Three storms have the potential of sending hurricanes onto the East Coast in the coming days. Some of the most powerful and most destructive tropical cyclones to come to the U.S. struck the seaboard there.

Great Miami Hurricane, September 1926

On Sept. 18, a Category 4 storm's eye went directly over Miami Beach with the highest sustained winds recorded up to that time, the NOAA says. Many people were injured when they ventured out as the calm of the eye made them think the storm had passed.

Hurricane Hazel, October 1954

Hurricane Hazel came ashore on a Friday packing 140 mph winds and an 18-foot storm surge. It wiped out all traces of civilization along a 35-mile stretch of North Carolina coast, according to National Geographic. Earlier, the storm had killed hundreds in Haiti, and it tore a path from South Carolina to Canada.

Hurricanes Connie and Diane, August 1955

Connie and Diane struck different parts of the North Carolina coast just five days apart. Neither storm was particularly powerful, but they combined to dump up to 32 inches of rain on some areas, causing flooding from North Carolina to Massachusetts, according to NOAA.

Hurricane Donna, September 1960

Donna is considered one of the most intense hurricanes of all time. On Sept. 9, after a long journey across the Atlantic and through the Caribbean, it turned north and hit the Florida Keys as a Category 4 storm, with wind gusts as high as 150 mph. It crossed Florida back into the Atlantic, and made landfall again in North Carolina and then New England and Long Island. It is the only storm to produce hurricane-force winds in all those places.

Hurricane Hugo, September 1989

Hugo came ashore in South Carolina as a Category 4 storm on Sept. 22. Winds were measured as high as 120 mph, and the storm was blamed for 21 deaths and $7 billion of damage in the U.S., along with 29 deaths in the islands.

Hurricane Andrew, August 2002

Until Hurricane Katrina, Andrew was considered the costliest storm in U.S. history, according to Wikipedia, with a toll of $26.5 billion. Winds from the storm, which struck south Florida on Aug. 24, were so strong that 117,000 homes were destroyed or had major damage, according to a book cited on Wikipedia called "Florida Hurricanes and Tropical Storms." The storm also did so much damage at Homestead Air Force Base that it never reopened for active duty.

Hurricane Floyd, September 1999

Floyd hit near Cape Fear, N.C, on Sept. 16 as a Category 2 storm. It combined with a front to drop rains of greater than 10 inches on an area from North Carolina to the northeast, with 19 inches reported in Wilmington, N.C. Floods -- in part caused by Tropical Storm Dennis, which had passed by two weeks earlier -- were also blamed for 50 deaths.