Hurricane season is underway, but when is it worst for Houston?

June 1 marked the official start of the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season, which ends on November 30.

The Atlantic basin is now calm, but early season prospects suggest this year could be historic. Many Houston-area residents are already wondering when the worst of the season will be on average, hoping to get an idea of ​​what might happen.

Obviously, it’s difficult to say whether or not the Texas Gulf Coast will be hit by a tropical storm or hurricane this season. Any landing projections you might come across on social media are either based on flimsy science or clicks. But what is certain is that everything Southeast Texans need to prepare for whatever the season may bring.

A question that concerns many people is: When is hurricane season the worst? »

The answer to this question can vary wildly depending on how you define “worst” is. For simplicity’s sake, let’s first analyze when major hurricanes occur along the upper Texas Gulf Coast. As a reminder, a major hurricane is one with winds of 111 miles per hour or more.

HURRICANE TRACKING: Our interactive maps will help you track this season and stay ahead of whatever the 2024 hurricane season has in store.

There has only been one major named hurricane that made landfall along the upper Texas Gulf Coast: Hurricane Alicia in 1983. That certainly doesn’t mean there wasn’t many named major hurricanes that hit the Houston area, like Harvey in 2017 or Rita. in 2005. It’s just that none of these hurricanes made landfall along the southeast Texas coast. This highlights the importance of not only looking at the direction a hurricane might take, but also looking at the magnitude of its impacts.

Going back to before 1953, when hurricanes began to be given names, five major hurricanes have made landfall in Southeast Texas since the 1850s, including the devastating Galveston Hurricane of 1900.

Of the six designated major hurricanes, five made landfall during the months of August or September. Of these five, four major hurricanes made landfall between August 15 and September 15.

LEARN MORE: The early season outlook points to a potentially historic hurricane season across the Atlantic basin.

Before concluding this section, let us emphasize the fact that a major hurricane is not the only definition of a memorable or life-changing hurricane. Hurricane Ike in 2008 was 1 mph away from being classified as a Category 3 hurricane when it made landfall along the Bolivar Peninsula in mid-September. Ike is responsible for the deaths of at least 100 people and caused $5 billion in damage.

It doesn’t take a hurricane to leave a lasting impression on a community. Both tropical storms and tropical depressions can leave their mark and make hurricane season memorable.

The slow movement of Tropical Storm Allison, combined with rounds of extremely heavy rain, resulted in rainfall totals of 15 to 25 inches across Harris County. Even higher rain totals were seen on the east side of Houston and eastern Harris County. The highest rain total reached more than 38 inches, much of which fell over a 12-hour period between June 8 and 9.

WATCH THE FORECAST: Check the daily forecast each morning to see where tropical activity might develop.

Damage estimates in the Houston area alone exceeded $4 billion, with more than 14,000 homes completely destroyed. Allison was directly attributed to the deaths of 23 people in Texas.

Predicting what the hurricane season will bring to Southeast Texas is something impossible to do on such a large scale.

What can you do now? Prepare your disaster plan. Take an hour or two to document what you and your family will do if a hurricane approaches the Houston area. Share this plan with friends, neighbors, and extended family so they know where you might be if communication lines go down.

Ask yourself what you should do to prepare your home for a hurricane tomorrow. Take inventory of these items and begin preparing the space around your home for a hurricane by clearing out any branches, limbs or other debris that could fly into the air in strong winds. If you are able to do so safely, make appropriate repairs to the shingles or siding, if applicable.

The items listed above are relatively small, inexpensive items that you can take off your to-do list well in advance of a hurricane approaching.