Hurricanes in October

Q: How many hurricanes happen in October?

Across the 1851 to 2025 HURDAT2 record, 426 named storms have been active in October in the Atlantic basin, 228 of them at hurricane strength during the month. Counting only the modern record (1944 on, when aircraft reconnaissance began), October averages about 2.8 named storms active per year.

Q: Has a hurricane ever hit the US in October?

Yes: NOAA's landfall list records 61 October hurricane landfall events on the continental US, 17 of them major (Category 3 or higher). The most recent is Milton in 2024. The full list, with states and categories, is on this page.

Q: Is October early or late in hurricane season?

The season runs June 1 to November 30 and peaks on September 10, per NHC. October activity falls off from the September peak but shifts location, which matters if you live on the Gulf coast or in Florida.

Q: Is there a storm right now?

The panel near the top of this page republishes the latest NHC public advisories and outlook, verbatim and timestamped. The National Hurricane Center at nhc.noaa.gov publishes every active system, forecast, watch and warning, and decisions belong with it and with your local emergency management agency.

What 175 years of NOAA records show about October in the Atlantic: how much forms, what has hit the US, and where the month sits in the season.

October is part of the official Atlantic season, June 1 to November 30. Anything live belongs to the National Hurricane Center.

Named storms active in October

426

At hurricane strength

228

US hurricane landfalls

Is there a storm anywhere right now? Go to the National Hurricane Center.

The panel just below republishes the National Hurricane Center’s own latest advisories and outlook, verbatim and timestamped. Tracks, cones and forecasts are the National Hurricane Center’s. If a storm is active or approaching, NHC is the source of official forecasts and warnings, and your emergency management agency is the source of evacuation and shelter decisions.

National Hurricane Center for current storms, forecasts, watches, and warnings
Your state emergency management agency for evacuation orders and shelter information
Ready.gov hurricane preparedness for how to prepare, in FEMA’s own words

“It only takes one hurricane (or tropical storm) to cause a disaster.” NOAA Climate Prediction Center

What NHC is saying right now

Republished verbatim from the National Hurricane Center via the National Weather Service API, with NHC’s own issuance times. For anything that matters, read it at nhc.noaa.gov where it is always current.

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October in the Atlantic record

1851 to 2025, NOAA HURDAT2

426

named storms active in October

whole record, storm months

226

since aircraft recon began

1944 on, about 2.8 per year

228

months with hurricane strength

whole record

US hurricane landfall events

every October strike in NOAA's list

October activity falls off from the September peak but shifts location, which matters if you live on the Gulf coast or in Florida. Late-season storms increasingly form in the western Caribbean and Gulf, close to land, and Florida's strike record is nearly as heavy in October as in September.

The numbers

How busy October actually is

The chart shows every month for comparison, from the same HURDAT2 record; October’s column is the one to read. Because ship reports missed storms in the early record, the comparison to use is the modern one: since 1944, October has averaged about 2.8 named storms active per year.

NHC's October origin map pulls back west: the Cape Verde lane fades while the western Caribbean and Gulf stay active. See NHC’s monthly origin and track maps.

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

117

Jun

147

Jul

448

Aug

714

Sep

426

Oct

121

Nov

Dec

Named storms active by calendar month, Atlantic basin, 1851 to 2025. Derived from NOAA HURDAT2; a storm active in two months counts once in each.

The eye of Hurricane Katrina photographed from inside by a NOAA hurricane hunter aircraft, a stadium of cloud around clear blue sky — Inside the eye of Hurricane Katrina from a NOAA WP-3D hurricane hunter, August 2005. Aircraft reconnaissance began in 1944, which is why the modern per year averages on this page start there rather than 1851. “Hurricane Katrina Eye viewed from Hurricane Hunter” — NOAA — Public domain

The receipts

Every October hurricane to hit the United States

From NOAA AOML’s continental US landfall list: every hurricane whose October landfall brought hurricane conditions to at least one state. The strongest are highlighted; the list scrolls.

Year	Name	Highest US category	States affected	Pressure
2024	Milton	Cat 2	Florida	958 mb
2020	Delta	Cat 2	Louisiana	970 mb
2020	Zeta	Cat 3	Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama	970 mb
2018	Michael	Cat 5	Florida, Georgia	919 mb
2017	Nate	Cat 1	Louisiana, Mississippi	983 mb
2016	Matthew	Cat 2	Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina	963 mb
2012	Sandy	Cat 1	New York	942 mb
2005	Wilma	Cat 3	Florida	950 mb
2002	Lili	Cat 1	Louisiana	963 mb
1999	Irene	Cat 2	Florida, North Carolina	964 mb
1995	Opal	Cat 3	Alabama, Florida	942 mb
1989	Jerry	Cat 1	Texas	983 mb
1987	Floyd	Cat 1	Florida	993 mb
1985	Juan	Cat 1	Louisiana	971 mb
1968	Gladys	Cat 2	Florida, North Carolina	978 mb
1966	Inez	Cat 2	Florida	984 mb
1964	Hilda	Cat 2	Louisiana	959 mb
1964	Isbell	Cat 2	Florida	970 mb
1954	Hazel	Cat 4	South Carolina, North Carolina	938 mb
1953	Hazel	Cat 1	Florida	980 mb
1950	King	Cat 4	Florida	955 mb
1949	Unnamed	Cat 2	Texas	965 mb
1948	Unnamed	Cat 2	Florida	963 mb
1947	Unnamed	Cat 2	Florida, Georgia, South Carolina	965 mb
1946	Unnamed	Cat 1	Florida	980 mb
1944	Unnamed	Cat 3	Florida	949 mb
1941	Unnamed	Cat 2	Florida, Georgia	980 mb
1926	Unnamed	Cat 1	Florida	949 mb
1924	Unnamed	Cat 1	Florida	975 mb
1923	Unnamed	Cat 1	Louisiana, Mississippi	983 mb
1921	Tampa Bay	Cat 3	Florida	958 mb
1916	Unnamed	Cat 2	Alabama, Florida	970 mb
1913	Unnamed	Cat 1	South Carolina	989 mb
1912	Unnamed	Cat 2	Texas	970 mb
1910	Unnamed	Cat 2	Florida	955 mb
1909	Unnamed	Cat 3	Florida	957 mb
1906	Unnamed	Cat 3	Florida	953 mb
1904	Unnamed	Cat 1	Florida	985 mb
1899	Unnamed	Cat 2	South Carolina, North Carolina	955 mb
1898	Unnamed	Cat 4	Florida, Georgia	938 mb
1894	Unnamed	Cat 3	Florida, Georgia, New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island	950 mb
1893	Chenier Caminanda	Cat 4	Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama	948 mb
1893	Unnamed	Cat 3	South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia	955 mb
1888	Unnamed	Cat 2	Florida	970 mb
1887	Unnamed	Cat 1	Louisiana	978 mb
1886	Unnamed	Cat 3	Texas, Louisiana	950 mb
1882	Unnamed	Cat 1	Florida	985 mb
1880	Unnamed	Cat 1	Florida	982 mb
1878	Unnamed	Cat 2	North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, pennsylvania	963 mb
1877	Unnamed	Cat 3	Florida, Georgia	955 mb
1876	Unnamed	Cat 2	Florida	973 mb
1873	Unnamed	Cat 3	Florida	959 mb
1870	Twin Key West (I)	Cat 1	Florida	970 mb
1870	Twin Key West (II)	Cat 1	Florida	977 mb
1869	Saxby's Gale	Cat 2	Massachusetts, Maine	965 mb
1867	Galveston	Cat 2	Texas, Louisiana, Florida	965 mb
1865	Unnamed	Cat 2	Florida	969 mb
1860	Unnamed	Cat 2	Louisiana	965 mb
1859	Unnamed	Cat 1	Florida	974 mb
1853	Unnamed	Cat 1	Georgia	965 mb
1852	Middle Florida	Cat 2	Florida, Georgia	965 mb

How complete is this record?

“Because of the sparseness of towns and cities before 1900 in some coastal locations along the United States, the above list is not complete for all states. Before the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic coasts became settled, hurricanes may have been underestimated in their intensity or missed completely for small-sized systems (i.e., 2004's Hurricane Charley).”NOAA Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory, Hurricane Research Division, source

A car left tipped onto a chain link fence by Hurricane Camille storm surge in Biloxi, Mississippi — Hurricane Camille's aftermath in Biloxi, Mississippi, August 1969. NOAA photograph. Early and late season Gulf storms dominate the October landfall list. “Camille Biloxi Car” — NOAA — Public domain

In context

Where October sits in the season

The season’s shape is set by NOAA’s own dates and peak:

“The Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1 to November 30.”National Hurricane Center, source

“The peak of the Atlantic hurricane season is September 10, with most activity occurring between mid-August and mid-October.”National Hurricane Center, source

Satellite image of Hurricane Iniki, a compact hurricane with a clear eye, southwest of the Hawaiian Islands — Hurricane Iniki from NOAA’s GOES satellite, September 11, 1992, with the Hawaiian Islands visible at upper right. The central Pacific runs the same June to November season as the Atlantic, on its own climatology. “Iniki 1992-09-11 1931Z” — NOAA (GOES-7), NASA — Public domain

GOES satellite image of Hurricane Katrina filling the Gulf, its eye southeast of the Louisiana coast — Hurricane Katrina from NOAA’s GOES-12 satellite on August 28, 2005, the day before its Gulf coast landfall. The Naval Research Laboratory annotations date the frame. August and September together account for the majority of all Atlantic hurricane activity in the record. “Katrina 2005-08-28 2245Z” — U.S. Navy / Naval Research Laboratory — Public domain

Common questions

Hurricanes in October: FAQ

How many hurricanes happen in October?

Has a hurricane ever hit the US in October?

Is October early or late in hurricane season?

Where do October storms usually form?

Is there a storm right now?

Keep reading

The rest of the season

Hurricane season by state

Counts derived from NOAA HURDAT2 (hurdat2-1851-2025-02272026.txt) and NOAA AOML’s continental US hurricane landfall list (Revised in March 2026 to add in the 2025 season). For anything current: nhc.noaa.gov.