You know the names Andrew, Charley, Wilma, Irma, and Michael. All were major hurricanes that impacted Florida.

What You Need To Know

  • 2001's Tropical Storm Allison is the costliest cyclone to never become a hurricane

  • Studies: Half of all tropical storm, hurricane-related deaths are from water

  • STORM SEASON 2020: News, Resources, FAQs and More

Hurricanes get their category based on the strength of their winds, but wind is not a tropical system’s only deadly force, and major hurricanes aren't the only storms that can cause significant damage and loss of life.

“The images that stand out in my mind, Chris, are the cars that were parked along the interstates and many of which had been flooded out," Meteorologist Burton Fitzsimmons said.

In 2001, Tropical Storm Allison hammered the Houston area.

The storm dumped 36 inches of rain, flooding 70,000 homes and 95,000 cars.

“They didn’t get moved for several weeks.” Fitzsimmons said.

Worst of all, 22 people died in the floodwaters. It remains the costliest tropical cyclone that never became a hurricane.

Spectrum News Austin’s Chief Meteorologist Burton Fitzsimmons saw first-hand the damage a weak tropical storm can do.

“There was a mall that was actually inundated. It was actually a part of a tube system underground in Downtown Houston. Unfortunately, one person lost their life in an elevator," Fitzsimmons said.

 
Onlookers stand on an overpass where flood waters from Tropical Storm Allison covered Interstate 10 in Houston, Saturday, June 9, 2001. (AP)

Studies show more than half of all tropical storm and hurricane-related deaths are due to water.

​“As the forward speed slows down, these particular systems can put down a phenomenal amount of rain, and it is that inland flooding or fresh water flooding that puts us all at risk," Sean Sublette said.

Sublette is a meteorologist with Climate Central.

He’s studied why people are becoming more vulnerable to weather hazards like tropical storms and hurricanes.

“We have higher populations in these vulnerable areas, flood plains and the like," Sublette said.

“It is a good reminder that any time with any storm, these little weather systems sometimes don’t do what we think they’re going to do," Fitzsimmons said.

Bottom line, hurricane or not, it only takes one tropical system to have a bad season.