It has to be a named hurricane (e.g. Hurricane Katrina). Whether it's a "major" or a "minor" hurricane doesn't matter as long as it's classified as a hurricane, has a name and strikes in the US.
1,000
3.00Hurricane Beryl hit Texas as a Cat 1
Hurricane Debby hit Florida as a Cat 1
Hurricane Francine hit Louisiana as a Cat 2
Hurricane Helene hit Florida as a Cat 4
Hurricane Milton hut Florida as a Cat 3
5 so far. 3 more seems highly unlikely
Other hurricanes were:
Ernesto no landfall
Isaac no landfall
Kirk no landfall
Leslie no landfall
Oscars landfall Cuba only
Rafael landfall Cuba only
@TimothyJohnson5c16 Also, if a hurricane is downgraded to a tropical storm before reaching the US, does that count? (I'm guessing no.)
Or if the outer edge of a hurricane touches a US territory, but that territory never experiences hurricane-force winds, does that also count? (I'm guessing yes.)
Per NOAA: an 85% chance of an above-normal hurricane season is predicted and among tropical storms, “8 to 13 are forecast to become hurricanes”
https://www.noaa.gov/news-release/noaa-predicts-above-normal-2024-atlantic-hurricane-season
@SusanneinFrance That's just for the Atlantic. It's rare, but there could also be hurricanes in the US on the Pacific side.
Based on the data I can find, there were only 19 hurricanes in the U.S. throughout the entire 2010's, and only 3 so far in the 2020's, so I don't see how there could be eight in one year.