1900 Galveston hurricane
The Great Galveston hurricane made landfall on September 9, 1900, near Galveston, Texas. It had estimated winds of at landfall, making the cyclone a Category 4 storm on the modern day Saffir–Simpson Hurricane Scale.
The hurricane caused great loss of life, with a death toll of between 6,000 and 12,000 people; the number most cited in official reports is 8,000, giving the storm the third-highest number of deaths or injuries of all Atlantic hurricanes, after the Great Hurricane of 1780 and Hurricane Mitch in 1998. The Galveston Hurricane of 1900 is the deadliest natural disaster to strike the United States. This loss of life can be attributed to the fact that officials for the Weather Bureau in Galveston brushed off the reports because the city had "weathered them all" and they did not realize the threat. The second-deadliest storm to strike the United States, the San Ciriaco hurricane of 1899, caused around 3,400 deaths.
Tropical cyclone
Hurricane Harvey and Hurricane Katrina are estimated to be the costliest tropical cyclones to impact the United States mainland, each causing damage estimated at $125 billion. Harvey killed at least 90 people in August 2017 after making landfall in Texas as a low-end Category 4 hurricane. Hurricane Katrina is estimated as the second-costliest tropical cyclone worldwide, causing $81.2 billion in property damage (2008 USD) alone, with overall damage estimates exceeding $100 billion (2005 USD). Katrina killed at least 1,836 people after striking Louisiana and Mississippi as a major hurricane in August 2005. Hurricane Maria is the third most destructive tropical cyclone in U.S history, with damage totaling $91.61 billion (2017 USD), and with damage costs at $68.7 billion (2012 USD), Hurricane Sandy is the fourth most destructive tropical cyclone in U.S history. The Galveston Hurricane of 1900 is the deadliest natural disaster in the United States, killing an estimated 6,000 to 12,000 people in Galveston, Texas. Hurricane Mitch caused more than 10,000 fatalities in Central America, making it the second deadliest Atlantic hurricane in history. Hurricane Iniki in 1992 was the most powerful storm to strike Hawaii in recorded history, hitting Kauai as a Category 4 hurricane, killing six people, and causing U.S. $3 billion in damage. Other destructive Eastern Pacific hurricanes include Pauline and Kenna, both causing severe damage after striking Mexico as major hurricanes. In March 2004, Cyclone Gafilo struck northeastern Madagascar as a powerful cyclone, killing 74, affecting more than 200,000, and becoming the worst cyclone to affect the nation for more than 20 years.
The most intense storm on record was Typhoon Tip in the northwestern Pacific Ocean in 1979, which reached a minimum pressure of and maximum sustained wind speeds of or . The highest maximum sustained wind speed ever recorded was or in Hurricane Patricia in 2015, which is the most intense cyclone ever recorded in the Western Hemisphere. Typhoon Nancy in 1961 also had recorded wind speeds of or , but recent research indicates that wind speeds from the 1940s to the 1960s were gauged too high, and this is no longer considered the storm with the highest wind speeds on record. Likewise, a surface-level gust caused by Typhoon Paka on Guam in late 1997 was recorded at or . Had it been confirmed, it would be the strongest non-tornadic wind ever recorded on the Earth's surface, but the reading had to be discarded since the anemometer was damaged by the storm.
The World Meteorological Organization established Barrow Island (Queensland) as the location of the highest non-tornado related wind gust at on April 10, 1996 during Severe Tropical Cyclone Olivia.