Hurricanes are among the most powerful and destructive forces on Earth, unleashing ferocious winds, torrential rains, and catastrophic storm surges. These colossal storms have shaped history, devastated cities, and even altered landscapes. From the origins of the word “hurricane” to bizarre survival stories and record-breaking storms, the facts behind these tempests are as fascinating as they are terrifying.
In this article, we explore 50 incredible facts about hurricanes—some shocking, some inspiring, and all a testament to the sheer power of nature. Whether you’re a weather enthusiast or simply curious about these mighty storms, prepare to be amazed by the raw force of nature’s wrath.
1 Origin of the Word “Hurricane”
The Mayan god of wind and storms, Jun Raqan—pronounced “Huracan”—inspired the word “hurricane.”
2. Since the 1940s, the U.S. government has been sending special planes into the eyes of hurricanes to track their paths. These planes fly through storms continuously, collecting data that provides the only precise way to locate the storm’s eye—a process known as “fixing the eye.”
3. In 1274, Kublai Khan invaded Japan with 33,000 troops but failed due to a severe typhoon. He attempted another invasion in 1279 with 140,000 troops, advancing within 15 kilometers of Fukuoka, but a typhoon once again thwarted his efforts. This event led to the term “kamikaze,” meaning “divine wind.”
4. After Hurricane Katrina, FEMA miscalculated supply needs and ended up storing 85 million pounds of ice in facilities across the U.S. The agency ultimately melted the ice two years later, incurring $12.5 million in storage fees.
5. The United States experiences more tornadoes than any other country, with over 1,200 occurring annually. Florida has the most tornadoes per unit area, while Oklahoma records the highest number of strong tornadoes per unit area.
6 Storms Named After Politicians
Hurricanes and cyclones have human names because meteorologist Clement Wragge, the first to name them, chose to name storms after politicians he disliked. This allowed him to say things like they were “causing great distress” or “wandering aimlessly.”
7. During Hurricane Andrew in 1992, Miami Zoo staff placed 30 flamingos in a bathroom to keep them safe. A widely shared image of the birds huddled together became one of the hurricane’s most iconic photographs.
8. Journalist Dan Rather rose to fame after his groundbreaking reporting during Hurricane Carla in 1961 that saved thousands of lives. He created the first radar weather report by overlaying a transparent map on a radar image of the hurricane, which helped facilitate the evacuation of 350,000 people.
9. An average hurricane releases an astonishing amount of energy—approximately 5.2 × 10¹⁹ joules per day—through cloud and rain formation. This is nearly 200 times the total electricity generated by humans worldwide.
10. In 1996, an extremely rare and powerful cyclonic storm resembling a hurricane formed over Lake Huron. It became the first recorded instance of such a storm developing over the Great Lakes region.
11 Florida’s Outward-Swinging Hurricane Doors
South Florida’s building codes require exterior doors to swing outward because this design provides better protection against hurricanes. Lawmakers enacted this regulation after Hurricane Andrew.
12. In 2012, the National Weather Service’s chief meteorologist predicted Hurricane Sandy would be a devastating storm six days before it struck the East Coast. Confident in his forecast, he included his personal phone number in the warning, inviting complaints if he was wrong. Ultimately, Sandy became the second-costliest storm in U.S. history.
13. The largest disaster in history occurred in 1975 during China’s Cultural Revolution when the Banqiao Dam collapsed during a typhoon. The disaster is estimated to have killed hundreds of thousands, but the Chinese Communist Party covered it up for nearly 20 years.
14. Two hurricanes can sometimes merge to form a larger, more powerful storm. This phenomenon is known as the “Fujiwhara Effect.”
15. On the atoll of Pinglelap, approximately 10% of the population has total colorblindness, while another 30% are unaffected carriers of the gene. This genetic trait resulted from a population bottleneck caused by a 1775 typhoon that left only 20 survivors, one of whom carried the gene for colorblindness.
16 Hurricane Ivan’s 130-Foot Waves
When Hurricane Ivan moved through the Gulf of Mexico in 2004, pressure sensors on the ocean floor detected a massive rogue wave measuring 91 feet high. Computer simulations later suggested that at its peak as a Category 5 storm, Ivan produced waves exceeding 130 feet.
17. During hurricane preparation, Strawberry Pop-Tarts become one of Walmart’s most-purchased food items.
18. On November 12, 1970, the Bhola Cyclone struck Bangladesh, killing over half a million people in a single day. In the storm’s aftermath, millions more perished due to famine, genocide perpetrated by the Pakistani government, and a war that nearly escalated into nuclear conflict.
19. After Hurricane Mitch hit Honduras in the 1990s, the Choluteca Bridge remarkably survived the storm. However, the hurricane’s extreme flooding completely rerouted the river, leaving the bridge standing over dry land.
20. Approximately 44% of those who refused to evacuate during Hurricane Katrina stayed behind to avoid abandoning their pets. This crisis led to major changes in state and federal laws regarding pet evacuations during disasters.
15 Most Controversial & Costly Blunders in History
21 Typhoon and Volcano Struck Together
In 1991, Typhoon Yunya struck the Philippines at the same time the country was experiencing the second-largest volcanic eruption of the 20th century—Mt. Pinatubo eruption.
22. When Cyclone Olivia hit Australia in 1996, an anemometer recorded a wind gust of 254 mph (408 km/h), making it the fastest non-tornadic surface wind speed ever observed on Earth.
23. Six Flags New Orleans was abandoned after Hurricane Katrina. Today, the park remains an overgrown swamp, with many attractions still standing as they were before the hurricane.
24. The largest British ship ever lost at sea, the 92,000-ton MV Derbyshire, sank in a typhoon off Japan without issuing a mayday call. Investigators later found the wreck and concluded that the entire sinking could have occurred in as little as two minutes.
25. The Bermuda coat of arms features a depiction of a sinking ship. The ship Sea Venture, carrying some 150 colonists bound for Virginia, was shipwrecked on shoals off Bermuda during a hurricane in 1609. The crew survived and chose to stay on the island, becoming the first English settlers of Bermuda.
RE: Fact #44 (Comcast Charged Storm Victims Fees) – Comcast’s answers after the storm were all over the place. Some reps told people to go through their insurance, while others said to send the equipment back, even if it was wrecked or covered in mold.
Thinking about those “customer care” agents, probably stuck in India with no real power, is kind of depressing.
RE: Fact #26 (A Basketball Shot Saved Lives) – That reminds me, the People’s Temple basketball team were some of the only people who survived Jonestown because they were at a Georgetown basketball tournament.
Do cults usually have basketball teams?
RE: Fact #38 (Could Machine Guns Stop Hurricanes?) – Want to shoot a hurricane? You’ll need a day, a whole army of big guns, and twenty billion bucks’ worth of ammo. Side effect: you might poison the whole east coast. Probably won’t get a medal for that.
RE: Fact #26 (A Basketball Shot Saved Lives) – Hey, related thing – a plane crashed into the stands at a Baltimore playoff game back in the 70s. Crazy enough, a ton of fans survived because the Steelers crushed the Colts, and most people left early. Jon Bois made a killer video about it.
RE: Fact #1 (Origin of the Word “Hurricane”) – Juracán actually comes from the Taino people of the Caribbean. The article says it might be from a Caribbean version, and the Juracán wiki page confirms the Spanish word borrowed from it.
RE: Fact #13 (China’s Hidden Dam Disaster) – The CCP is seriously insecure and way over the top. They’re unbelievably ridiculous, and it’d be hilarious if they weren’t so obviously bad.
I hate the CCP, but North Korea’s a real thing.
That’s a good point, but I think China just has a bigger economy.
RE: Fact #33 (Cyclone Ended Samoan Naval Standoff) – Germany had it as a colony until World War One, then New Zealand just swooped in and took it—no fighting needed.
RE: Fact #11 (Florida’s Outward-Swinging Hurricane Doors) – In Canada, doors open inwards. Makes sense, right? Think about all that snow! Though, global warming might change things.
RE: Fact #29 (Deadliest U.S. Hurricane: Galveston 1900) – Galveston was known as the “New York City of the Gulf” back then—it was one of the four richest cities in America. That storm totally changed everything for Galveston.
RE: Fact #36 (Hurricane Disrupted Jurassic Park Filming) – Seeing JP in theaters for the first time was totally insane, especially considering how used we are to CGI now. The dinosaurs? They looked real, no jerky, fake animation. It was amazing.
It took them a year to make just four minutes of CGI for that movie, but man, it still looks amazing! Back then, a whole CGI movie would’ve been mind-blowing, like Toy Story. Now, it’s totally normal.
RE: Fact #31 (Cows Swam to Safety) – We grew up with goats and sometimes a cow. Three sides of their pasture were fenced, the fourth was a pond. The goats didn’t mind – they hated water. But that cow? She’d sometimes swim across the pond, a good hundred yards! Those cows were surprisingly good swimmers. It totally makes sense.
RE: Fact #5 (U.S. Leads in Tornado Frequency) – Wow, I’m surprised Florida’s got the most per square mile! That’s a neat map.
RE: Fact #24 (Typhoon Sank Britain’s Largest Ship) – A week later, they found an empty lifeboat 700 miles off, completely torn apart.
RE: Fact #19 (Bridge Left Standing Over Land) – Lots of blogs use the bridge as a symbol of change, adapting, and shaking things up—I saw it on Google.
RE: Fact #31 (Cows Swam to Safety) – So they biked ten miles, then ran five—that finished off their first-ever Cape Lookout triathlon! They celebrated with a high-five. Apparently, they’ve even started a super successful animal CrossFit gym back home.
RE: Fact #33 (Cyclone Ended Samoan Naval Standoff) – Britain’s naval history is pretty strange; the weather’s often decided their battles for them.
RE: Fact #39 (Entire State Under Tornado Warning) – Forty-five years ago, the “Super Outbreak” happened—the deadliest tornado outbreak until 2011. Over 300 people died when nearly 150 tornadoes hit in less than a day. Places like Xenia, Ohio, were really devastated.
RE: Fact #40 (Tornado-Carried Bathtub Saves Woman) – So, it wasn’t a tornado at all; she was just using Herbal Essences.
RE: Fact #29 (Deadliest U.S. Hurricane: Galveston 1900) – So many bodies, they just piled ’em up and burned them.
See those old Victorian houses still standing on the island? They’re there because the waves smashed tons of houses closer to the shore, creating a huge pile of rubble that acted like a protective wall.
Then, they raised the city and built a seawall to stop it from happening again.
That also helped Houston become a major port. Before the storm, Galveston was the biggest port in Texas.
RE: Fact #27 (Woman Lost 5 Homes to Hurricanes) – “Seriously? Fifth time already? They think *I* caused the hurricane!”
RE: Fact #7 (Flamingos Sheltered in a Bathroom) – The one under the sink.
RE: Fact #20 (Pets Delayed Katrina Evacuations) – I got certified in emergency preparedness during my master’s—one of my professors even worked with FEMA! He said states handle pet evacuations differently; some keep pets in safe shelters, others evacuate them with their owners. Evacuating pets with people is tough on the animals—all that close contact can really stress them out and make them act out.
RE: Fact #24 (Typhoon Sank Britain’s Largest Ship) – It goes down in two minutes, after the front of the ship fills with water over 13 to 30 hours. Basically, the pipes up front were busted, letting water into the ship for hours. I wonder if the crew even realized what was happening, or if they just figured the waves were getting bigger instead of the ship sinking because it was filling with water.
Yeah, it lost buoyancy pretty fast, over a single day. But going from basically afloat to a total wreck in just two minutes? That’s insane. I bet if they knew how much water was coming in, they’d have contacted someone…though a rescue probably wouldn’t have helped much anyway in that mess.
RE: Fact #17 (Walmart’s Hurricane Pop-Tart Surge) – I crunched the numbers a while back, and Pop-Tarts are crazy cheap for how many calories you get. Even more so than rice and stuff. You’d practically have to chug vegetable oil to beat them.
RE: Fact #47 (Hurricane Harvey Broke Rainfall Scale) – Australia also recently added a new color to their heat scale—the old one maxed out!
RE: Fact #37 (Tornado Nearly Hit Nuclear Bombers) – The tornado felt something stronger than it was, so it veered off.
RE: Fact #43 (Lethal Injections After Hurricane Katrina) – Ugh, this one sucks.
RE: Fact #34 (FEMA’s Waffle House Disaster Index) – That’s funny, because every time I eat there, the rest of the evening’s a total mess.
RE: Fact #8 (Dan Rather’s Breakthrough Hurricane Report) – Dan Rather was my first hero. I was totally obsessed—watched his news every night! I even dressed up as him for Halloween when I was three. Mom sent him a Polaroid and the whole story, and he wrote back a really nice letter saying how cool he thought it was. I bet Mom still has it.
RE: Fact #16 (Hurricane Ivan’s 130-Foot Waves) – Turns out, hundred-foot monster waves are pretty common in every ocean. Sailors have been telling tales of these huge waves for ages.
RE: Fact #15 (Typhoon Caused Genetic Colorblindness) – So, Pingelap’s part of Pohnpei, which is in Micronesia.
Micronesia (or FSM, as they call it) used to be part of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, run by the US until the islands set up their own governments. People often just call the whole area Micronesia, but that’s a pretty big area including Guam and other islands too.
Everyone from the Trust Territory can now live and work freely in the US, and they use US dollars and the post office. People from the Northern Mariana Islands are US citizens, while others from the former Trust Territory have special agreements with the US that let them live and work there.
RE: Fact #20 (Pets Delayed Katrina Evacuations) – I wouldn’t leave my pets behind unless they dragged me out in cuffs. The thought of them starving, drowning, or baking in the heat is unbearable. They’re my family, I’d give my life for them just like I would my kids.
RE: Fact #40 (Tornado-Carried Bathtub Saves Woman) – Right after college, my wife and I got caught in an Indiana tornado. Two giant grain bins—full of corn—vanished, along with the brand-new apartment building next door. Our ears popped, the roof flew off, and windows shattered everywhere. We huddled in the bathtub, pretty sure we were goners. Luckily, my boss was cool about me missing work.
That must’ve been terrifying! Did you get cut by the glass?
RE: Fact #39 (Entire State Under Tornado Warning) – Indiana. Wow, what a state.
RE: Fact #4 (FEMA’s Costly Ice Miscalculation) – The government shells out around $12,000 for a 20-ton truckload of ice, delivered to where it’s supposed to go. Moving it further costs $2.60 a mile, and a day’s wait can run you up to $900. Makes sense they tried to keep it close, huh?
RE: Fact #49 (Typhoon Hit Hiroshima After Bombing) – Japan: “Things couldn’t get any worse, right?”
Nature: “Oh yeah? Watch this.”