PlainHazard

Tropical Storm

NOAA Storm Events type · 7,151 records since 1996 · 36 states and territories

The National Weather Service defines tropical storm as: "A tropical cyclone in which the 1-minute sustained surface wind ranges from 34 to 63 knots (39 to 73 mph)." NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 7,151 tropical storm records from 1996 through June 30, 2026, the most in Georgia (1,979), with 290 deaths recorded.

How the National Weather Service files tropical storm

A tropical cyclone in which the 1-minute sustained surface wind ranges from 34 to 63 knots (39 to 73 mph). A Tropical Storm should be included as an entry when these conditions are experienced in the WFO’s CWA. The tropical storm may be associated with many individual hazards, such as storm tide, freshwater flooding, tornadoes, debris flows, rip currents, etc.
National Weather Service Instruction 10-1605, Storm Data Preparation (July 26, 2021), Appendix A, entry 49

Source: National Weather Service Instruction 10-1605. Read the instruction (PDF).

Tropical Storm, 1996 to 2026

Records per year (2026 to June 30, 2026).

  • recorded, no damage figure
  • under $10 million
  • $10 million or more
  • $100 million or more
  • $1 billion or more, or 100 deaths
  • $10 billion or more, or 1,000 deaths
  • a year's colour: its recorded damage or deaths
  • a year with a death
Records
7,1511996 to June 30, 2026
Deaths
290430 injuries
Damage, 2025 dollars
$27.1Bas filed (scale steps before 1993)
Counties with a record
1,133of 3,266

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026. Search the record at NCEI.

Where do tropical storm records happen?

States

  1. Georgia 1,979
  2. Florida 1,357
  3. North Carolina 644
  4. Louisiana 531
  5. South Carolina 417
  6. Texas 322
  7. Alabama 312
  8. Mississippi 273
  9. Virginia 221
  10. Arkansas 149
  11. Puerto Rico 129
  12. New Jersey 108
  13. Maryland 101
  14. Massachusetts 95
  15. New York 85

Counties

  1. Charleston County, SC 68
  2. Chatham County, GA 57
  3. Monroe County, FL 55
  4. St. Bernard Parish, LA 45
  5. Jefferson Parish, LA 43
  6. Plaquemines Parish, LA 38
  7. Brevard County, FL 38
  8. Jackson County, GA 35
  9. Lafourche Parish, LA 34
  10. Pinellas County, FL 34

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database (forecast-zone records count on every county the zone covers).

When do tropical storm records happen?

65% of its tropical storm records since 1996 fell in August and September. The busiest month is September.

The values, month by month

Jan 5 · Feb 1 · Mar 6 · Apr 7 · May 85 · Jun 543 · Jul 568 · Aug 1,731 · Sep 2,917 · Oct 1,004 · Nov 279 · Dec 5 (records).

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began.

The deadliest tropical storm records

The tropical storm records with the most deaths
DateRecordCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
2001-06-05 Tropical StormHarris County, TX · forecast zone Harris Tropical Storm Allison formed in the northwest Gulf of Mexico during the early afternoon of June 5th, 80 miles south of Galveston. Allison moved northward, making landfall on the west end of Galveston Island between midnight and 1am on the 6th, less than 12 hours after forming. As Allison moved inland it caused two to ... 22 0 $8.4B
2017-09-09 Tropical StormBroward County, FL · forecast zone Metro Broward County Hurricane Irma produced maximum sustained winds generally between 50 and 70 mph, with possible isolated spots of sustained wind to hurricane force. Gusts of 80 to 100 mph were common across most of metro Broward County. These winds produced heavy tree, fences and power pole damage. Structural damage was mostly minor. ... 21 0 –
2024-09-27 Tropical StormAiken County, SC · forecast zone Aiken Widespread tree and power line damage throughout the county. Falling trees caused damage to structures across the county. At least 1323 homes sustained some level of damage including 35 destroyed and 326 with major damage. South Carolina Forestry estimated 4.3 million dollars in timber loss. Most of the county was ... 10 0 $53M
2015-03-11 Tropical StormMarshall Islands, MH · forecast zone Marshall Islands On the night of the 9th of March, scatterometer data indicated a circulation south of Majuro near 4N172E. By the afternoon of the 11th it had moved to about 80 miles south of Majuro. By that night the circulation increased it's distance from Majuro and gained enough strength to become Tropical Depression 03W. The ... 9 0 $2.6M
2024-09-27 Tropical StormRichmond County, GA · forecast zone Richmond Significant widespread tree and power line damage throughout the county resulting in widespread, extended power outages. Falling trees and wind caused substantial structural damage across the county. At least 1386 homes sustained some level of damage including 63 destroyed and 426 with major damage. Max winds at ... 7 0 $471M
2017-09-10 Tropical StormOrange County, FL · forecast zone Orange Category 3 Hurricane Irma made landfall near Naples during the late afternoon of September 10. Irma then moved northward across west-central Florida during the evening and overnight while weakening to a Category 2 hurricane approximately 60 miles west of Orlando. A long duration of damaging winds occurred across ... 6 0 $132M
2024-10-09 Tropical StormOrange County, FL · forecast zone Orange Orange County Emergency Management reported scattered instances of downed trees and powerlines due to Hurricane Milton’s winds which surface observations indicate peaked between 55 to 75 mph, locally as high as 87 mph. Rainfall totals ranged between 4 to 8 inches and locally up to 10 inches, which did lead to ... 5 0 $1.5M
2024-09-27 Tropical StormNewberry County, SC · forecast zone Newberry Widespread trees and power lines downed. Many roads closed, some for an extended period of time. Large sections of the county were without power. Falling trees damaged numerous structures across the county. At least 128 homes sustained some level of damage including 10 destroyed and 41 with major damage. South ... 5 0 $21M

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, deaths direct and indirect as filed.

The most recent tropical storm records

To June 30, 2026
DateRecordCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
2026-06-17 Tropical StormGalveston County, TX · forecast zone Coastal Galveston 0 0 –
2026-06-17 Tropical StormGalveston County, TX · forecast zone Bolivar Peninsula 0 0 –
2026-06-17 Tropical StormGalveston County, TX · forecast zone Galveston Island 0 0 –
2026-04-13 Tropical StormRota Municipality, MP · forecast zone Rota 0 0 –
2026-04-13 Tropical StormGuam, GU · forecast zone Guam 2 0 $437M
2025-08-21 Tropical StormDare County, NC · forecast zone Hatteras Island 0 0 –
2025-08-21 Tropical StormDare County, NC · forecast zone Northern Outer Banks 0 0 –
2025-08-21 Tropical StormCurrituck County, NC · forecast zone Eastern Currituck 0 0 –

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database.

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