How Many Hurricanes Occur Each Year?

By Staff WriterLast Updated March 28, 2020

A different amount of hurricanes occurs each year. The most hurricanes that have ever happened in a single year in the Atlantic Basin are 12, and the least is two. The Eastern Pacific has had anywhere from four to 14 in one year.

Hurricane is a Caribbean Indian word that means “evil spirit and big wind.” It is a large rotating system of surface winds of at least 74 miles per hour.

Hurricanes occur in different places throughout the world, but have different names depending on the location. In the Northwest Pacific, they’re called typhoons, in Australia they’re called tropical cyclones, and in the United States they’re called hurricanes.