The 2015 Atlantic Hurricane Season – By the Numbers

The 2015 Atlantic Hurricane Season - By the Numbers
Satellite image of Hurricane Joaquin moving into the Southern Bahamas on October 2, 2015 – Courtesy NASA.

The 2015 Atlantic Hurricane Season ended quietly on Saturday, November 30th. The season was a below average season with only 11 named storms, 4 hurricanes, and 2 major hurricanes. The 2017 season had more of a typical peak with 7 of its 11 named storms and both of its major hurricanes forming between August 1st and October 1st.

There were no Category Five Hurricanes in the Atlantic during the 2015 season.  The strongest Atlantic hurricane in 2015 was Hurricane Joaquin, which did threaten the United States for a while, but ultimately didn’t make landfall.  Nevertheless, the Category Four Hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Scale produced torrential rains in South Carolina, and also contributed to heavy rains in the Mid-Atlantic.

2015 Atlantic Hurricane Season - Storm Tracks
Figure 1: 2015 Atlantic Hurricane Season Storm Tracks – Courtesy of TroPYcal, HURDAT, and NOAA.

There was no activity during the three weeks of the season following the dissipation of Hurricane Kate. The 2015 season was the third consecutive below-average season following the very busy 2012 season that culminated with Superstorm Sandy. Let’s take a look at the 2015 Atlantic Hurricane season by the numbers. 

Total Depressions/PTCs12
Total Storms11
Named Storm Days43.5
Month with Most Named StormsSeptember – 4
Total Hurricanes4
Hurricane Days12
Month with Most HurricanesAugust – 2
Total Major Hurricanes2
Major Hurricane Days4
Month with Most Major HurricanesAugust and September – 1
Category Five Hurricanes0
Category Five Days0
U.S. Landfalling Hurricanes0
Strongest StormHurricane Joaquin
Max Sustained Winds (mph)155
Lowest Pressure (mb)934
ACE62.7
Damage Costs$813.9 million
Deaths89
Table 1: The 2015 Atlantic Hurricane Season by the Numbers.

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