Note: This report catalogs recent tropical cyclones across the North Atlantic and East Pacific and places each basin’s tropical cyclone activity in a climate-scale context. It is not updated in real time. Users seeking the real time status and forecasts of tropical cyclones should visit The National Hurricane Center.

Atlantic Basin

Averages:
The recent average (1997-2006) seasonal hurricane activity in the North Atlantic basin is 14.4 named storms, 7.8 hurricanes and 3.6 major hurricanes. These values represent an increase over the average of the preceding 25 years (1972-1996) of 9.6 named storms, 5.4 hurricanes and 1.8 major hurricanes.

Click here for information on the 2006 North Atlantic Hurricane season.
NOAA's ACE Index 1949-2007
Atlantic ACE
Click for larger image Atlantic ACE

2007 Season Summary:
The 2007 Atlantic hurricane season brought fewer hurricanes than was originally expected and the total number of named storms was below the recent average, yet above the 1950-2000 average. There were 15 named storms in 2007; 6 of these became hurricanes and 2 became major hurricanes. Three tropical storms (Barry, Erin and Gabrielle) and one hurricane (Humberto) made landfall with the mainland U.S. this year, making it a relatively quiet season for this country. Unfortunately, Central America was hit very hard by two back-to-back Category 5 storms (Dean and Felix) in August and September, respectively.

The season began early in 2007 with the development of Subtropical Storm Andrea off the southeastern coast of the United States on May 9, becoming the first named storm in May since 1981. Andrea quickly weakened to a depression the next day without making landfall. June brought Tropical Storm Barry in the Southeastern Gulf of Mexico; Barry made landfall in Pinellas County, Florida with maximum sustained winds of 51 mph (45 knots or 83 km/hr). Only one tropical storm, Chantal, formed in the Atlantic basin in July and did not make landfall. Three tropical storms formed in August: Dean, Erin, and Felix. Dean later developed into a powerful hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 165 mph (144 knots or 265 km/hr) that made landfall near Costa Maya, Mexico and is blamed for over forty deaths in that region.

Seven tropical storms formed in the Atlantic basin in September, the busiest month of 2007. Hurricane Felix, which formed on August 30, grew into a Category 5 storm and made landfall near the Nicaragua-Honduras border. News reports indicate that Felix was responsible for over 130 deaths and many more injuries in these countries. The maximum sustained winds of Hurricane Felix at the time of landfall were estimated to be 160 mph (140 knots or 260 km/hr). Tropical storm Gabrielle made landfall near Cape Lookout, North Carolina on September 9 and weakened to a depression the next day. Hurricane Humberto was the only hurricane to strike the mainland U.S. in 2007, rapidly intensifying to hurricane status in the early morning hours of September 13. One death is blamed on this storm. At the end of September, Hurricane Lorenzo made landfall near Veracruz, Mexico as a Category 1 storm, resulting in six fatalities.

In October, Category 1 Hurricane Noel brought heavy rains and major flooding to parts of Puerto Rico, Hispaniola, and Cuba, causing numerous fatalities. News reports estimate that at least 147 people died as a result of this storm, making it the deadliest storm of the season in the Atlantic basin. Noel later transitioned to an extratropical low and hit the area between eastern Long Island to New England in the U.S., causing considerable tree and power line damage before passing into the Maritimes.

No tropical cyclones formed in the Atlantic basin in November, although one tropical cyclone developed in December after the official end of the Atlantic hurricane season. In mid-December, Sub-Tropical Storm Olga developed in the Caribbean, and eventually gained tropical characteristics. According to press reports, excessive rains from Tropical Storm Olga over the interior mountains of the islands of Puerto Rico and Hispaniola generated flash floods killing at least two dozen people.

For additional information on these and all of the 2007 season storms in the Atlantic basin, please see the summaries below.
Please note that convention reports tropical storm winds in knots (kt) and pressures in millibars (mb).

Pacific Basin

Eleven named storms formed in the East Pacific Hurricane Basin during 2007, which is below the recent ten-year average. Four of these storms were classified as hurricanes and one of these was a major hurricane (Category 3-5 on the Saffir-Simpson Scale). The most notable hurricane of the season was Flossie, which became a Category 4 hurricane on August 11, threatening the Hawaiian Islands. The storm weakened slightly and passed south of the Big Island of the Hawaii on the 13th of August. For more information on Flossie, see the August summary below.

Two tropical storms made landfall in Mexico/Guatemala during the 2007 season. Tropical Storm Barbara came ashore near the border of Mexico and Guatemala on June 2nd. Hurricane Henriette was the only East Pacific Hurricane to make landfall this year, but it made landfall twice: once over the tip of the Baja California peninsula of Mexico on September 4th, and once again the next day near Guaymas, Sonora, Mexico. For additional information on these and all of the 2007 season storms, please see the summaries below.

More statistical information may be found on NCDC's 2007 Northeast Pacific Tropical Cyclone statistics page.

Citing This Report

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Monthly Tropical Cyclones Report for Annual 2007, published online January 2008, retrieved on April 16, 2024 from https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/monthly-report/tropical-cyclones/200713.