NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information
Summary
The Atlantic Hurricane activity in August was above normal by all metrics including six named storms, three of which became hurricanes, and two of those became major hurricanes. The season through August has also been above normal.
The two major hurricanes in the North Atlantic were Grace and Ida. Grace made landfall on the Yucatan as a category-1 hurricane and then intensified in the Bay of Campeche before making a second landfall over mainland Mexico as a category-3 major hurricane. Hurricane Ida was rapidly intensifying to a category-4 hurricane as it made landfall in Louisiana. Ida continued to cause heavy rain and flooding from the Gulf Coast to the Northeast. Tropical Storm Fred and Hurricane Henri also cause significant inland flooding over the U.S.
The East Pacific was near normal with seven named storms, three of which became hurricanes, including Major Hurricane Linda. Linda's remnants caused heavy rainfall over Hawaii. Hurricane Nora made landfall in western Mexico where it caused heavy rain and mudslides.
The West Pacific had just 4 Tropical Storms and no typhoons in August. The ACE was the lowest since at least 1981. The season through August has also been quieter than normal.
Globally, the number of named storms was above normal both for August and for January-August 2021. However, the accumulated cyclone energy (ACE), an integrated metric of the strength, frequency, and duration of tropical storms, has been below normal due in large part to the lack of activity in the West Pacific.
North Atlantic
| Name |
Maximum CategoryMax Cat |
Dates >39 mph |
Maximum Sustained Winds | Minimum Central Pressure |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fred | TS | August 11Aug 11-17 | 65 mph | 993 mb |
| Grace | 3 | August 14Aug 14-21 | 125 mph | 962 mb |
| Henri | 1 | August 16Aug 16-22 | 75 mph | 986 mb |
| Julian | TS | August 24Aug 24-29 | 60 mph | 995 mb |
| Ida | 4 | August 26Aug 26-30 | 150 mph | 929 mb |
| Kate | TS | August 30Aug 30-31 | 45 mph | 1004 mb |
| Storm Type | Count | 1991-2020 Mean |
1981-2021 Rank* |
1851-2021 Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tropical Storm Winds ≥ 39 mph (34 kts) | 6 | 3.8 | 6th | 8 (1995, 2004, 2012) |
| Hurricane Winds ≥ 74 mph (64 kts) | 3 | 1.8 | 5th (tied with 6 other Augusts) | 5 (1893, 1995, 2004) |
| Major Hurricane Winds ≥ 111 mph (96 kts) | 2 | 0.9 (9 in 10 Augusts) | 2nd (tied with 3 other Augusts) | 3 (1886, 1893, 2004) |
| Accumulated Cyclone Energy ACE×10⁴ kt² | 30.0 | 26.8 | 14th | 120.3 (1893) |
| Storm Type | Count | 1991-2020 Mean |
1981-2021 Rank* |
1851-2021 Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tropical Storm Winds ≥ 39 mph (34 kts) | 11 | 6.5 | 5th (tied with 1 other season) | 13 (2020) |
| Hurricane Winds ≥ 74 mph (64 kts) | 4 | 2.4 | 6th (tied with 4 other seasons) | 7 (1886, 1893) |
| Major Hurricane Winds ≥ 111 mph (96 kts) | 2 | 1.0 | 3rd (tied with 5 other seasons) | 3 (6 seasons) |
| Accumulated Cyclone Energy ACE×10⁴ kt² | 42.6 | 36.5 | 12th | 136.2 (1893) |
East Pacific
| Name |
Maximum CategoryMax Cat |
Dates >39 mph |
Maximum Sustained Winds | Minimum Central Pressure |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hilda | 1 | July 30-August 5Jul 30-Aug 5 | 85 mph | 985 mb |
| Ignacio | TS | August 2Aug 2-3 | 40 mph | 1004 mb |
| Jimena | TS | August 5Aug 5-6 | 40 mph | 1005 mb |
| Kevin | TS | August 7Aug 7-12 | 60 mph | 999 mb |
| Linda | 4 | August 10Aug 10-20 | 130 mph | 950 mb |
| Marty | TS | August 23Aug 23-24 | 45 mph | 1002 mb |
| Nora | 1 | August 26Aug 26-30 | 85 mph | 977 mb |
| Storm Type | Count | 1991-2020 Mean |
1981-2021 Rank* |
1949-2021 Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tropical Storm Winds ≥ 39 mph (34 kts) | 8 | 4.6 | 2nd (tied with 1 other August) | 10 (1968) |
| Hurricane Winds ≥ 74 mph (64 kts) | 3 | 2.4 | 8th (tied with 9 other Augusts) | 6 (1972, 2014, 2015) |
| Major Hurricane Winds ≥ 111 mph (96 kts) | 1 | 1.3 | 14th (tied with 14 other Augusts) | 4 (1972, 1993, 2014, 2015) |
| Accumulated Cyclone Energy ACE×10⁴ kt² | 43.3 | 38.0 | 12th | 127.5 (2018) |
| Storm Type | Count | 1991-2020 Mean |
1981-2021 Rank* |
1949-2021 Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tropical Storm Winds ≥ 39 mph (34 kts) | 15 | 10.3 | 3rd (tied with 1 other season) | 17 (1985) |
| Hurricane Winds ≥ 74 mph (64 kts) | 5 | 5.4 | 20th (tied with 9 other seasons) | 10 (1978, 1990, 2015) |
| Major Hurricane Winds ≥ 111 mph (96 kts) | 2 | 2.9 | 21st (tied with 10 other seasons) | 7 (2015) |
| Accumulated Cyclone Energy ACE×10⁴ kt² | 79.2 | 80.3 | 17th | 171.1 (1978) |
West Pacific
| Name |
Maximum CategoryMax Cat |
Dates >39 mph |
Maximum Sustained Winds | Minimum Central Pressure |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lupit | TS | August 4Aug 4-10 | 60 mph | 976 mb |
| Nida | TS | August 5Aug 5 | 45 mph | 997 mb |
| Mirinae | TS | August 6Aug 6 | 40 mph | 992 mb |
| Omais | TS | August 13Aug 13-22 | 60 mph | 994 mb |
| Storm Type | Count | 1991-2020 Mean |
1981-2021 Rank* |
1945-2021 Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tropical Storm Winds ≥ 39 mph (34 kts) | 4 | 6.6 | 36th (tied with 3 other Augusts) | 11 (1960, 1967, 2018) |
| Typhoon Winds ≥ 74 mph (64 kts) | 0 | 4.0 | 41st | 9 (1960, 1962) |
| Major Typhoon Winds ≥ 111 mph (96 kts) | 0 | 2.0 | 36th (tied with 5 other Augusts) | 4 (5 Augusts) |
| Accumulated Cyclone Energy ACE×10⁴ kt² | 10.9 | 59.0 | 41st | 123.4 (1953) |
| Storm Type | Count | 1991-2020 Mean |
1981-2021 Rank* |
1945-2021 Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tropical Storm Winds ≥ 39 mph (34 kts) | 13 | 14.3 | 24th (tied with 6 other seasons) | 25 (2018) |
| Typhoon Winds ≥ 74 mph (64 kts) | 4 | 8.2 | 37th (tied with 3 other seasons) | 15 (1971) |
| Major Typhoon Winds ≥ 111 mph (96 kts) | 1 | 4.3 | 39th (tied with 2 other seasons) | 10 (2002) |
| Accumulated Cyclone Energy ACE×10⁴ kt² | 83.4 | 132.4 | 31st | 315.4 (2015) |
North Indian
No North Indian Tropical Cyclones occurred during August 2021.
| Storm Type | Count | 1991-2020 Mean |
1981-2021 Rank* |
1972-2021 Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tropical Storm Winds ≥ 39 mph (34 kts) | 0 | 0.0 (0 in 10 Augusts) | 2nd (tied with 39 other Augusts) | 1 (1979, 1983) |
| Cyclone Winds ≥ 74 mph (64 kts) | 0 | 0.0 (0 in 10 Augusts) | 1st (tied with 40 other Augusts) | 0 |
| Major Cyclone Winds ≥ 111 mph (96 kts) | 0 | 0.0 (0 in 10 Augusts) | 1st (tied with 40 other Augusts) | 0 |
| Accumulated Cyclone Energy ACE×10⁴ kt² | 0.0 | 0.0 (0 in 10 Augusts) | 2nd (tied with 39 other Augusts) | 0.6 (1983) |
| Storm Type | Count | 1991-2020 Mean |
1981-2021 Rank* |
1972-2021 Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tropical Storm Winds ≥ 39 mph (34 kts) | 2 | 1.9 | 12th (tied with 12 other seasons) | 4 (1992, 1996, 2007) |
| Cyclone Winds ≥ 74 mph (64 kts) | 2 | 0.8 (8 in 10 seasons) | 1st (tied with 5 other seasons) | 2 (7 seasons) |
| Major Cyclone Winds ≥ 111 mph (96 kts) | 1 | 0.5 (5 in 10 seasons) | 2nd (tied with 14 other seasons) | 2 (2019) |
| Accumulated Cyclone Energy ACE×10⁴ kt² | 13.9 | 9.7 | 12th | 38.0 (2019) |
South Indian
No South Indian Tropical Cyclones occurred during August 2021.
| Storm Type | Count | 1991-2020 Mean |
1981-2021 Rank* |
1956-2021 Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tropical Storm Winds ≥ 39 mph (34 kts) | 0 | 0.1 (1 in 10 Augusts) | 4th (tied with 38 other Augusts) | 1 (1987, 1997, 2001) |
| Cyclone Winds ≥ 74 mph (64 kts) | 0 | 0.0 (0 in 10 Augusts) | 1st (tied with 41 other Augusts) | 0 |
| Major Cyclone Winds ≥ 111 mph (96 kts) | 0 | 0.0 (0 in 10 Augusts) | 1st (tied with 41 other Augusts) | 0 |
| Accumulated Cyclone Energy ACE×10⁴ kt² | 0.0 | 0.1 (1 in 10 Augusts) | 4th (tied with 38 other Augusts) | 2.2 (1997) |
| Storm Type | Count | 1991-2020 Mean |
1981-2021 Rank* |
1956-2021 Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tropical Storm Winds ≥ 39 mph (34 kts) | 0 | 0.2 (2 in 10 seasons) | 8th (tied with 34 other seasons) | 1 (7 seasons) |
| Cyclone Winds ≥ 74 mph (64 kts) | 0 | 0.0 (0 in 10 seasons) | 1st (tied with 41 other seasons) | 0 |
| Major Cyclone Winds ≥ 111 mph (96 kts) | 0 | 0.0 (0 in 10 seasons) | 1st (tied with 41 other seasons) | 0 |
| Accumulated Cyclone Energy ACE×10⁴ kt² | 0.0 | 0.3 (3 in 10 seasons) | 8th (tied with 34 other seasons) | 2.7 (2017) |
Australia
No Australia Tropical Cyclones occurred during August 2021.
| Storm Type | Count | 1991-2020 Mean |
1981-2021 Rank* |
1956-2021 Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tropical Storm Winds ≥ 39 mph (34 kts) | 0 | 0.0 (0 in 10 Augusts) | 1st (tied with 41 other Augusts) | 0 |
| Tropical Cyclone Winds ≥ 74 mph (64 kts) | 0 | 0.0 (0 in 10 Augusts) | 1st (tied with 41 other Augusts) | 0 |
| Major Tropical Cyclone Winds ≥ 111 mph (96 kts) | 0 | 0.0 (0 in 10 Augusts) | 1st (tied with 41 other Augusts) | 0 |
| Accumulated Cyclone Energy ACE×10⁴ kt² | 0.0 | 0.0 (0 in 10 Augusts) | 1st (tied with 41 other Augusts) | 0.0 |
| Storm Type | Count | 1991-2020 Mean |
1981-2021 Rank* |
1956-2021 Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tropical Storm Winds ≥ 39 mph (34 kts) | 0 | 0.1 (1 in 10 seasons) | 5th (tied with 37 other seasons) | 1 (1990, 1997, 2008, 2015) |
| Tropical Cyclone Winds ≥ 74 mph (64 kts) | 0 | 0.0 (0 in 10 seasons) | 1st (tied with 41 other seasons) | 0 |
| Major Tropical Cyclone Winds ≥ 111 mph (96 kts) | 0 | 0.0 (0 in 10 seasons) | 1st (tied with 41 other seasons) | 0 |
| Accumulated Cyclone Energy ACE×10⁴ kt² | 0.0 | 0.1 (1 in 10 seasons) | 5th (tied with 37 other seasons) | 1.0 (2016) |
Southwest Pacific
No Southwest Pacific Tropical Cyclones occurred during August 2021.
| Storm Type | Count | 1991-2020 Mean |
1981-2021 Rank* |
1956-2021 Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tropical Storm Winds ≥ 39 mph (34 kts) | 0 | 0.0 (0 in 10 Augusts) | 2nd (tied with 40 other Augusts) | 1 (2016) |
| Tropical Cyclone Winds ≥ 74 mph (64 kts) | 0 | 0.0 (0 in 10 Augusts) | 1st (tied with 41 other Augusts) | 0 |
| Major Tropical Cyclone Winds ≥ 111 mph (96 kts) | 0 | 0.0 (0 in 10 Augusts) | 1st (tied with 41 other Augusts) | 0 |
| Accumulated Cyclone Energy ACE×10⁴ kt² | 0.0 | 0.0 (0 in 10 Augusts) | 2nd (tied with 40 other Augusts) | 0.8 (2016) |
| Storm Type | Count | 1991-2020 Mean |
1981-2021 Rank* |
1956-2021 Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tropical Storm Winds ≥ 39 mph (34 kts) | 0 | 0.1 (1 in 10 seasons) | 3rd (tied with 39 other seasons) | 1 (1963, 2015, 2016) |
| Tropical Cyclone Winds ≥ 74 mph (64 kts) | 0 | 0.0 (0 in 10 seasons) | 1st (tied with 41 other seasons) | 0 |
| Major Tropical Cyclone Winds ≥ 111 mph (96 kts) | 0 | 0.0 (0 in 10 seasons) | 1st (tied with 41 other seasons) | 0 |
| Accumulated Cyclone Energy ACE×10⁴ kt² | 0.0 | 0.0 (0 in 10 seasons) | 2nd (tied with 40 other seasons) | 1.4 (2016) |
Global
| Name |
Maximum CategoryMax Cat |
Dates >39 mph |
Maximum Sustained Winds | Minimum Central Pressure |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hilda | 1 | July 30-August 5Jul 30-Aug 5 | 85 mph | 985 mb |
| Ignacio | TS | August 2Aug 2-3 | 40 mph | 1004 mb |
| Lupit | TS | August 4Aug 4-10 | 60 mph | 976 mb |
| Jimena | TS | August 5Aug 5-6 | 40 mph | 1005 mb |
| Nida | TS | August 5Aug 5 | 45 mph | 997 mb |
| Mirinae | TS | August 6Aug 6 | 40 mph | 992 mb |
| Kevin | TS | August 7Aug 7-12 | 60 mph | 999 mb |
| Linda | 4 | August 10Aug 10-20 | 130 mph | 950 mb |
| Fred | TS | August 11Aug 11-17 | 65 mph | 993 mb |
| Omais | TS | August 13Aug 13-22 | 60 mph | 994 mb |
| Grace | 3 | August 14Aug 14-21 | 125 mph | 962 mb |
| Henri | 1 | August 16Aug 16-22 | 75 mph | 986 mb |
| Marty | TS | August 23Aug 23-24 | 45 mph | 1002 mb |
| Julian | TS | August 24Aug 24-29 | 60 mph | 995 mb |
| Nora | 1 | August 26Aug 26-30 | 85 mph | 977 mb |
| Ida | 4 | August 26Aug 26-30 | 150 mph | 929 mb |
| Kate | TS | August 30Aug 30-31 | 45 mph | 1004 mb |
| Storm Type | Count | 1991-2020 Mean |
1981-2021 Rank* |
1972-2021 Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tropical Storm Winds ≥ 39 mph (34 kts) | 17 | 14.8 | 11th (tied with 1 other August) | 21 (2004) |
| Tropical Cyclone Winds ≥ 74 mph (64 kts) | 6 | 8.0 | 28th (tied with 6 other Augusts) | 13 (1990) |
| Major Tropical Cyclone Winds ≥ 111 mph (96 kts) | 3 | 4.0 | 21st (tied with 11 other Augusts) | 8 (2015) |
| Accumulated Cyclone Energy ACE×10⁴ kt² | 84.1 | 124.0 | 30th | 215.5 (2015) |
| Storm Type | Count | 1991-2020 Mean |
1981-2021 Rank* |
1972-2021 Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tropical Storm Winds ≥ 39 mph (34 kts) | 60 | 52.4 | 6th (tied with 1 other season) | 65 (1989) |
| Tropical Cyclone Winds ≥ 74 mph (64 kts) | 23 | 27.5 | 32nd (tied with 3 other seasons) | 37 (1997) |
| Major Tropical Cyclone Winds ≥ 111 mph (96 kts) | 10 | 14.4 | 32nd (tied with 4 other seasons) | 25 (2015) |
| Accumulated Cyclone Energy ACE×10⁴ kt² | 353.9 | 424.9 | 27th | 686.5 (2015) |
Data Description
The data in this report are derived from NCEI's IBTrACS dataset (Knapp et al. 2010; Schreck et al. 2014). IBTrACS tropical cyclone track and intensity data from agencies and sources around the globe. In this report, data from NOAA's National Hurricane Center (NHC) are used for the North Atlantic and East Pacific. The other basins use data from the U.S. Military's Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC).
Historical values use the "best track" data that have been analyzed by forecasters after the season using all available data. Operational procedures and observing systems have changed with time and between regions, which makes these data heterogeneous. Intensity data are generally the most reliable since the early 1970s in the Atlantic (Landsea and Franklin 2013) and since the mid-1980s in other regions (Chu et al. 2002). The number of short-lived storms (≤2 days) has also increased since around 2000 due to improvements in observations and analysis techniques (Landsea et al. 2010).
Values for the current year are provisional values from the operational forecast advisories. IBTrACS obtains these from NCEP's TC Vitals, the NCAR Tropical Cyclone Guidance Project, and NHC provisional data. These values are subject to change during the post-season best track analysis. They also only include 6-hourly storm fixes, which means they may miss special advisories at landfall, peak intensity, etc.
The tropical cyclone seasons in the Southern Hemisphere begin in July and end in June, while the Northern Hemisphere seasons are counted from January to December. Storms are counted in all basins, months, and years in which they occur, which means some storms may appear more than once. However, the global totals only include each storm one time.
References
- Chu, J.-H., C. R. Sampson, A. S. Levine, and E. Fukada, 2002: The joint typhoon warning center tropical cyclone best-tracks, 1945–2000. Naval Research Laboratory, Reference Number NRL/MR/7540-02-16, 22 pp., https://www.metoc.navy.mil/jtwc/products/best-tracks/tc-bt-report.html.
- Knapp, K. R., M. C. Kruk, D. H. Levinson, H. J. Diamond, and C. J. Neumann, 2010: The International Best Track Archive for Climate Stewardship (IBTrACS). Bull. Amer. Meteor. Soc., 91, 363–376, https://doi.org/10.1175/2009BAMS2755.1.
- Landsea, C. W., and J. L. Franklin, 2013: Atlantic Hurricane database uncertainty and presentation of a new database format. Mon. Wea. Rev., 141, 3576–3592, https://doi.org/10.1175/MWR-D-12-00254.1.
- ——, G. A. Vecchi, L. Bengtsson, and T. R. Knutson, 2010: Impact of duration thresholds on Atlantic tropical cyclone counts. J. Climate, 23, 2508–2519, https://doi.org/10.1175/2009JCLI3034.1.
- Schreck, C. J., K. R. Knapp, and J. P. Kossin, 2014: The Impact of Best Track Discrepancies on Global Tropical Cyclone Climatologies using IBTrACS. Mon. Wea. Rev., 142, 3881–3899, https://doi.org/10.1175/MWR-D-14-00021.1.