All findings · Storm Blackout and Restoration
How many of these storm events are tropical cyclones or typhoons?
44 of 672 storm events are tropical cyclones or typhoons.
These 672 storm events include 36 with kind tropical and 8 with kind typhoon (44 together). Kind tropical includes hurricanes. Other counts: severe storms 347, floods 186, tornadoes 24, ice storms 21, winter storms 21, snowstorms 20, straight-line wind 6, coastal storms 3.
These numbers are Storm Blackout and Restoration version 1.2, the published package (672 storms in version 1.2).
Table
From the table
| Kind | Storm events |
|---|---|
| tropical | 36 |
| severe_storm | 347 |
| flood | 186 |
| severe_ice_storm | 21 |
| snowstorm | 20 |
| tornado | 24 |
| winter_storm | 21 |
| typhoon | 8 |
| straight-line_winds | 6 |
| coastal_storm | 3 |
Reading
What the data shows
Counting kind on storms.csv yields the mix above. The three largest summed county peaks are Irma, Helene, and DR-4586. Kind tropical includes hurricanes.
Context
Why it matters
If you expected only hurricanes, check this first. Severe storms and floods are the two largest counts. Kind tropical includes hurricanes.
Method
How it was measured
The mix is the kind column on the release storms list. The three names are the largest sums of numeric peak_customers_out. Most storm events in the catalog are not tropical. Method on the dataset page.
Limits
What this cannot tell you
Night light is not a utility outage count. County peaks can double-count customers across overlapping service territories when summed. Disclaimer word for word: Not for real-time emergency response or for any decision about one address or property.
Check
Check it yourself
- File
storms/storms.csv- Column
kind- Row
count of kind on storms.csv, 672 storm events- API and assistant
- Same key, same data
This API call reads the same cells.
curl "https://api.heimdallresearch.com/v1/storms" \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $HEIMDALL_API_KEY"This assistant prompt asks for the same cells.
MCP https://api.heimdallresearch.com/mcp question: How many storms are in each kind, and which three events have the largest summed peak_customers_out?Citation
Dataset citation
Heimdall Research (2026). Storm Blackout and Restoration (Version 1.2) [Data set]. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.23010005 Concept DOI https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.23010004.
- Version
- 1.2
- DOI
- 10.5281/zenodo.23010005
Related
Related findings
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Irma has the largest sum of county outage peaks among these 672 storm events: 8.9 million.
Among these 672 storm events, Irma (AL112017) has the largest sum of county peak customers out: 8,867,374 across 329 counties with a numeric peak. Each county contributes its own peak. Those peaks are not one simultaneous count of customers out.
Breakdown
Summing numeric peak_customers_out for event_id AL112017 gives 8,867,374 across 329 counties. That sum is the largest among the 672 storm events. Each county contributes its own peak. Those peaks are not one simultaneous count of customers out. The next sums are Helene 5,911,300, DR-4586 5,214,663, Ian 3,981,026, and Milton 3,736,269.
-
Milton's sum of county outage peaks ranks fifth: 3.7 million.
Milton (AL142024) sums to 3,736,269 peak customers across 51 counties (5th largest sum). Each county contributes its own peak.
Breakdown
For AL142024, the sum of numeric peak_customers_out is 3,736,269 across 51 counties. That ranks 5th, behind Irma, Helene, DR-4586, and Ian. Each county contributes its own peak. Those peaks are not one simultaneous count of customers out.
-
After Maria, night-light brightness took 121 days to return to the usual range in the typical county.
For Maria (AL152017), the median of days_to_normal is 121 days across 46 counties with a value. This column is satellite night-light brightness.
Breakdown
In the county summary table for AL152017, the median of days_to_normal is 121 across 46 counties with a value. days_to_normal counts days of satellite night-light brightness. It is separate from utility hours_to_90pct_restored.
Estimates from public records and satellite night light. Not for real-time emergency response or for any decision about one address or property.
Provided as is, without warranty of any kind.