U.S. Hasn't Gone This Long Without a Big Hurricane in 150 Years
“Luck is the main factor,” says one prominent meteorologist. “But this year, the U.S.’s luck has changed.” Here comes Hurricane Matthew.
As Hurricane Matthew slams into Haiti today and heads toward the U.S. Southeast coast, meteorologists are asking whether the powerful storm may become the first to hit the U.S. in more than a decade—a record length of time.
Jeff Masters, meteorological director for the website Weather Underground, says Matthew could become the storm to break the U.S.’s unprecedented luck in avoiding major hurricanes. The last major hurricane—Wilma—struck Key West, Florida, with peak winds of around 120 miles per hour, in October 2005.
That means this has been the longest period without a major hurricane hitting the U.S. since record keeping began in 1851. (A major hurricane, also known as Category 3, is a storm with winds exceeding 110 mph.)
Masters has
