Hurricane Bonnie (2016) (Sassmaster15)

Hurricane Bonnie is so far the strongest, costliest, and deadliest tropical cyclone of the 2016 Atlantic hurricane season. A Cape Verde-type hurricane, Bonnie initially followed a generally westward track across the tropical Atlantic and Caribbean, making several landfalls across its path. Strengthening to a major hurricane on August 15, Bonnie then struck Jamaica, the Cayman Islands, and Cuba while at that intensity. Upon departing Cuba and emerging over the Gulf of Mexico, Bonnie attained its peak intensity of 140 miles per hour, 941 millibars hours prior to landfall in the Gulf Coast of the United States. Subsequent weakening occurred due to shelving and cooler sea surface temperatures; by the time of landfall August 18, Bonnie was a high-end Category 3 on the Saffir-simpson wind scale. Katabatic winds and storm surge were responsible for well over $350 million in damages to Mississippi alone. Fortunately, the strongest waves and winds remained confined to, unusually, the south side of the storm, which had weakened substantially prior to moving ashore. Initial anticipations revealed that the storm would have caused billions of dollars in damages due to its intensity and large size.