2021 Atlantic hurricane season

The 2021 Atlantic hurricane season was the third most active Atlantic hurricane season. It officially began on June 1, 2021, and ended on November 30, 2021. These dates, adopted by convention, historically describe the period in each year when most Atlantic tropical cyclones form.[1] However, tropical cyclogenesis is possible at any time of the year, as demonstrated by the early formation of Subtropical Storm Ana on May 22, making 2021 the seventh consecutive year that a storm formed before the official start of the season.[2] In June 3 named storms formed during the month making June 2021 the most active June since 1968 and also tied with 1886, 1909, and 1936.

2021 Atlantic hurricane season
Season summary map
First storm formed May 22, 2021
Last storm dissipated November 7, 2021
Strongest storm Sam – 929 mbar (hPa) (27.44 inHg), 155 mph (250 km/h) (1-minute sustained)
Total depressions 21
Total storms 21
Hurricanes 7
Major hurricanes (Cat. 3+) 4
Total fatalities 158 total
Total damage > $53.498 billion (2021 USD)
Atlantic hurricane seasons
2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023

Starting this season, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) began to issue regular Tropical Weather Outlooks on May 15, two weeks earlier than it did in the past. This change was implemented in light of the fact that named systems had formed in the Atlantic Ocean prior to the official start of the season in each of the preceding six seasons.[3]

Season Summary

Systems

Tropical Storm Ana

Tropical storm
DurationMay 22 – May 24
Peak intensity45 mph (75 km/h) (1-min)  1006 mbar (hPa)

Tropical Storm Ana was the first tropical cyclone of the year. This storm threatened Bermuda, warranting a Tropical Storm Watch, but it did not affect that area. It moved northeast and dissipated on May 24. This storm formed before hurricane season officially begun, continuing the 7-year streak of pre-season systems.

Tropical Storm Bill

Tropical storm
DurationJune 14 – June 16
Peak intensity60 mph (95 km/h) (1-min)  998 mbar (hPa)

Tropical Storm Bill threatened the East Coast of the United States as it formed into Tropical Depression Two, but it did not affect that region and continued northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, south of Canada, and dissipated on June 16.

Tropical Storm Claudette

Tropical storm
DurationJune 19 – June 22
Peak intensity45 mph (75 km/h) (1-min)  1005 mbar (hPa)

Tropical Storm Claudette formed just off the coast of Louisiana and made landfall in eastern Terrebonne Parish, and weakened to a tropical depression travelled across Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, the Carolinas, and southern Virginia before moving into the Atlantic, reintensifying into a tropical storm on June 21 and turning post-tropical the next day. The storm later dissipated the next day. This storm killed 14 people in Alabama, 4 of which were direct.

Tropical Storm Danny

Tropical storm
DurationJune 28 – June 29
Peak intensity45 mph (75 km/h) (1-min)  1009 mbar (hPa)

Tropical Storm Danny formed off the coast of South Carolina and made landfall in that state. This made Danny the first June storm to make landfall in South Carolina since Hurricane One in 1867. It dissipated inland the next day.

Hurricane Elsa

Category 1 hurricane
DurationJuly 1 – July 9
Peak intensity85 mph (140 km/h) (1-min)  991 mbar (hPa)

Tropical Storm Elsa formed on the early morning hours of July 1, 2021, and intensified into a tropical storm later that day. This made it the earliest fifth tropical cyclone to form in the Atlantic since reliable records begun in 1851. This is also the second earliest storm to form this far east in the Main Development Region, only behind the 1933 Trinidad hurricane. This storm rapidly moved towards the Lesser Antillies at 30 mph after it became a tropical storm.

Tropical Storm Fred

Tropical storm
DurationAugust 11 – August 18
Peak intensity45 mph (75 km/h) (1-min)  1006 mbar (hPa)

Hurricane Grace

Category 3 hurricane
DurationAugust 13 – August 21
Peak intensity125 mph (205 km/h) (1-min)  962 mbar (hPa)

Hurricane Henri

Category 1 hurricane
DurationAugust 16 – August 23
Peak intensity75 mph (120 km/h) (1-min)  986 mbar (hPa)

Hurricane Ida

Category 4 hurricane
DurationAugust 26 – September 4
Peak intensity155 mph (250 km/h) (1-min)  929 mbar (hPa)

Hurricane Ida was a powerful Category 4 hurricane that affected Gulf Coast of the United States, Southeastern United States, and Northeastern United States in late August 2021 into early September 2021. Ida was the ninth named storm, and fourth hurricane of the 2021 Atlantic hurricane season, Ida originated from a tropical wave first monitored by the National Hurricane Center (NHC) on August 23, moving into the Caribbean Sea and developing into a tropical storm on August 26. On August 27, Ida became a Category 1 hurricane and initiated rapid intensification on the next day, becoming a Category 2 hurricane at 18:00 UTC on August 28.

Tropical Storm Kate

Tropical storm (SSHS)
   
Duration August 28 – September 1
Intensity 45 mph (75 km/h) (1-min),  1003 mbar (hPa)


Tropical Storm Julian

Tropical storm (SSHS)
   
Duration August 29 – August 30
Intensity 60 mph (95 km/h) (1-min),  995 mbar (hPa)


Hurricane Larry

Category 3 hurricane (SSHS)
   
Duration August 31 – September 11
Intensity 125 mph (205 km/h) (1-min),  955 mbar (hPa)

Tropical Storm Mindy

Tropical storm (SSHS)
   
Duration September 8 – September 10
Intensity 45 mph (75 km/h) (1-min),  1002 mbar (hPa)

Hurricane Nicholas

Category 1 hurricane (SSHS)
   
Duration September 12 – September 16
Intensity 75 mph (120 km/h) (1-min),  988 mbar (hPa)

Tropical Storm Odette

Tropical storm (SSHS)
   
Duration September 17 – September 18
Intensity 45 mph (75 km/h) (1-min),  1002 mbar (hPa)


Tropical Storm Peter

Tropical storm (SSHS)
   
Duration September 19 – September 23
Intensity 50 mph (85 km/h) (1-min),  1004 mbar (hPa)

Tropical Storm Rose

Tropical storm (SSHS)
   
Duration September 19 – September 23
Intensity 40 mph (65 km/h) (1-min),  1003 mbar (hPa)

Hurricane Sam

Category 4 hurricane (SSHS)
   
Duration September 22 – October 5
Intensity 155 mph (250 km/h) (1-min),  929 mbar (hPa)

Subtropical Storm Teresa

Tropical storm (SSHS)
   
Duration September 24 – September 25
Intensity 45 mph (75 km/h) (1-min),  1008 mbar (hPa)

Tropical Storm Victor

Tropical storm (SSHS)
   
Duration September 29 – October 4
Intensity 65 mph (100 km/h) (1-min),  997 mbar (hPa)

Tropical Storm Wanda

Tropical storm (SSHS)
   
Duration October 31 – November 7
Intensity 50 mph (85 km/h) (1-min),  987 mbar (hPa)

Storm names

These names will be used for named storms that form in the North Atlantic in 2021. Retired names, if any, will be announced by the World Meteorological Organization in the spring of 2022. The names not retired from this list will be used again in the 2027 season. This is the same list used in the 2015 season, with the exceptions of Elsa and Julian, which replaced Erika and Joaquin. The names Elsa, Julian, Rose, Sam, Teresa, Victor, and Wanda was used for the first time this year.

  • Ana
  • Bill
  • Claudette
  • Danny
  • Elsa
  • Fred
  • Grace
  • Henri
  • Ida
  • Julian
  • Kate
  • Larry
  • Mindy
  • Nicholas
  • Odette
  • Peter
  • Rose
  • Sam
  • Teresa
  • Victor
  • Wanda

Season effects

This is a table of all of the storms that have formed in the 2021 Atlantic hurricane season. It includes their duration, names, landfall(s)–denoted by bold location names – damages, and death totals. Deaths in parentheses are additional and indirect (an example of an indirect death would be a traffic accident), but were still related to that storm. Damage and deaths include totals while the storm was extratropical, a wave, or a low, and all of the damage figures are in 2021 USD.

Saffir–Simpson Hurricane Scale
TD TS C1 C2 C3 C4 C5
2021 North Atlantic tropical cyclone season statistics
Storm
name
Dates active Storm category

at peak intensity

Max 1-min
wind
mph (km/h)
Min.
press.
(mbar)
Areas affected Damage
(USD)
Deaths Refs


Ana May 22 – 24 Tropical storm 45 (75) 1006 Bermuda None None
Bill June 14 – 16 Tropical storm 60 (95) 998 East Coast of the United States None None
Claudette June 19 – 22 Tropical storm 45 (75) 1005 Gulf Coast of the United States, Southeast, Yucatan Peninsula Unknown 4 (10) [4]
Danny June 28 – June 29 Tropical storm 45 (75) 1009 South Carolina None None
Elsa July 1 – July 9 Category 1 hurricane 85 (135) 991 Lesser Antilles unknown 5
Fred August 11 – 18 Tropical storm 65 (105) 993 Lesser Antilles, Greater Antilles, The Bahamas, Southeastern United States, Eastern Great Lakes Region, Northeastern United States, Quebec, The Maritimes unknown 5 Direct, 1 Indirect
Grace August 13 – 21 Category 3 hurricane 125 (200) 962 Lesser Antilles, Greater Antilles, Yucatan Peninsula, Central Mexico unknown 8
Henri August 16 – 23 Category 1 hurricane 75 (120) 986 Bermuda, Northeastern United States unknown 2 Indirect
Ida August 26 – September 4 Category 4 hurricane 150 (240) 929 Jamaica, Cayman Islands, Cuba, Louisiana None None
Kate August 28 – September 1 Tropical storm 45 (75) 1003 None None None
Julian August 29 – 30 Tropical storm 60 (95) 995 None None None
Larry August 31 – September 11 Category 3 hurricane 125 (205) 955 Lesser Antilles, Bermuda, East Coast of the United States, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Greenland Unknown 2 [5][6]
Mindy September 8 – 10 Tropical storm 45 (75) 1002 Colombia, Central America, Yucatán Peninsula, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina Unknown None
Nicholas September 12 – 16 Category 1 hurricane 75 (120) 988 Mexico, Gulf Coast of the United States Unknown None
Odette September 17 – 18 Tropical storm 45 (75) 1002 East Coast of the United States, Atlantic Canada Unknown None
Peter September 19 – 23 Tropical storm 50 (85) 1004 Hispaniola, Leeward Islands, Puerto Rico None None
Rose September 19 – 23 Tropical storm 50 (85) 1003 None None None
Sam September 22 – October 5 Category 4 hurricane 155 (250) 929 None None None
Teresa September 24 – September 25 Subtropical storm 40 (65) 1008 Bermuda None None
Victor September 29 – October 4 Tropical storm 65 (105) 997 None None None
Wanda October 31 – November 7 Tropical storm 50 (85) 987 None None None
Season Aggregates
20 systems May 22 – Season ongoing   155 (250) 929 >$53.498 billion 102 (56)  

2021 Atlantic Hurricane Season Media

References

  1. "Hurricane Season Information". Frequently Asked Questions About Hurricanes. Miami, Florida: NOAA Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory. June 1, 2018. Retrieved April 13, 2021.
  2. Cetoute, Devoun; Harris, Alex (May 22, 2021). "Subtropical Storm Ana forms. It's the seventh year in a row with an early named storm.". Miami Herald. https://www.miamiherald.com/news/weather/hurricane/article251590748.html. Retrieved May 22, 2021. 
  3. Allen, Greg (February 26, 2021). "Hurricane Forecasts Will Start Earlier In 2021". NPR. Retrieved February 27, 2021.
  4. "Official: Crash, "likely" due to storm, kills 10 in Alabama". Associated Press. June 20, 2021. Retrieved June 20, 2021.
  5. Amanda Dukes (September 9, 2021). Swimmers off Florida's coast encountering dangerous surf due to Hurricane Larry. WESH. https://www.wesh.com/article/dangerous-surf-central-florida-hurricane-larry/37530604. Retrieved September 12, 2021. 
  6. Coroner identifies drowning victim in Cherry Grove as Pennsylvania man. WMBF. September 9, 2021. https://www.wmbfnews.com/2021/09/09/horry-county-coroners-office-identifies-cherry-grove-drowning-victim/. Retrieved September 12, 2021. 

Template:2020-29 Atlantic hurricane seasons