Hurricane Grace at peak intensity shortly after landfall in Veracruz on August 21, 2021

Within the North Atlantic Ocean, a Category 3 hurricane is a tropical cyclone, that has 1-minute sustained wind speeds of between 96–112 knots (110–129 mph; 178–207 km/h; 49–58 m/s).^[1] Since the beginning of the Atlantic hurricane database in 1851, 162 tropical cyclones peaked at Category 3 strength on the Saffir–Simpson scale in the Atlantic basin, which covers the waters of the Atlantic Ocean north of the equator, the Caribbean Sea, and the Gulf of Mexico. This list does not include hurricanes that intensified further to a Category 4 or 5, the latter being the highest ranking on the scale.

Collectively, Category 3 Atlantic hurricanes caused nearly $100 billion in damage. Most of the damage total was caused by Hurricane Sandy in 2012, which left $68.7 billion in damage when it struck New Jersey as a post-tropical cyclone, and which was briefly a major hurricane near Cuba.

The known Category 3 hurricanes cumulatively killed 18,361 people, including 7,469 in the 2nd half of the 19th century, 7,541 in the 20th century, and 3,351 so far in the 21st century. Four hurricanes accounted for more than half of the recorded deaths. In 1870, a hurricane killed 1,200 people in Cuba. The 1893 Sea Islands hurricane left over 1,000 casualties when it struck the U.S. state of Georgia. In 1909, a hurricane killed about 4,000 people when it moved ashore northeast Mexico. More recently, Hurricane Jeanne in 2004 killed more than 3,000 people when it moved near Haiti.

Background

In 1972, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) began ranking hurricanes according to wind speed with the Saffir–Simpson scale. A Category 3 has maximum sustained winds between 96 knots (110 mph; 178 km/h; 49 m/s) and 112 knots (129 mph; 207 km/h; 58 m/s). The NHC considers these winds to be sustained for a one-minute period at 10 metres (32.8 ft) above the ground. These winds are estimated using a blend of data from different sources, including observations from nearby ships, reconnaissance aircraft, automatic weather stations, and images from various satellites.^[2]

Landfalling storms of Category 3 intensity can cause significant structural damage. The winds are strong enough to knock down trees, blow out windows, destroy roofs, and cause lengthy power outages. Such storms pose a risk of injury or death to humans and animals in the storm path.^[2]

Systems

Number by month

Landfalls

See also

• List of Category 4 Atlantic hurricanes
• List of Category 5 Atlantic hurricanes
• List of Category 3 Pacific hurricanes

References