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.
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Season summary map | |
First storm formed | May 22, 2021 |
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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 | |
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Duration | May 22 – May 24 |
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Peak intensity | 45 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 | |
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Duration | June 14 – June 16 |
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Peak intensity | 60 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 | |
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Duration | June 19 – June 22 |
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Peak intensity | 45 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 | |
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Duration | June 28 – June 29 |
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Peak intensity | 45 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 | |
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Duration | July 1 – July 9 |
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Peak intensity | 85 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 | |
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Duration | August 11 – August 18 |
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Peak intensity | 45 mph (75 km/h) (1-min) 1006 mbar (hPa) |
Hurricane Grace
Category 3 hurricane | |
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Duration | August 13 – August 21 |
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Peak intensity | 125 mph (205 km/h) (1-min) 962 mbar (hPa) |
Hurricane Henri
Category 1 hurricane | |
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Duration | August 16 – August 23 |
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Peak intensity | 75 mph (120 km/h) (1-min) 986 mbar (hPa) |
Hurricane Ida
Category 4 hurricane | |
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Duration | August 26 – September 4 |
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Peak intensity | 155 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 | |
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Duration | August 28 – September 1 |
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Peak intensity | 45 mph (75 km/h) (1-min) 1003 mbar (hPa) |
Tropical Storm Julian
Tropical storm | |
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Duration | August 29 – August 30 |
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Peak intensity | 60 mph (95 km/h) (1-min) 995 mbar (hPa) |
Hurricane Larry
Category 3 hurricane | |
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Duration | August 31 – September 11 |
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Peak intensity | 125 mph (205 km/h) (1-min) 955 mbar (hPa) |
Tropical Storm Mindy
Tropical storm | |
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Duration | September 8 – September 10 |
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Peak intensity | 45 mph (75 km/h) (1-min) 1002 mbar (hPa) |
Hurricane Nicholas
Category 1 hurricane | |
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Duration | September 12 – September 16 |
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Peak intensity | 75 mph (120 km/h) (1-min) 988 mbar (hPa) |
Tropical Storm Odette
Tropical storm | |
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Duration | September 17 – September 18 |
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Peak intensity | 45 mph (75 km/h) (1-min) 1002 mbar (hPa) |
Tropical Storm Peter
Tropical storm | |
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Duration | September 19 – September 23 |
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Peak intensity | 50 mph (85 km/h) (1-min) 1004 mbar (hPa) |
Tropical Storm Rose
Tropical storm | |
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Duration | September 19 – September 23 |
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Peak intensity | 40 mph (65 km/h) (1-min) 1003 mbar (hPa) |
Hurricane Sam
Category 4 hurricane | |
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Duration | September 22 – October 5 |
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Peak intensity | 155 mph (250 km/h) (1-min) 929 mbar (hPa) |
Subtropical Storm Teresa
Tropical storm | |
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Duration | September 24 – September 25 |
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Peak intensity | 45 mph (75 km/h) (1-min) 1008 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.
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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 |
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) |
References
- "Hurricane Season Information". Frequently Asked Questions About Hurricanes. Miami, Florida: NOAA Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory. June 1, 2018. Retrieved April 13, 2021.
- 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. Retrieved May 22, 2021.
- Allen, Greg (February 26, 2021). "Hurricane Forecasts Will Start Earlier In 2021". NPR. Retrieved February 27, 2021.
- "Official: Crash, "likely" due to storm, kills 10 in Alabama". Associated Press. June 20, 2021. Retrieved June 20, 2021.
- Amanda Dukes (September 9, 2021). "Swimmers off Florida's coast encountering dangerous surf due to Hurricane Larry". WESH. Retrieved September 12, 2021.
- "Coroner identifies drowning victim in Cherry Grove as Pennsylvania man". WMBF. September 9, 2021. Retrieved September 12, 2021.