Earliest Hurricanes In American History

Earliest Hurricanes In History

Hurricane season starts on June 1 and runs through November 30. The odds that a major hurricane develops outside that window are extremely small, according to WRAL. 

The NOAA does not announce its forecast for hurricanes until near the end of May. Accuweather, however, gave its forecast on April 9. It expects the number of storms to be slightly below average. “AccuWeather is predicting 11 to 16 named storms, including four to seven hurricanes and two to four major hurricanes, which are Category 3 or higher.” They added three to five of these would make landfall in the US. 

Recently, the strongest hurricanes have occurred later in the season. There is no better example of this than in 2024. Hurricane Helene was a Category 3 storm which hit western Florida. It had hurricane strength winds from September 24 to September 27. Hurricane Milton was also a Category 3 storm. (It was a Category 5 storm at its peak) It has hurricane strength winds from October 5 to October 10. It also hit Florida’s west coast. 

Several of the most active hurricane seasons since 1851 (when official record keeping began) happened recently. 

The 12 Early Season Major Hurricanes

All Early Season Major Hurricanes, Ranked by Wind Speeds (May-July)

Rank	Name	Date	Winds (mph)	Location
1.	Emily	17 July 2005	160	South of Jamaica
2.	Dennis	10 July 2005	145	Gulf of Mexico
3.	Audrey	27 June 1957	145	Gulf of Mexico
4.	Unnamed Hurricane	26 July 1926	140	Bahamas
5.	Alma	8 June 1966	125	Florida Keys
6.	Bertha	8 July 2008	120	Southeast of Bermuda
7.	Unnamed Hurricane	5 July 1916	120	Gulf of Mexico
8.	Unnamed Hurricane	14 July 1916	115	South Carolina
9.	Unnamed Hurricane	23 June 1945	115	Gulf of Mexico
10.	Able	21 May 1951	115	North Carolina
11.	Anna	21 July 1961	115	Southern Caribbean
12.	Bertha	9 July 1996	115	North of the Dominican Republic