Did you know that the names given to major Atlantic storms come from lists originated and recycled every six years by the World Meteorological Organization?
Isaac is the ninth name on the list for 2024.
Some people enjoy researching past storms that carried a name from a current list.
If you’re one of those people, when it comes to storms named Isaac, you have:
- • A tropical storm and four hurricanes in the Atlantic.
- • A Cyclone Isaac that struck Tonga in the South Pacific in 1982.
- • If you include the spelling variant “Isaack,” you can throw in last year’s Storm Isaack that impacted southwestern Europe.
All named storms are a form of tropical cyclone — a rotating, organized system of clouds and thunderstorms that originates over tropical or subtropical waters and has a closed low-level circulation.
If Isaac becomes a hurricane during the 2024 hurricane season, or even receives tropical storm status, it will depend on that weather system’s wind speed.
Early in a cyclone’s development, as a tropical depression, wind speeds are less than 39 mph. Tropical depressions are not given names but are tracked in case they grow into tropical storms or hurricanes. Isaac’s classification as a tropical storm and the release of its name would happen when its sustained wind speed reaches 39 mph.
If that speed reaches 74 mph, Isaac will be a hurricane.
As you’ll see below, even if a tropical storm never achieves hurricane status, it can pose a threat to lives and property.
When Was Hurricane Isaac?
With Isaac squarely in the ninth slot on the World Meteorological Organization’s list of scheduled storm names for 2024, you might wonder, “When did Hurricane Isaac hit?” or “What year was Hurricane Isaac?”
Isaac was the label for four hurricanes in:
- • 2000
- • 2006
- • 2012
- • 2018
Where Did Hurricane Isaac Hit?
In 2000, Hurricane Isaac stayed almost entirely in the open sea. Despite its lack of a specific landfall, it caused waves that sank a boat near Long Island, New York, killing one person.
In 2006, Isaac played out a similar story, passing well to the east of the island of Bermuda. That year brought a relatively uneventful hurricane season, with Isaac proving to be the last cyclone of the year and 12 names on the list completely unused.
Things were not so rosy when Hurricane Isaac proved to be deadly and destructive in 2012.
The most recent Hurricane Isaac, in 2018, was a minimal hurricane passing through the Lesser Antilles and dissipating in the eastern Caribbean.
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What Category Was Hurricane Isaac?
The varying categories of named storms through the years offer an important reminder to take all such storms seriously.
While Isaac was a Category 4 in 2000, with wind speeds peaking at 140 mph, its path through the Atlantic never impacted land. Yet, there was still one fatality as a result of wave impact. Category 1 Hurricane Isaac in 2012 never generated winds above 80 mph. But its connections with land were lethal.
In 2006 and 2012 Isaac was a Category 1 storm that tracked primarily over water and caused little damage.
What Time Will Hurricane Isaac Make Landfall?
If you research, “What time did Hurricane Isaac make landfall?” in connection with any of the years mentioned, the answers will not help you prepare if Isaac becomes a significant storm in 2024.
With any current storm predicted to reach your region, you need to stay up to date on weather forecasts and be aware of that specific storm’s estimated landfall.
Thanks to satellite and radar imagery, those predictions can be very accurate, giving you plenty of time to prepare. Don’t make the mistake of waiting until the last minute to reach a safe area.
This article will be updated as more details about 2024’s Isaac become available.
How Many People Died in Hurricane Isaac?
Despite its massive potential for destructive impact, Category 4 Hurricane Isaac stayed mostly out to sea in 2000. Still, one fatality resulted from its influence on New York’s coastal tides.
The deadliest Hurricane Isaac on record caused 41 fatalities, even though it only ranked as a Category 1 storm in 2012. Hardest hit was the island of Hispaniola, where 24 people died in Haiti and another 5 in the Dominican Republic.
What Was the Path of Hurricane Isaac?
2000 Storm
Isaac followed an enormous C curve that moved west from Africa, north through the Atlantic, and then northeast toward the British Isles.
2006 Storm
Isaac developed in the mid-Atlantic and curved slightly west before a northern trajectory took it near Newfoundland.
2012 Storm
The destructive storm followed a relatively direct westerly path that started in the Atlantic, crossed the Caribbean and eventually impacted the U.S. Gulf Coast.
2018 Storm
Isaac moved almost directly east to west in 2018, remaining almost entirely at sea in the Atlantic and Caribbean.
Convoy of Hope & Hurricanes
Convoy of Hope is a faith-based nonprofit serving the poor and hungry in dozens of program countries around the world.
Convoy views disaster response as integral to its larger mission.
In 1998, flooding in Del Rio, Texas, followed that year’s Tropical Storm Charley. Convoy marks Del Rio as its first disaster response, and hurricanes continue to be an annual priority for Convoy.
