Season - By the Numbers - Hurricane Irene - Near Landfall

The 2011 Atlantic Hurricane Season – By the Numbers

The 2011 Atlantic Hurricane Season was an above-average and memorable one that thankfully ended quietly on Friday, November 30th.  The 2011 season had an above-normal number of named storms (19), hurricanes (7), and major hurricanes (4).  Only one hurricane made landfall in the United States, though.

The lone landfalling hurricane in the United States would be the most memorable.  After slamming into the Bahamas as a Category Three storm, Hurricane Irene moved north into the Outer Banks of North Carolina and then the Mid-Atlantic.  Although the storm gradually weakened, it brought tremendous rainfall to places that were already waterlogged.

Watch footage of the flooding from Hurricane Irene’s torrential rains at Greg’s Weather Center in South Plainfield, NJ, on August 28, 2011.

The strongest storm of the season was Category Four Hurricane Ophelia, but it stayed to the east of Bermuda.  The last month of the 2011 Atlantic Hurricane Season was tranquil.  Tropical Storm Sean was the last named storm of the season and dissipated on November 11th.

Let’s take a look at the 2011 Atlantic Hurricane season by the numbers.  

Total Depressions/PTCs20
Total Storms19
Named Storm Days89.75
Month with Most Named StormsAugust – 7
Total Hurricanes7
Hurricane Days26
Month with Most HurricanesSeptember – 4
Total Major Hurricanes4
Major Hurricane Days4.5
Month with Most Major HurricanesSeptember – 2
Category Five Hurricanes0
Category Five Days0
U.S. Landfalling Hurricanes1
Strongest StormHurricane Ophelia
Max Sustained Winds (mph)140
Lowest Pressure (mb)940
ACE126.3
Damage Costs$17.4 billion
Deaths118

Sources:  Colorado State University, National Hurricane Center, and Wikipedia