2005 Hurricane Season

Updated June 26, 2019 | Infoplease Staff

The 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was the most active in the 154 years records have been kept. Here are just a few of the records it set:

  • Most named storms: 28. (Technically, 27 actually received names; one nameable storm was identified after the season ended.) For the first time since the current naming system was introduced in 1953, all 21 names on the year's list were used, forcing the National Hurricane Center to name 6 later storms after Greek letters. Previous record: 21, in 1933. Previous 40-year average: 11.
  • Most hurricanes: 15. Previous record: 12, in 1969. Previous 40-year average: 6.
  • Most Category 5 storms: 4: Emily, Katrina, Rita, and Wilma. Previous record: 2, in 1960 and 1961.
  • Most names retired: 5: Dennis, Katrina, Rita, Stan, and Wilma. Previous record: 4, in 1955, 1995, and 2004.
  • Costliest U.S. hurricane: Katrina ($96.0 billion). Rita and Wilma also made the top 10.
  • Earliest Category 5 storm: Emily, on July 17. Previous record: Allen, on August 5, 1980.
  • Most intense Atlantic hurricane at sea: Wilma. Previous record: Gilbert, in 1988.
  • Storm that formed farthest east: Vince. Previous record: Jeanne, in 1998. Vince was also the first tropical storm to make landfall in Spain.
  • Second storm to bridge December and January: Zeta. It formed at 6 A.M. on Dec. 30, six hours too early to tie 1954's Alice as the latest-forming storm on record.

2005 Atlantic Tropical and Subtropical Storms

(Hurricanes are in bold)

NameDates
(UT)
Max.
wind1
DeathsU.S.
damage2
Arlene6/8–6/13701(3)
Bret6/28–6/294010
Cindy47/3–7/7751(3)
Dennis7/4–7/1315041$ 1.8
Emily7/11–7/211605(3)
Franklin7/21–7/297000
Gert7/23–7/254500
Harvey8/2–8/86500
Irene8/4–8/1810500
Jose8/22–8/235060
Katrina8/23–8/30175c. 1,80096.0
Lee8/28–9/14000
Maria9/1–9/1011500
Nate9/5–9/109000
Ophelia9/6–9/17851$ 1.6
Philippe9/17–9/248000
Rita9/18–9/2617569.4
Stan10/1–10/5801000
Unnamed610/4–10/55000
Tammy10/5–10/6500(3)
Vince10/9–10/117500
Wilma10/15–10/251752214.4
Alpha10/22–10/2450200
Beta10/26–10/3111500
Gamma11/13–11/2055370
Delta11/22–11/287000
Epsilon11/29–12/88500
Zeta12/30–1/66500
1. In miles per hour.
2. In billions of dollars.
3. Minor damage.
4. Cindy was reclassified as a hurricane in early 2006.
5. This subtropical storm was identified in analysis after the season ended.
Source: National Weather Service.

Monthly State Maximum and Minimum Temperature ExtremesWeatherLightning Dangers
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