Average Tropical Cyclone Intensity Along the Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, and North Florida Coasts

An analysis of the paths of tropical storms and hurricanes affecting the Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, and north Florida coasts was conducted to determine both the average intensity of storms up to 250 km inland and 200 km out to sea, and changes in storm intensity as the storms move inland. The analysis was conducted using a geographic information system in conjunction with knowledge and information gathered from other work. Our analysis shows that there are areas of the Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, and north Florida coasts that experience storms of greater intensity, on average, than other nearby areas. Specifically, storms of a given intensity up to 200 km out in the Atlantic Ocean will have similar intensities after landfall and up to 100 km inland. On average, however, storms arising from the Gulf of Mexico dissipate in intensity more quickly, with many Category 3 or higher storms dropping one class within 50 km of the Gulf coast as they make landfall.