OEM staff conducted a cursory analysis of 20 Gulf hurricanes between 2018 and 2024. This exercise produced some valuable insights: GULF HURRICANE ANALYSIS
17 of 20 Hurricanes made Landfall Somewhere on the Gulf Coast 17/20
3 Hurricanes Dissipated in the Gulf 3
9 of 17 Storms (53%) were Major Hurricanes at Category 3 or Higher at Landfall 53%
3 Cat.
Several Storms were Lower Intensity, but 5 (25%) Storms were Category 4 Strength at Landfall 25%
Avg. storm intensity was Category 3
Winds at Landfall
At landfall, the average speed of advance of 17 storms was 13 mph. Faster moving storms limit exposure to damaging winds and flooding rain but bring damaging winds much further inland. Slow moving storms prolong exposure to damaging winds and flooding rain. Landfall Speed
Hurricane Windfield
Small shifts in storm track immediately prior to landfall makes a big difference regarding which areas are impacted. The average hurricane force windfield at landfall was 61 miles across. Several storms had a much larger hurricane force windfields.
Sustained winds at landfall averaged 113 mph. Several of the storms were much lower intensity but many others had much higher sustained winds at landfall
Storm (mph) @ Landfall 24
Storm
Winds @ Landfall 155
Storm Michael
Hurricane Windfield (mi.) 107
Ian
Storm
Helene
24
Ian
Ian
155
Laura
18
Helene
100
Laura
150
Laura
95
Michael
6
Ida
140
Michael
89
Sally
3
Helene
140
33
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