Cities Hit With the Most Hurricanes Category 3 or Higher

Almost a month into the 2025 hurricane season, the first tropical storm formed on June 24, roughly 1,200 miles west of the Azores. Tropical storm Andrea is heading east-northeast and traveling at 17 mph, with winds of 40 mph. Though it’s always possible for a tropical storm to upgrade to a hurricane, this first named […] The post Cities Hit With the Most Hurricanes Category 3 or Higher appeared first on 24/7 Wall St..

Jun 25, 2025 - 13:06

Cities Hit With the Most Hurricanes Category 3 or Higher

Almost a month into the 2025 hurricane season, the first tropical storm formed on June 24, roughly 1,200 miles west of the Azores. Tropical storm Andrea is heading east-northeast and traveling at 17 mph, with winds of 40 mph. Though it’s always possible for a tropical storm to upgrade to a hurricane, this first named storm of the season is expected to dissipate within 24 hours. Despite this less-than-exciting storm, the NOAA predicts that 2025 has a 60% chance of being an “above-normal” season. They further estimate 13 to 19 named storms, 6-10 hurricanes, and 3-5 major hurricanes.

To determine the cities with the most Category 3 and above hurricanes, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed data on historical hurricane tracks from 1842 to 2022 from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, ranking census places by the number of such hurricanes within their boundaries over that time.

Likely not surprising, 29 of the 50 places on the list are in Florida, though several are part of Miami-Dade County. This is the case with other communities on the list, which tend to be in the same general geographical area.

Following Florida, nine of the places on the list are in Texas, eight are in Louisiana, and four in Mississippi. The top ranking three places are all in Florida — one along the Florida Keys in the southern tip of the state (several other places on the list are along the Keys); one is just south of Miami on the state’s east side; and one is south of Naples on the state’s west side.

This post was updated on June 25, 2025 to include news of the first named storm of 2025’s hurricane season.

Methodology

The word methodology written on a notebook on business office desktop. System of methods used in a study or activity concept. To determine the cities with the most Category 3 and above hurricanes, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed data on historical hurricane tracks from 1842 to 2022 from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Census places were ranked based on the number of Category 3 and above hurricanes – storm events with maximum wind speed of 111 mph or greater – recorded within their boundaries since 1842. Hurricane tracks and census place boundaries were overlapped spatially using QGIS. Census place boundaries are from the U.S. Census Bureau and are for 2023.

Why are we covering this

Hurricanes are the most damaging natural disasters in the United States, responsible for trillions of dollars in damages and thousands of lives. While destruction is the worst where hurricanes make landfall, they can go far inland or cause considerable damage in their aftermath as tropical storms. It is good to know an area’s propensity to be in the path of such destructive forces.