The following is a list of tropical cyclones that affected the U.S. state of Delaware. Since reliable records began, no tropical cyclone has struck the state while maintaining hurricane intensity, and only two storms since 1851 caused hurricane-force winds in the state. [1] The state often experiences the direct effects of landfalling North Atlantic tropical cyclones and from the remnants of some Pacific storms, such as rainfall or strong winds, as well as the effects of storms that remain offshore, such as rip currents or heavy surf. Since 1749, at least 111 tropical cyclones, some of which had become extratropical, have affected the state, including 21 which passed over the state.
Since 1749, 108 tropical cyclones, including some that became extratropical, have affected the state. Most have occurred in September, which coincides with the peak of the Atlantic hurricane season.
Month | Number of storms |
---|---|
June | |
July | |
August | |
September | |
October | |
November |
Most tropical cyclones that impact Delaware only cause rainfall or strong waves, though a few have caused deaths in the state. Storms that caused deaths in Delaware include:
Name | Year | Number of deaths |
---|---|---|
Unnamed | 1785 | 181 |
Unnamed | 1879 | "Probably exceed 40" |
Gale of 1878 | 1878 | 18 |
Unnamed | 1904 | 8 |
Vagabond Hurricane | 1903 | 5 |
Unnamed | 1783 | "Several" |
Floyd | 1999 | 2 |
Irene | 2011 | 2 |
Hazel | 1954 | ≥1 |
Agnes | 1972 | 1 |
Isaias | 2020 | 1 |
Tropical Storm Allison was a tropical storm that devastated southeast Texas in June of the 2001 Atlantic hurricane season. An arguable example of the "brown ocean effect", Allison lasted unusually long for a June storm, remaining tropical or subtropical for 16 days, most of which was when the storm was over land dumping torrential rainfall. The storm developed from a tropical wave in the northern Gulf of Mexico on June 4, 2001, and struck the upper Texas coast shortly thereafter. It drifted northward through the state, turned back to the south, and re-entered the Gulf of Mexico. The storm continued to the east-northeast, made landfall on Louisiana, then moved across the southeast United States and Mid-Atlantic. Allison was the first storm since Tropical Storm Frances in 1998 to strike the northern Texas coastline.
The 2003 Atlantic hurricane season was a very active season with tropical cyclogenesis occurring before and after the official bounds of the season—the first such occurrence since the 1970 season. The season produced 21 tropical cyclones, of which 16 developed into named storms; seven of those attained hurricane status, of which three reached major hurricane status. The strongest hurricane of the season was Hurricane Isabel, which reached Category 5 status on the Saffir–Simpson hurricane scale northeast of the Lesser Antilles; Isabel later struck North Carolina as a Category 2 hurricane, causing $3.6 billion in damage and a total of 51 deaths across the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States.
Tropical Storm Hanna was a moderately strong tropical storm that affected the Gulf Coast and Southeastern regions of the United States. The ninth tropical cyclone and eighth named storm of the 2002 Atlantic hurricane season, Hanna formed through the complex interaction of a surface trough, a tropical wave, and an upper-level low pressure system, a disturbance in the upper atmosphere. Designated a tropical depression at 0000 UTC on September 12, the storm remained disorganized throughout its duration, though it attained tropical storm status and a peak intensity of 1,001 mbar (29.6 inHg), with winds of 60 miles per hour (100 km/h). Hanna crossed extreme southeastern Louisiana, and made a second landfall along the Alabama–Mississippi border.
Tropical Storm Alberto was the first tropical storm of the 2006 Atlantic hurricane season. Forming on June 10 in the northwestern Caribbean, the storm moved generally to the north, reaching a maximum intensity of 70 mph (110 km/h) before weakening and moving ashore in the Big Bend area of Florida on June 13. Alberto then moved through eastern Georgia, North Carolina, and Virginia as a tropical depression before becoming extratropical on June 14.
Tropical Storm Henri was a moderate tropical storm that formed in the 2003 Atlantic hurricane season. The eighth storm of the season, Henri was one of six tropical cyclones to hit the United States in the year. Henri formed from a tropical wave in the Gulf of Mexico in early September, and crossed over Florida as a tropical depression. Its remnants later moved into the Mid-Atlantic before dissipating completely.
Hurricane Ernesto was the costliest tropical cyclone of the 2006 Atlantic hurricane season. The sixth tropical storm and first hurricane of the season, Ernesto developed from a tropical wave on August 24 in the eastern Caribbean Sea. Ernesto first affected the northern Caribbean, reaching minimal hurricane status near Haiti before weakening and moving across eastern Cuba as a tropical storm. Despite initial predictions for it to track through the eastern Gulf of Mexico as a major hurricane, Ernesto moved across eastern Florida as a weak tropical storm. After turning to the northeast, it re-intensified and made landfall on August 31 on the North Carolina coast just below hurricane status. Late the next day, Ernesto became extratropical after entering southern Virginia. The remnants spread moisture across the northeastern United States before dissipating over eastern Canada on September 4.
Tropical Storm Barry was a rapidly forming tropical cyclone that made landfall on Florida, United States, in early June 2007. The second named storm of the 2007 Atlantic hurricane season, Barry developed from a trough of low pressure in the southeastern Gulf of Mexico on June 1. It tracked rapidly northeastward, reaching peak winds of 60 mph (97 km/h) before weakening and making landfall near Tampa Bay as a tropical depression. Barry quickly lost tropical characteristics after wind shear removed much of the convection, and early on June 3, it completed the transition into an extratropical cyclone. The extratropical remnants tracked up the East Coast of the United States, and were absorbed by a larger extratropical cyclone on June 5.
The November 2009 nor'easter was a powerful autumn nor'easter that caused widespread damage throughout the east coast of the United States. This extratropical cyclone formed in relation to Hurricane Ida's remnant mid-level circulation across southeastern Georgia and moved east-northeast offshore North Carolina, before slowly dropping south and southeast over the succeeding several days. The system eventually dissipated on November 17.
The effects of Hurricane Jeanne in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States included two fatalities and $530 million in damage. Originating from a tropical wave off the coast of Africa in early September 2004, Hurricane Jeanne tracked through the Leeward Islands and Hispaniola for several days, resulting in extensive damage and an immense loss of life. After completing a clockwise loop between September 22 and 24, the storm intensified into a major hurricane before striking the Bahamas and Florida. Substantially weaker, the system turned northeastward over Georgia before affecting Delaware, District of Columbia, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia; all of those states are in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. By the evening of September 26, the Hydrometeorological Prediction Center took over responsibility of monitoring the former hurricane over Virginia.
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