The 2017 Atlantic Hurricane Season – By the Numbers

The 2017 Atlantic Hurricane Season - By the Numbers
Satellite image of powerful Hurricane Irma to the north of Cuba – Courtesy of CIRA

The 2017 Atlantic Hurricane Season ended quietly on Saturday, November 30th. The season had a fast start with a storm before the official start of the season and five named storms by August 1st. The 2017 season had more of a typical peak with 8 of its 10 hurricanes forming between August 7th and October 1st.

There were six major hurricanes, and two were Category Five in Hurricane Irma and Hurricane Maria. Hurricane Harvey was a devastating Category Four Hurricane that impacted Texas. The 2017 Atlantic Season was one of the most devastating and deadliest on record.

2017 Atlantic Hurricane Season Storm Tracks
Figure 1: 2017 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 Tropical Storm Rina. Let’s take a look at the 2017 Atlantic Hurricane season by the numbers.

Total Depressions/PTCs19
Total Storms17
Named Storm Days93
Month with Most Named StormsAugust and September – 4
Total Hurricanes10
Hurricane Days51.75
Month with Most HurricanesSeptember – 5
Total Major Hurricanes6
Major Hurricane Days19.25
Month with Most Major HurricanesSeptember – 4
Category Five Hurricanes2
Category Five Days4.5
U.S. Landfalling Hurricanes4
Strongest StormHurricane Irma
Max Sustained Winds (mph)180
Lowest Pressure (mb)908
ACE224.9
Damage Costs$294.8 billion
Deaths3,369
Table 1: The 2017 Atlantic Hurricane Season by the Numbers.

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