October is still hurricane season: The most destructive storms in U.S. history

Ah, October: Pumpkins, falling leaves, Halloween decorations … and hurricanes?

Yes, October is still hurricane season, and there have been no shortage of destructive, deadly storms in past Octobers. From Mitch and Sandy to Wilma and Hazel, memorable October hurricanes have left their mark over the decades.

"When you think of October, you think of well, football, fall foliage … but October is the third-busiest month of hurricane season that starts in June and ends in November,” AccuWeather chief on-air meteorologist Bernie Rayno said in an online report.

In fact, two of the deadliest hurricanes in the Atlantic basin’s history developed in October – and the strongest hurricane to ever churn in the ocean also brewed during the tenth month, AccuWeather said.

Hurricane Mitch

The deadliest October hurricane was Mitch in 1998, which killed thousands of people in Central America. "It stalled over Central America and killed nearly 20,000 people," AccuWeather senior meteorologist Dave Samuhel said. Mitch is considered the second-deadliest Atlantic hurricane in recorded history.

This hurricane, at its peak intensity, had 180 mph winds, making it a Category 5 hurricane. Mitch bottomed out with a minimum central pressure of 905 millibars … the fourth-lowest pressure ever recorded for a hurricane in the Atlantic basin this century. Millibars measure barometric pressure: the lower the pressure, the more intense the storm. 

Mitch made landfall in Honduras as a Category 1 hurricane, but it battered the offshore islands with high winds, waves and storm surge, NOAA said.

"The greatest impact, however, was from the widespread heavy rain and severe flooding in Honduras, Nicaragua, Guatemala and El Salvador that left thousands dead or missing and caused tremendous property, infrastructure and crop damage in Central America," according to a report from NOAA.

As a result of the hurricane, roughly 2.7 million people were left homeless. Mitch's flooding caused extreme damage, estimated at over $6 billion in U.S. dollars.

Superstorm Sandy

Even though Sandy was not technically a hurricane when it hit New Jersey in October 2012, Sandy is a prime example of a monster October storm that caused devastation and years of cleanup for some communities, AccuWeather said.

The storm, also known as "Superstorm Sandy," unleashed catastrophic storm surge flooding, claimed 159 lives in the mid-Atlantic and northeastern U.S. caused in excess of $70 billion in damage, making it one of the costliest natural disasters in U.S. history, according to NOAA.

In the United States, Superstorm Sandy affected 24 states, with particularly severe damage in New Jersey and New York. Its storm surge hit New York City on Oct. 29, flooding streets, tunnels and subway lines and cutting power in and around the city.

Hurricane Wilma

Wilma was a classic October hurricane, which struck South Florida as a Category 3 on October 24, 2005. Wilma developed on the afternoon of October 15, 2005 from a tropical depression in the Caribbean Sea near Jamaica, a typical source region for October tropical cyclones, the National Weather Service said.

It rapidly intensified from a Category 1 hurricane to a Category 5 behemoth with winds of 185 mph in just 24 hours. Wilma was blamed for more than 20 fatalities and also is listed as the ninth-costliest tropical cyclone in U.S. history, NOAA said.

Wilma underwent a rapid intensification cycle which began on October 18th and ended in the early morning hours of October 19th, with a central barometric pressure decrease of an incredible 88 millibars in only 12 hours, NOAA said. The central pressure reached 882 millibars, making Wilma the most intense hurricane ever in the Atlantic Basin, a full 6 millibars lower than Hurricane Gilbert in September 1988.

Wilma holds the Atlantic record not only for lowest pressure but also for the fastest 24-hour intensification rate on record for an Atlantic hurricane, according to Colorado State University meteorologist Phil Klotzbach.

"It is also the costliest hurricane in Mexican history," Samuhel said, explaining that the powerful storm remained nearly stationary over Cancun and Cozumel as a Category 4 hurricane.

Hurricane Hazel

With an estimated loss of 1,200 lives and $381 million in damages, Hurricane Hazel was the deadliest and costliest storm of the 1954 hurricane season, the weather service said.

Because of the storm's rapid movement, it traveled northward through the United States to areas that were not prepared for such an event. Besides the violent winds, much of the damage was caused by heavy rains, which in some areas fell at a rate of 12 inches in less than 24 hours.

Of the estimated $281 million in damages caused by Hazel in the United States, more than half occurred in the Carolinas ($136 million in North Carolina and $38 million in South Carolina).

"Hurricane Hazel in 1954 was the only hurricane to hit North Carolina as a Category 4 storm. It was moving quickly, and caused devastating winds from the Carolinas to Canada. Winds gusted over 90 mph in Washington, DC," Samuhel said.

A gust of 113 mph was reported at Battery Park, in New York City, which was pummeled by Sandy decades later. But the storm didn't stop there. "Hazel produced the worst flooding in the history of Toronto," Samuhel said of the storm's journey into Canada.

In addition to the four storms listed here, other notorious October hurricanes include Michael, Matthew, Opal, and Gladys.

How common are hurricane landfalls in October?

Since 1950, 19 hurricanes have made a U.S. landfall in October, not including Sandy since it did not officially make landfall as a tropical cyclone. Ten of those 19 hurricane hits occurred in Florida.

Where do storms typically form in October?

By October, the formation zones of tropical storms and hurricanes shift westward toward the western Caribbean Sea, eastern Gulf of Mexico (renamed by the U.S. government as Gulf of America) and far western Atlantic Ocean. Storms can develop in these warm waters of the Caribbean and Gulf.

In the Gulf, low-pressure troughs during early winter can pick up these storms and propel them toward Florida.