AUSTIN (KXAN) — We have spent some time in recent weather chats discussing the low number of tropical storms and hurricanes this season in the Atlantic Basin. We focused much of these discussions on August.
As we turned the calendar from August to September there was a slight increase in the amount of tropical activity. However, of the three systems being monitored by the National Hurricane Center, one was an area of low pressure (in the northwest Gulf) and the two over the Atlantic were tropical waves. One of those died off Saturday afternoon. It did not look like any of the other two would become named storms before August ended.
Will the tropical weather season ramp up this month?
According to the Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory, a division operating under NOAA (the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration), the answer is YES.
Statistics show that 1,062 hurricanes have occurred in the Atlantic/Caribbean/Gulf between 1851 and 2024. The number that have happened in September is 425. This easily tops the 253 that developed in August.
There are other numbers that verify September being busy: 714 tropical storms, 169 major hurricanes and 63 U.S. landfalling hurricanes.
The reason is simple. Tropical storms and hurricanes need warm ocean waters. It is September when these waters have reached their highest temperatures. Water temperatures during September can climb as high as the middle 80s to around 90° Fahrenheit. We see more of these numbers over the Caribbean and the Gulf.
September is also the month with low wind shear. It’s also when the dry air from the Sahara is pretty much gone.
This is particularly true today. Some locations in the western Gulf where the water temperature is closing in at 90°, including Port Mansfield. Water temperatures begin a slow fall as we enter October and particularly November.
There have been several landfalling hurricanes that have made the history books. The worst? The Great Galveston Hurricane of 1900. The hurricane made landfall early on September 9th weakening from a Category 4 storm with winds up to 145 mph the day before.
The numbers tell the story of this being the deadliest weather disaster in United States history as the hurricane claimed the lives of at least 8,000 and leaving more than 10,000 homeless. This may be the only hurricane where a name wasn’t needed.
Another “memorable” hurricane was Carla in 1961. Hurricane Carla roared into the record books on September 11th when it struck Matagorda Island, south of Port O’Connor. Maximum sustained winds were 145 mph.
Carla’s trek through Texas resulted in 34 fatalities and at least $300 million in losses. Nearly 2,000 homes were destroyed.
The most recent hurricane to hit our state was in September 2021. It happened early on the 14th when Hurricane Nicholas struck the eastern part of the Matagorda Peninsula. It menaced the Texas coast with Category 1 winds of 75 mph. Fortunately, no deaths or injuries were reported.
Prior to that, another costly hurricane struck the Texas coast. Hurricane Ike made landfall early on the morning of September 13th near Galveston with winds of 110 mph, a Category 2 hurricane. This hurricane killed 74 people. It caused $29.5 billion in damage making it one of the most devastating hurricanes in our country’s history.
The peak of the hurricane season is Sept. 10.