A Quiet Streak


We are experiencing the longest streak without a major hurricane striking the United States coast since good recordkeeping started in 1900. That’s no cause to be sanguine.


“It’s very important even though the climate varies and changes over long time periods that we orient our expectations according to what’s possible, not just what we’ve recently experienced.” Roger Pielke Jr., University of Colorado


A major hurricane (Category 3 or above) hasn’t struck the United States coast since Hurricane Wilma in 2005, the longest streak ever recorded. Major storms cause 85% to 90% of the total damage, but even a Category 1 storm like Hurricane Irene can cause tremendous damage. Irene was the most costly Category 1 storm ever recorded, with a great deal of damage occurring inland. Given societal changes, including tremendous coastal development, the potential economic impact of the most intense storms has increased dramatically. A return of the 1926 Great Miami Hurricane, for example, could cause damages of about $200 billion, about 10 times that of Hurricane Irene.


Copyright © 2012 by A.M. Best Company, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this report may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means; electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise.


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