Biggest Hurricanes in History of US

Most Intense Hurricanes in the United States

(U.S. Mainland)

Rank	Hurricane	Year	Category3
1.	Florida Keys	1935	5
2.	Camille (Miss./La./Va.)	1969	5
3.	Katrina (La./Miss.)4	2005	3
4.	Andrew (Fla./La.)	1992	5
5.	Indianola, Tex.	1886	4
6.	Florida Keys/Tex.	1919	4
7.	Lake Okeechobee, Fla.	1928	4
8.	Donna (Fla./Eastern U.S.)	1960	4
9.	New Orleans, La.	1915	4
9.	Carla (Tex.)	1961	4
11.	Last Island, La.	1856	4
11.	Hugo (S.C.)	1989	4

1. Intensity and category are for time of landfall; hurricanes may have been stronger at other times.

2. 1851–2007.

3. Saffir-Simpson Hurricane scale: Cat. 1 = weak; Cat. 5 = devastating.

4. While a hurricane's category is determined by maximum sustained wind speed, its intensity is determined by barometric central pressure. As Katrina illustrates, the two do not have a direct one-to-one relationship.

Sources: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).