Hurricane of the Decade?

[Hurricane Mike]

From 2010-2019, what do you believe was the hurricane of the decade? I think Michael wins by default, so I wonder what would be your top five or ten storms of the 2010s?

[DioBrando]

Lorenzo.
Hands down.










However, if you're talking about a naughty hurricane, I can think of many that deserve the title. These should be given the title of "Worst Hurricanes of the Decade."
Irma.
Maria.
Mike.
Dorian.
Matt.
Sandy.
Florence.

Strangely, most of the villains would be concentrated in the 2nd half of the Teens.

Trish in the EPac was one spicy lady.

[Nuno]

However, if you're talking about a naughty hurricane, I can think of many that deserve the title. These should be given the title of "Worst Hurricanes of the Decade."
Irma.
Maria.
Mike.
Dorian.
Matt.
Sandy.
Florence.

Strangely, most of the villains would be concentrated in the 2nd half of the Teens.

Irma and Dorian I think, due to their intensity. Pretty impressive how many candidates there are given how few intense ATL hurricanes there were in the first half of the decade.

[HurricaneEnzo]

For me personally it would be Florence because my area of Eastern NC was ground zero. Florence could very well end up being THE Hurricane of my lifetime. The one I tell my grand kids about one day.

Overall I would say the Hurricane of the decade was Harvey. It wasn't as strong as Dorian, Irma, and Michael but it dropped almost unfathomable amounts of rain and is right there with Katrina for the cost of damages it produced. It also broke the streak of no major landfalls in the US that lasted around a decade. It seemingly opened the 'floodgates' (pun intended) for major landfalls as others would soon follow.

[SconnieCane]

If we're talking all basins that use the term "hurricane" to describe a ≥65kt tropical cyclone, then...

Patricia.

If the N. Atlantic only, then it becomes a little muddier...

Michael for U.S. impact.
Dorian for a single impact anywhere.
Irma for meteorologically most impressive life cycle/overall impact.

[Chris90]

Hmmm, considering only the Atlantic and none of the other basins, I think my top 5 would be:

1. Irma
She was about as classic a long track Cape Verde as you can get. What wasn't classic about her was she made multiple Cat 5 landfalls, when just one landfall at Cat 5 is already a rare enough feat. That's why I gave her the #1 spot. She also had an incredible intensity. 171kts flight level with 160kt SFMR.

2. Dorian
He gets the second spot due to the extreme weather event he was for the Bahamas. A Cat 5 stalling out over Grand Bahama is one of those worst case scenarios. The stories that came out of there were horrific. He also produced some extreme winds. 177kt SFMR and 176kt gust measured at the surface by dropsonde. Both I believe are records for the Atlantic. In addition to the stall over Grand Bahama, he buzzed through Abaco like a chainsaw before that while slowing down for the stall.
If you haven't seen iCyclone's 30 minute video of Dorian, I recommend you head to YouTube and watch.

3. Maria
She gets the 3rd spot because she was such a cataclysmic event for both Puerto Rico and Dominica. Another Cat 5 landfall for the latter half of the '10s, striking Dominica at that intensity, she wiped out that island before moving on to Puerto Rico and killing an unknown amount of people. I've seen varying reports, but they're in the thousands.

4. Matthew
Matt gets a spot due to being the first Cat 5 in 9 years for the basin (kicking off a prolific 4 season run of Cat 5s in the ATL basin), and killing hundreds in Haiti with a devastating Cat 4 landfall. He also struck the Bahamas, grinded up the coast of Florida, and produced some pretty terrible flooding in Georgia and the Carolinas.

5. Harvey
Harvey is the definition of a flooding disaster. Made a Cat 4 landfall on the Texas coast, breaking a 12 year drought of major hurricane landfalls on the US coast, and then produced record flooding. I would have put him higher on the list because of what a disaster he was, but Maria and Matthew killed more people, so I gave them the edge, because things can be replaced, but there is no bringing back the victims of these storms.

Those are my top 5. If I continued on Michael would probably be #6. He didn't make the top 5 due to the fact that while he was only 1 of 4 Cat 5 landfalls on the US coast, he didn't make landfall at the same level of intensity as Irma and Dorian. Still a horrific storm that made a terrible impact on so many.

[DioBrando]

Hmmm, considering only the Atlantic and none of the other basins, I think my top 5 would be:

1. Irma
She was about as classic a long track Cape Verde as you can get. What wasn't classic about her was she made multiple Cat 5 landfalls, when just one landfall at Cat 5 is already a rare enough feat. That's why I gave her the #1 spot. She also had an incredible intensity. 171kts flight level with 160kt SFMR.

2. Dorian
He gets the second spot due to the extreme weather event he was for the Bahamas. A Cat 5 stalling out over Grand Bahama is one of those worst case scenarios. The stories that came out of there were horrific. He also produced some extreme winds. 177kt SFMR and 176kt gust measured at the surface by dropsonde. Both I believe are records for the Atlantic. In addition to the stall over Grand Bahama, he buzzed through Abaco like a chainsaw before that while slowing down for the stall.
If you haven't seen iCyclone's 30 minute video of Dorian, I recommend you head to YouTube and watch.

3. Maria
She gets the 3rd spot because she was such a cataclysmic event for both Puerto Rico and Dominica. Another Cat 5 landfall for the latter half of the '10s, striking Dominica at that intensity, she wiped out that island before moving on to Puerto Rico and killing an unknown amount of people. I've seen varying reports, but they're in the thousands.

4. Matthew
Matt gets a spot due to being the first Cat 5 in 9 years for the basin (kicking off a prolific 4 season run of Cat 5s in the ATL basin), and killing hundreds in Haiti with a devastating Cat 4 landfall. He also struck the Bahamas, grinded up the coast of Florida, and produced some pretty terrible flooding in Georgia and the Carolinas.

5. Harvey
Harvey is the definition of a flooding disaster. Made a Cat 4 landfall on the Texas coast, breaking a 12 year drought of major hurricane landfalls on the US coast, and then produced record flooding. I would have put him higher on the list because of what a disaster he was, but Maria and Matthew killed more people, so I gave them the edge, because things can be replaced, but there is no bringing back the victims of these storms.

Those are my top 5. If I continued on Michael would probably be #6. He didn't make the top 5 due to the fact that while he was only 1 of 4 Cat 5 landfalls on the US coast, he didn't make landfall at the same level of intensity as Irma and Dorian. Still a horrific storm that made a terrible impact on so many.

What about non-naughty hurricanes like lorenzo????

[galaxy401]

Making a top list for the decade is very subjective. All depends on your definition. Here's my top 10 for the Atlantic. Says something that most of them are in the second half:

1. Irma 2017 (Left a trail of destruction on every landmass it struck; Placed this one over the other two since it inflicted heavy damage on a wider area; Also the intensity was insane too)
2. Harvey 2017 (Probably the best example of how catastrophic flooding can be on a major city; Millions of people in the Houston area were severely affected)
3. Maria 2017 (Top 3 was very difficult, it can be interchangeable, 2017 was just brutal; Maria just pounded Puerto Rico hard; If the high death toll is true, Maria probably should be #1)
4. Dorian 2019 (Probably the most destructive example of one storm hitting only one area; Unfortunately be remembered for the storm that missed Florida)
5. Michael 2018 (Bulls-eye Cat 5 hit on Florida panhandle; Number 5 since it covered a small area)
6. Sandy 2012 (At the time, we thought this storm was going to be the storm of the decade; The fact it's #6 now speaks volumes for the second half of the decade)
7. Matthew 2016 (First of many Cat 5s; Was seen as the monster storm until his successors)
8. Florence 2018 (Terrible flooding in the Carolinas)
9. Irene 2011 (Affected a lot of people in the East Coast)
10. Joaquin 2015 (stalled over the Bahamas though Dorian would overshadow that; El Faro sinking is what the storm is most known for)

HM: Igor 2010, Ophelia 2017, Lorenzo 2019

Will only do a top 5 for the EPAC:

1. Patricia 2015 (Pretty obvious #1; Intensity we may never see again...maybe, the fact we got recon during its peak intensity is unbelievable)
2. Odile 2014 (A strong hurricane hitting the spine of Baja is pretty rare; Footage of the storm is very intense too)
3. Iselle 2014 (Impressive hurricane that reached the Big Island...then got ripped apart; Pretty cool example of how the Big Island can shred hurricanes
4. Lane 2018 (Another big rain-making hurricane though the damage from it ended up being minor)
5. Manuel 2013 (Left its mark despite only being a Cat 1)

HM: Celia 2010, Hector 2018, Walaka 2018

[StruThiO]

Well, looks like I'm hopping on the Irma bandwagon. After years of having its Main Development Region brutally ridiculed the Atlantic had had enough That was nothing short of a ridiculous hurricane. And then because that just apparently wasn't enough, we had Maria two weeks later to finish what Irma started.

If we narrow the scope to by region, I'm pretty sure we'd get a bunch of different answers. Harvey is likely the most memorable to many in Texas.. Sandy ditto for the northeast. Michael for the panhandle. Florence, probably, for the Carolinas. In retrospect the last few years have been quite insane..

[northjaxpro]

For the North Atlantic Basin

Dorian 2019. 910 mb pressure at its most intense point (tied 1935 Labor Day Florida Keys tropical cyclone pressure)

Just take in the full scope at what this monster storm left in its wake in The Bahamas and that speaks for itself for yours truly!!


Michael from 2018 is just behind Dorian for me.

[GSBHurricane]

If we’re using the word “Hurricane” as a broad term for a tropical cyclone then Haiyan 2013 in the WPAC would probably win in both meteorology and impact.

[DestinHurricane]

Of the hurricanes that affected the US + Dorian

1. Michael- without a doubt #1. Only the 4th recorded CONUS cat 5 landfall. Extreme damage.
2. Harvey - Horrific flooding in SE TX.
3. Maria - Worst case scenario for PR
4. Dorian - Absolute hell for the Abacos and Grand Bahama. Extreme damage.
5. Irma - Keys, SW Florida. Severe but not as bad as anticipated.
6. Sandy - Very large and hit highly populated NE corridor
7. Irene - Hit highly populated NE corridor
8. Matthew - Thankfully stayed off FL coast. Still bad for NE florida, GA and NC.
9. Florence - Thankfully weakened before landfall. Still bad for NC though it could have been much worse.
10. Arthur- Cat 2 through the outer bands.

[Hurricanehink]

If we’re using the word “Hurricane” as a broad term for a tropical cyclone then Haiyan 2013 in the WPAC would probably win in both meteorology and impact.

I was going to post exactly this.

[wxmann_91]

Patricia.

[Hurricane Mike]

This one is tough:

1. Michael - Cat 5 U.S. landfall, automatic top ranking
2. Irma - This was tough, but Irma was really so hyped and such a talking point among non-weather watchers. Horrific Cat 5 landfalls in the Leeward Islands, Virgin Islands, Bahamas, and Cuba as well as a Cat 4 landfall in the Florida Keys and a Cat 3 strike on SW Florida. Quite an epic-hurricane.
3. Harvey - This storm almost made my #2. Not only did models predict an explosive deepening from nothing to a Cat 4 strike on TX (which occurred) but then we had the stall and the epic rainfall and flooding. Harvey was also the first major hurricane since Wilma in 2005 to hit the U.S.
4. Maria - The worst hit on Puerto Rico in nearly a century, horrific infrastructure damage to an already impoverished country.
5. Dorian - Worst strike on the Bahamas in recorded history, certainly since the 1920s (similar to Wilma, we are now seeing "return periods" of 1920s and 1930s monster hurricanes)
6. Sandy - Once in a generation (if not more) "superstorm". Doesn't rank as high because Sandy was technically no longer a "hurricane" at landfall in New Jersey.
7. Matthew - Rare Cat 4/5 strike on Haiti and Cuba in October, dangerous Cat 4 October threat to Florida. Not ranked as high due to surprising lack of damage in Bahamas.
8. Florence - Quite a rare track if you think about it, although it was not nearly as bad as expected so it ranks lower.
9. Irene - The only remarkable storm out of a pretty active but dull hurricane season. Ranks low due to lack of Bahamas damage and could have been much worse on East Coast.
10. Joaquin - Another odd October Cat 4, this time it did the destruction I had feared for the Bahamas. Deserves a top-ten rank.

Honorable mentions:

Hurricane Alex (2010), the first hurricane of this decade, a rare June hurricane, 946 mb (the lowest pressure in June since 1966). I have no doubt without inner core issues, Alex would have been a Category 3 or 4 June hurricane. Rare event, and quite nasty for Mexico. I actually think "Alex" might have warranted retirement.

Hurricane Arthur (2014) - A nasty Category 2 hurricane, and the only hurricane to hit the USA within a period of three hurricane seasons (2013, 2014, 2015). I was quite surprised and relieved by the lack of damage in the Outer Banks of North Carolina, and Arthur was definitely a throwback to many 1990s North Carolina storms.

Overhyped:

Hurricane Tomas (2010), thankfully this storm turned out to be much, much less than feared. I thought Tomas would be what Hurricane Matthew turned into six years later.

Hurricane Isaac (2012) - Much, much weaker and less impact that expected. Isaac could never get a well-defined inner core, and barely made it to Category 1 status despite the opportunity of hot August waters and a prolific track.

[somethingfunny]

It's gotta be Irma, right?

There's six main hurricanes that were absolutely historical classics this decade - Harvey Irma Maria, Michael Dorian and Sandy. None of the others are really in the same class IMO. But Irma absolutely took the cake.

[Hammy]

This one is tough:
Honorable mentions:

Hurricane Alex (2010), the first hurricane of this decade, a rare June hurricane, 946 mb (the lowest pressure in June since 1966). I have no doubt without inner core issues, Alex would have been a Category 3 or 4 June hurricane. Rare event, and quite nasty for Mexico. I actually think "Alex" might have warranted retirement.

If I recall Alex was actually the most intense hurricane in June aside from Audrey in 1957 which was 945mb, so it could be a top contender from a purely meteorological anomaly standpoint.

[SconnieCane]

This one is tough:
...4. Maria - The worst hit on Puerto Rico in nearly a century, horrific infrastructure damage to an already impoverished country.

Puerto Rico isn't a country. It's a U.S. territory. Amazing how many people forget this.

[Astromanía]

Hurricane= The name for tropical cyclones that forms on ATL and EPAC basins, so in this decade:
Patricia: the most intense, (in both wind speed and pressure) 215 mph, 872 mbar (category 5)
Maria: the deadliest, aproximately 3059 deaths (category 5)
Harvey: the costliest, $125 billion USD (category 4)
Irma: the most ACE producer, 64.9 units (category 5)
Dorian: the most intense at landfall, 185 mph and 910 mbar (category 5)
That's it, of course there are more categories but I think those are the main ones, so each of those storms must be considered as the hurricanes of the decade in their respective categories.

[wxmann_91]

It's gotta be Irma, right?

There's six main hurricanes that were absolutely historical classics this decade - Harvey Irma Maria, Michael Dorian and Sandy. None of the others are really in the same class IMO. But Irma absolutely took the cake.

Crazy how all of them except for Sandy happened in the past three seasons.