Hurricane Sam (Cooper)

Hurricane Sam was the latest major hurricane in the Atlantic Ocean in recorded history, as well as the strongest Atlantic hurricane ever recorded in the month of December. The eighteenth and final named storm, ninth hurricane, and fifth major hurricane on the 2021 Atlantic hurricane season, Sam developed on November 30 from a broad area of low pressure that formed in the southwestern Caribbean Sea three days prior. Located over unusually warm sea surface temperatures and with little shear to inhibit the storm, Sam quickly intensified into a hurricane on December 1 as it maintained an unusual west-to-east track through the Caribbean Sea. Afterward, Sam rapidly intensified, reaching its peak intensity as a Category 3 hurricane on December 2. Early the following day, Sam made landfall on the island of Hispaniola, surpassing Hurricane Otto as the latest hurricane to make landfall in the Atlantic basin since records began in 1851. After making landfall, Sam rapidly weakened and began to lose tropical characteristics. Early on December 4, Sam transitioned to a post-tropical cyclone over the central Atlantic Ocean.

Sam produced torrential rainfall on Hispaniola, leading to disastrous flooding and mudslides which caused 302 deaths and $410 million (USD) in damages. Despite the deaths and damages caused by the hurricane, especially in Haiti and the Dominican Republic, the name Sam was not retired after the season had ended.