2005 Atlantic hurricane season statistics

A collage of several storms during the 2005 season

The 2005 Atlantic hurricane season broke numerous records for cyclonic formation and intensity. It saw a total of thirty-one tropical and subtropical cyclones form, many of which broke records as individual storm as well as contributing to a number of season records. This article is an in-depth look at the statistics of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season.

There were 8 hurricanes, 7 of them reached major strength, the remaining a Category 1.

Number of storms

Sea surface temperatures on December 15, 2005. Areas in orange indicate temperatures at or above 28 °C (82 °F).

The 2005 Atlantic hurricane season, with 28 nameable storms (wind speed ≥ 39 mph), is the most active season on record, surpassing the 1933 season's 20 nameable storms.[1][2] With 15 hurricanes, the 2005 season also has had the most hurricanes formed, surpassing the 1969 season's 12. The season holds the record for the most major hurricanes, seven, tied the 1999 season's record of five Category 4 and 5 hurricanes and holds the record for the most Category 5 hurricanes in a single season, four (see below).

Statistics of the 2005 hurricane season compared to the August 2005 prediction.

With the formation of Tropical Storm Vince, Tropical Storm Wilma, and Tropical Storm Alpha, 2005 became the first season to use the 'V', 'W' and Greek Letter names, respectively, since naming of Atlantic storms began in the 1950 season.[1] It also has the distinction of being only the second season to use the 'R', 'S', and 'T' names. Only the 1995 season had previously used these letters.[3]

Sea surface temperatures during June through Early December

2005 holds the record for the most storms to ever form during the month of July. Five storms (Cindy, Dennis, Emily, Franklin, and Gert) formed during that period. The previous record for most storms to form in the month of July was four; this record was held by the 1966 and 1995 seasons.[2] The number of storms before the end of July (seven) is also a record, breaking the record of five set in the 1887, 1933, 1936, 1959, 1966, and 1995 seasons.[2]

2005 and 1933 share the record for the most storms (17) forming before the end of September. The 2005 season now also holds the record for most storms (24) forming before the end of October (but not the record for within the month itself, the 1950 season had eight storms). 2005 also broke the record for most storms forming in November, with 3 storms (Gamma, Delta and Epsilon).[4]

Total activity

Tropical activity during the 2005 season was unusually continuous from start to finish, unlike most hurricane seasons, which have significant quiet periods. Out of the 26 weeks in the hurricane season, just two had no tropical cyclones active at some point (the weeks of June 19 and November 6). For a 126-day stretch (June 28–October 31), only 16 didn't have a storm active and never more than three consecutive. There was record or near-record activity in every month of the season except for June.[2] The 2005 season was the first time since reliable measurements began that the Atlantic basin recorded more tropical storms than the Western Pacific Ocean, which is typically the most active basin worldwide.

Statistics

This table gives the number of storms by month of formation and storm category on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale. The meanings of the one-letter (or number) categories can be ascertained by placing the cursor on that heading.

Entries which are bolded surpassed or tied records established by previous seasons.

Month # Storms of class # Storms at least of class
D S 1 2 3 4 5 D S 1 2 3 4 5
Jan-May 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
June 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 0 0 0 0 0
July 0 2 1 0 0 1 1 5 5 3 2 2 2 1
August 1 3 0 1 0 0 1 6 5 2 2 1 1 1
September 1 0 3 0 1 0 1 6 5 5 2 2 1 1
October 1 3 2 0 1 0 1 8 7 4 2 2 1 1
November 0 2 1 0 0 0 0 3 3 1 0 0 0 0
December 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0
Season 3 13 7 1 2 1 4 31 28 15 8 7 5 4

Strongest storms

Most intense Atlantic hurricanes
Rank Hurricane Season Pressure
hPa inHg
1 Wilma 2005 882 26.05
2 Gilbert 1988 888 26.23
3 "Labor Day" 1935 892 26.34
4 Rita 2005 895 26.43
5 Allen 1980 899 26.55
6 Camille 1969 900 26.58
7 Katrina 2005 902 26.64
8 Mitch 1998 905 26.73
Dean 2007
10 "Cuba" 1924 910 26.88
Ivan 2004
Source: HURDAT[4]

Hurricane Katrina was briefly the fourth most intense Atlantic hurricane on record, with a minimum central pressure of 902 mbar on August 28.[5] It was surpassed by hurricanes Rita[6] and Wilma[7] later that season.

Hurricane Rita became the third most intense Atlantic hurricane and the most intense hurricane on record in the Gulf of Mexico after reaching a pressure of 895 mbar on September 21.[6] It was surpassed by Wilma later in the season.[7]

Hurricane Wilma became the most intense North Atlantic hurricane in recorded history shortly before 5:00 am EDT on October 18, when the central pressure was measured at 884 mbar.[7] At 8:00 am EDT, Wilma continued to intensify, reaching 882 mbar.[7] Wilma also holds the record of being the only storm recorded in the Atlantic basin to have a minimum central pressure below 900 mbar without also having Category 5 winds: on October 20 its winds were 155 mph and its central pressure was 894 mbar.[7] Katrina, Rita and Wilma are the three most intense storms ever in a single Atlantic hurricane season.

2005 was the first time two storms recorded pressures below 900 millibars in a single season (Rita, 895; and Wilma, 882).[4]

Hurricane Wilma also underwent the most rapid deepening for a 24-hour period ever measured.[7] At noon on October 18, Wilma had a central pressure of 980 mbar (28.93 inches). At noon on October 19, Wilma had a central pressure of 882 mbar (26.04 inches), a pressure fall of 98 mbar (2.89 inches),[7] breaking the previous record of 92 mbar (2.71 inches) set by Super Typhoon Forrest in the Western Pacific in 1983.[8] Some sources, however, say that Forrest's pressure was lower than originally measured (876 mbar instead of 883 mbar). This would imply that Forrest retains the record with a pressure fall of 100 mbar in 24 hours, and thus this uncertainty is noted here.

In addition, Hurricane Dennis and Hurricane Emily, both in July, reached 930 mbar[9] and 929 mbar[10] respectively, becoming the two strongest storms on record in July.[4]

Katrina was also the third most intense hurricane on record to make landfall in the United States in terms of pressure (920 mbar), behind the Labor Day Hurricane of 1935 and Hurricane Camille in 1969.[5][4]

When Emily reached Category 5 intensity on July 16, it became the earliest Category 5 hurricane ever, shattering the record set by Hurricane Allen in the 1980 season.[4][10] When Katrina reached Category 5 intensity on August 28, it became only the third time in recorded history (and the first time since the 1961 season) that there had been two Category 5 hurricanes in a single season.[5][4] When Rita reached Category 5 intensity on September 21, 25 days after Katrina, the 2005 season became the first that had three Category 5 storms.[6][4] When Wilma became a Category 5 storm on October 19, the 2005 season doubled the record set by the 1960 and 1961 seasons, becoming the first that had four Category 5 storms.[4][11]

Rapid formation

Almost every storm in 2005 has set a record for early formation. The table shows the dates on which each storm formed, and the old record for earliest-forming storm of that number.

Early formation of storms in 2005
From the NHC "best track" data[4]
Storm # Formation Day Name Previous Record Difference
1June 9ArleneJanuary 3, 1938+157 days
2June 28BretMay 17, 1887+42 days
3July 5CindyJune 11, 1887+24 days
4July 5Dennis†Cindy - July 7, 1959-2 days
5July 11EmilyDanny - July 16, 1997-5 days
6July 21FranklinAugust 4, 1936-14 days
7July 24GertAugust 7, 1936-14 days
8August 3HarveyAugust 15, 1936-12 days
9August 7IreneAugust 20, 1936-13 days
10August 22JoseJerry - August 23, 1995-1 day
11August 24KatrinaAugust 28, 1936/
Karen - 1995		-4 days
12August 31LeeLuis - August 29, 1995+2 days
13September 2MariaSeptember 8, 1936-6 days
14September 5NateSeptember 10, 1936-5 days
15September 7OpheliaSeptember 18, 1936-11 days
16September 17PhilippeOctober 1, 1933-14 days
17September 18RitaOctober 1, 1933-13 days
18October 2StanOctober 25, 1933-23 days
19October 4UnnamedOctober 26, 1933-22 days
20October 5TammyNovember 15, 1933-41 days
21October 8VincenoneN/A
22October 17WilmanoneN/A
23October 22AlphanoneN/A
24October 27BetanoneN/A
25November 18GammanoneN/A
26November 23DeltanoneN/A
27November 29EpsilonnoneN/A
28December 29ZetanoneN/A

† Hurricane Dennis was later surpassed by Tropical Storm Debby in 2012, which developed on June 23, which was surpassed by Tropical Storm Danielle in 2016.

Season effects

This is a table of all of the storms that formed in the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season. It includes their duration, names, damages, and death totals. Damage and deaths include totals while the storm was extratropical or a wave or low, and all of the damage figures are in 2005 USD.

Saffir–Simpson hurricane wind scale
TD TS C1 C2 C3 C4 C5
2005 North Atlantic hurricane statistics
Storm
name		 Dates active Storm category

at peak intensity

 Max 1-min
wind
mph (km/h)		 Min.
press.
(mbar)		 Areas affected Damage
(millions USD)		 Deaths
Arlene June 8 – June 13 Tropical storm 70 (110) 989 Cayman Islands, Cuba, United States Gulf Coast (Florida), Central United States 11.8 1
Bret June 28 – June 29 Tropical storm 40 (65) 1002 Mexico (Veracruz) 9.3 1
Cindy July 3 – July 7 Category 1 hurricane 75 (120) 991 Yucatan Peninsula, United States Gulf Coast (Louisiana), Eastern United States 320 5
Dennis July 4 – July 13 Category 4 hurricane 150 (240) 930 Lesser Antilles (Grenada), Greater Antilles (Cuba), United States Gulf Coast (Florida), Central United States 3,977 88
Emily July 10 – July 21 Category 5 hurricane 160 (260) 929 Windward Islands (Grenada), Jamaica, Yucatan Peninsula, Northeastern Mexico (Tamaulipas), South Texas 1,014 17
Franklin July 21 – July 29 Tropical storm 70 (110) 997 The Bahamas, Bermuda, Newfoundland None 0
Gert July 23 – July 25 Tropical storm 45 (75) 1005 Mexico (Veracruz) 6 1
Harvey August 2 – August 8 Tropical storm 65 (100) 994 Bermuda None 0
Irene August 4 – August 14 Category 2 hurricane 105 (165) 970 East Coast of the United States None 1
Ten August 13 – August 14 Tropical depression 35 (55) 1008 None None 0
Jose August 22 – August 23 Tropical storm 60 (95) 998 Mexico (Veracruz) 45 8
Katrina August 23 – August 30 Category 5 hurricane 175 (280) 902 The Bahamas, Florida, Cuba, United States Gulf Coast (Louisiana, Mississippi), Central United States, New England 108,000 1,836
Lee August 28 – September 2 Tropical storm 40 (65) 1006 None None 0
Maria September 1 – September 10 Category 3 hurricane 115 (185) 962 New Jersey, Iceland, Scotland, Norway 3.1 4
Nate September 5 – September 10 Category 1 hurricane 90 (150) 979 Bermuda, New Jersey None 1
Ophelia September 6 – September 17 Category 1 hurricane 85 (140) 976 East Coast of the United States, Atlantic Canada 70 3
Philippe September 17 – September 23 Category 1 hurricane 80 (130) 985 None None 0
Rita September 18 – September 26 Category 5 hurricane 180 (285) 895 The Bahamas, Florida, Cuba, United States Gulf Coast (Louisiana), Central United States 12,037 125
Nineteen September 30 – October 2 Tropical depression 35 (55) 1006 None None 0
Stan October 1 – October 5 Category 1 hurricane 80 (130) 977 Mexico (Quintana Roo, Veracruz), Central America 3,900 1,628
Unnamed October 4 – October 5 Subtropical storm 50 (85) 997 Azores None 0
Tammy October 5 – October 6 Tropical storm 50 (85) 1001 Southeastern United States (Florida) 30 0
Twenty-Two October 8 – October 10 Subtropical depression 35 (55) 1008 Mid-Atlantic states None 0
Vince October 8 – October 11 Category 1 hurricane 75 (120) 988 Madeira, Spain, Portugal Minimal 0
Wilma October 15 – October 26 Category 5 hurricane 185 (295) 882 Jamaica, Haiti, Honduras, Mexico (Quintana Roo), Cuba, Florida, The Bahamas 29,401 62
Alpha October 22 – October 24 Tropical storm 50 (85) 998 Hispaniola N/A 26
Beta October 26 – October 31 Category 3 hurricane 115 (185) 962 Panama, San Andrés and Providencia, Nicaragua, Honduras 15.5 9
Gamma November 14 – November 22 Tropical storm 50 (85) 1002 Lesser Antilles, Honduras, Belize 18 39
Delta November 22 – November 29 Tropical storm 70 (110) 980 Canary Islands, Morocco, Algeria 364 7
Epsilon November 29 – December 8 Category 1 hurricane 85 (140) 981 None None 0
Zeta December 29 – January 6 Tropical storm 65 (100) 994 None None 0
Season Aggregates
31 cyclones June 8, 2005 – January 6, 2006   185 (295) 882 159,221.7 3,913

Accumulated Cyclone Energy (ACE)

ACE (104kt²) (Source) — Storm:
1 38.9 Wilma 15 5.95 Philippe
2 32.9 Emily 16 5.39 Harvey
3 25.1 Rita 17 2.68 Vince
4 20.0 Katrina 18 2.56 Arlene
5 18.8 Dennis 19 2.36 Stan
6 15.7 Ophelia 20 1.52 Cindy
7 14.3 Maria 21 1.33 Gamma
8 13.4 Epsilon 22 0.810 Tammy
9 13.1 Irene 23 0.650 Alpha
10 7.17 Nate 24 0.528 Gert
11 6.72 Franklin 0.528 Unnamed
12 6.47 Beta 26 0.448 Jose
13 6.27 Zeta 27 0.368 Bret
14 6.02 Delta 28 0.245 Lee
Total: 250

The table to the right shows the tropical storms of the 2005 season ranked from highest to lowest Accumulated Cyclone Energy (ACE), given to three significant figures. The total for the season was 248 x 104 kt2 which is the highest seasonal ACE value recorded. It is slightly higher than that for 1950 season which had an ACE of 243 x 104 kt2. ( the final storm of the season, Zeta, lasted into 2006. In calculating the seasonal ACE, the whole ACE of Zeta, including the contribution made in 2006, was used.)

ACE measures a combination of both the strength and duration of a tropical cyclone, so longer-lasting storms may accumulate more ACE than stronger storms with shorter durations. This discrepancy is most obvious in the comparatively high ACE value of Hurricane Emily to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita: Emily was not as strong as either storm, but formed out in the Atlantic and made a long track across the Caribbean Sea before making landfall. Katrina and Rita, however, both developed in the Bahamas, close to the U.S. mainland, and lasted for much shorter periods of time. In addition, Ophelia and Epsilon are high for their intensity because they maintained themselves for a long period of time and were slow to build and dissipate, as neither was ever more intense than a Category 1 storm.

The average ACE per storm in 2005 was actually close to the seasonal average. In comparison with previous seasons with high seasonal ACE values, relatively few strong, long-lasting storms, such as Cape Verde-type hurricanes, formed. Thus, although the number of named storms in 2005 was about 40% greater than that in any season since 1950, the seasonal ACE was only marginally greater than the previous record, set in 1950 itself, when the average ACE per storm was approximately double that of 2005.

Source: Best Track data from the Tropical Cyclone Reports.[12]

Other records

Hurricane Vince developed in an unusual location in the northeastern Atlantic,[13] well away from where tropical cyclones are usually found,[14] though it is neither the most northerly-forming nor the most easterly-forming Atlantic tropical storm.[4] It did, however, develop into a hurricane further east than any known storm, at 18.9° W. The National Hurricane Center declared that Vince was the first tropical cyclone on record to have made landfall on the Iberian Peninsula.[14]

In the spring of 2006, the World Meteorological Organization retired five hurricane names: Dennis, Katrina, Rita, Stan, and Wilma. Their replacements in the 2011 season were Don, Katia, Rina, Sean, and Whitney, respectively.[15] This surpassed the previous record for the number of hurricane names retired after a single season, four (held by the 1955, 1995, and 2004 seasons).[16] The name Emily was not retired at the end of the season, making Hurricane Emily only the fourth Category 5 hurricane since 1953 to not have its name retired (Hurricane Dog of 1950 and Hurricane Easy of 1951 are omitted, as the phonetic alphabet was used from 1950–1952). The others were Hurricane Edith (1971), Hurricane Ethel (1960), and Hurricane Cleo (1958), although the name Cleo was retired in 1964 due to another storm.[16] Due to reanalysis, it was determined that Ethel and Cleo did not peak as category 5 hurricanes, making Emily the second category 5 not to be retired, following Ethel.

Tropical Storm Zeta was one of only two Atlantic systems to exist in two calendar years (the other was Hurricane Alice in 1954-55). It was also one of four to exist in the month of January (the other three being Alice, Hurricane Alex of 2016, and a subtropical storm in 1978).

Notes

  1. 1 2 NOAA (2006-04-13). "NOAA Reviews Record-Setting 2005 Atlantic Hurricane Season". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Archived from the original on 23 April 2006. Retrieved 2006-04-26.
  2. 1 2 3 4 National Climatic Data Center (2006-08-21). "Climate of 2005 Atlantic Hurricane Season". NOAA. Retrieved 2008-08-08.
  3. ↑ National Hurricane Center (1998-12-26). "The 1995 Atlantic Hurricane Season". NOAA. Retrieved 2008-08-08.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 National Hurricane Center; Hurricane Research Division (July 6, 2016). "Atlantic hurricane best track (HURDAT version 2)". United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved December 5, 2016.
  5. 1 2 3 Knabb, Richard D.; Rhome, Jamie D.; Brown, Daniel P. (2005-12-20). "Tropical Cyclone Report: Hurricane Katrina" (PDF). NOAA. Archived (PDF) from the original on 24 May 2006. Retrieved 2006-05-21.
  6. 1 2 3 Knabb, Richard D.; Rhome, Jamie D.; Brown, Daniel P. (2006-03-17). "Tropical Cyclone Report: Hurricane Rita" (PDF). NOAA. Archived (PDF) from the original on 24 May 2006. Retrieved 2006-05-21.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Richard J. Pasch; Eric S. Blake; Hugh D. Cobb III; David P. Roberts (2006-01-12). "Tropical Cyclone Report: Hurricane Wilma" (PDF). NOAA. Archived (PDF) from the original on 24 May 2006. Retrieved 2006-05-21.
  8. ↑ Joint Typhoon Warning Center. Super Typhoon Forrest. Retrieved on 2007-01-06.
  9. ↑ National Hurricane Center (2005). "Tropical Cyclone Report: Hurricane Dennis" (PDF). NOAA. Archived (PDF) from the original on 18 February 2006. Retrieved 2006-02-14.
  10. 1 2 National Hurricane Center (2006). "Tropical Cyclone Report: Hurricane Emily" (PDF). NOAA. Archived (PDF) from the original on 18 March 2006. Retrieved 2006-03-13.
  11. ↑ National Hurricane Center (2006). "Tropical Cyclone Report: Hurricane Wilma" (PDF). NOAA. Retrieved 2006-02-14.
  12. ↑ List of Tropical Cyclone Reports for the 2005 AHS
  13. ↑ Knabb (2005-10-09). "Tropical Storm Vince Advisory Number 1". National Hurricane Center. Archived from the original on 24 September 2008. Retrieved 2008-10-11.
  14. 1 2 James L. Franklin (2006-02-22). "Tropical Cyclone Report: Hurricane Vince" (PDF). NOAA. Archived (PDF) from the original on 24 May 2006. Retrieved 2006-05-04.
  15. ↑ NOAA (2006). "Dennis, Katrina, Rita, Stan and Wilma "Retired" From List of Storm Names". Archived from the original on 7 April 2006. Retrieved 2006-04-06.
  16. 1 2 "Faq : Hurricanes, Typhoons, And Tropical Cyclones". HURDAT. Retrieved 2008-09-25.

References

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