The Record Latest U.S. Hurricane and Major Hurricane Landfalls

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Looking back at history, the answer is "not necessarily."

Here are the three hurricanes that blasted their way ashore in November.

1. Hurricane Eight, 1861

• Existed Nov. 1-3, 1861.
• Maximum sustained winds at landfall: 80 mph.
• Point of landfall: Near present day Surf City, North Carolina.
• Also known as the "Expedition" hurricane because it caused havoc on a Civil War fleet of warships, sinking two (according to Ludlum 1963).

2. Hurricane Seven, 1935

• Existed Oct. 30 through Nov. 8, 1935.
• Maximum sustained winds at landfall: 100 mph.
• Point of landfall: Near Miami, Florida.
• Also known as the "Yankee" hurricane.

3. Hurricane Kate, 1985

• Existed Nov. 15-23, 1985.
• Maximum sustained winds at landfall: 100 mph.
• Point of landfall: Near Mexico Beach, Florida (Florida Panhandle).
• Five people died and widespread power outages were reported across the Florida Panhandle.
• Kate is the latest hurricane to make landfall in the United States.

The two latest Category 3 or stronger U.S. hurricane landfalls are:

1. The 1921 Tampa Bay Hurricane

• Existed Oct. 20-30, 1921.
• Maximum sustained winds at landfall: 120 mph.
• Point of landfall: Tarpon Springs, Florida (West-Central Florida).

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2. Hurricane Wilma, 2005

• Existed Oct. 16-27, 2005.
• Maximum sustained winds at landfall: 120 mph.
• Point of landfall: Near Cape Romano, Florida (Southwest Florida).

The Atlantic Basin hurricane season runs from June 1 to November 30.

Note that some of these systems reflect information post-reanalysis from the Hurricane Research Division at NOAA.

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