Hurricane Season: Facts from the US Census Bureau

The north Atlantic hurricane season begins June 1 and lasts through November 30.  With a few weeks left, we thought we would highlight some interesting statistics compiled by the US Census Bureau. 

37.3 million
Population as of July 1, 2011, of the coastal portion of states stretching from North Carolina to Texas — the areas most threatened by Atlantic hurricanes. Approximately 12 percent of the nation’s population live in these areas.
Source: 2011 Population Estimates http://factfinder2.census.gov

179,034
Collective land area in square miles of the coastal areas from North Carolina to Texas.
Source: Population estimates http://www.census.gov/popest/estimates.html

7
The number of hurricanes during the 2011 Atlantic hurricane season, four of them Category 3-strength or higher. Irene was the only hurricane to make landfall in the U.S., though Subtropical Storm Lee and Tropical Storm Don both made landfall on the Gulf Coast.
Source: National Hurricane Center http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/2011atlan.shtml

1950
The year the Weather Bureau officially began naming hurricanes.
Source: Atlantic Oceanography and Meteorological Laboratory http://www.aoml.noaa.gov/hrd/tcfaq/J6.html

Alberto
The name of the first Atlantic storm of 2012. Hurricane names rotate in a six-year cycle with the 2012 list being a repeat of the 2006 names.
Source: National Hurricane Center http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/aboutnames.shtml

2005
In one of the busiest Atlantic hurricane seasons on record, 28 named storms formed, forcing use of the alternate Greek alphabet scheme for the first time. When the National Hurricane Center’s list of 21 approved names runs out for the year, hurricanes are named after Greek letters. Of the 28 named storms in 2005, 15 were hurricanes, with four storms reaching Category 5 status (Dennis, Katrina, Rita and Wilma) and three more being considered major.
Source: Atlantic Oceanography and Meteorological Laboratory  http://www.aoml.noaa.gov/hrd/tcfaq/J6.html

Statistics from the US Census Bureau.