List of Category 5 Atlantic hurricanes

Hurricane Isabel, as seen from the International Space Station in September 2003.

The list of Category 5 Atlantic hurricanes encompasses 31 tropical cyclones that reached Category 5 strength on the Saffir–Simpson hurricane wind scale within the Atlantic Ocean (north of the equator), Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico. Hurricanes of such intensity are somewhat infrequent in the Atlantic basin, occurring only once every three years on average.

Only five times—in the 1932, 1933, 1961, 2005, and 2007 hurricane seasons—has more than one Category 5 hurricane formed. Only in 2005 have more than two Category 5 hurricanes formed, and only in 2007 has more than one made landfall at Category 5 strength.^[1]

Statistics

Saffir–Simpson hurricane wind scale
TD	TS	C1	C2	C3	C4	C5

Tracks of all known Category 5 Atlantic hurricanes between 1851 and 2014

A Category 5 hurricane has sustained winds greater than 156 miles per hour (251 km/h). "Sustained winds" refers to the average wind speed observed over one minute at 10 metres (32 ft 9.7 in) above ground, which is the standard height windspeed is measured at to avoid interference by obstacles and obstructions. Brief gusts in hurricanes are typically up to 50 percent higher than sustained winds.^[2] Because a hurricane is (usually) a moving system, the wind field is asymmetric, with the strongest winds on the right side (in the Northern Hemisphere), relative to the direction of motion. The highest winds given in advisories are those from the right side.^[3]

Between 1924 and 2016, 31 hurricanes were recorded at Category 5 strength. No Category 5 hurricanes were observed officially before 1924. It can be presumed that earlier storms reached Category 5 strength over open waters, but the strongest winds were not measured. The anemometer, a device used for measuring wind speed, was invented in 1846. However, during major hurricane strikes the instruments as a whole were often blown away, leaving the hurricane′s peak intensity unrecorded. For example, as the Great Beaufort Hurricane of 1879 struck North Carolina, the anemometer cups were blown away when indicating 138 mph (222 km/h).^[4]

A reanalysis of weather data is ongoing by researchers who may upgrade or downgrade other Atlantic hurricanes currently listed at Categories 4 and 5.^[5] For example, the 1825 Santa Ana hurricane is suspected to have reached Category 5 strength.^[6] Furthermore, paleotempestological research aims to identify past major hurricanes by comparing sedimentary evidence of recent and past hurricane strikes. For example, a "giant hurricane" significantly more powerful than Hurricane Hattie (Category 5) has been identified in Belizean sediment, having struck the region sometime before 1500.^[7]

Officially, the decade with the most Category 5 hurricanes is 2000–2009, with eight Category 5 hurricanes having occurred: Isabel (2003), Ivan (2004), Emily (2005), Katrina (2005), Rita (2005), Wilma (2005), Dean (2007), and Felix (2007). The previous decades with the most Category 5 hurricanes were the 1930s and 1960s, with six occurring between 1930 and 1939 (before naming began) .^[1]

Seven Atlantic hurricanes—Camille, Allen, Andrew, Isabel, Ivan, Dean and Felix—reached Category 5 intensity on more than one occasion; that is, by reaching Category 5 intensity, weakening to a Category 4 or lower, and then becoming a Category 5 again. Such hurricanes have their dates shown together. Camille, Andrew, Dean and Felix each attained Category 5 status twice during their lifespans. Allen, Isabel and Ivan reached Category 5 intensity on three separate occasions. However, no Atlantic hurricane has reached Category 5 intensity more than three times during its lifespan. The November 1932 Cuba hurricane holds the record for most time spent as a Category 5 (although it took place before satellite or reconnaissance so the record may be somewhat suspect).^[1][8]

The minimum pressure of the more recent systems was measured by recon aircraft using dropsondes, or by determining it from satellite imagery using the Dvorak technique. For older storms, pressures are often incomplete. The only readings came from ship reports, land observations, or aircraft reconnaissance. None of these methods can provide constant pressure measurements. Thus, sometimes the only measurement can be from when the hurricane was not a Category 5. Consequently, the lowest measurement is sometimes unrealistically high for a Category 5 hurricane. For example, the 1938 New England hurricane had its lowest recorded pressure recorded while it was a Category 3 storm.

These pressure values do not directly correlate with the maximum winds. This happens because the wind speed of a hurricane depends on both its size and how rapidly the pressure drops as the hurricane's center approaches. Thus, a hurricane in an environment of high ambient pressure will have stronger winds than a hurricane in an environment of low ambient pressure, even if they have identical central pressures.^[9]

Category 5 Atlantic hurricanes

Hurricane Ivan as a Category 5

Hurricane Emily, the earliest Category 5 ever recorded within its own season

Eye of Hurricane Katrina from a Hurricane Hunter flight

Hurricane Matthew, the most recent Category 5 hurricane in the Atlantic. Matthew was also the lowest latitude Category 5 hurricane ever recorded in the Atlantic.

Storm name	Season	Dates as a Category 5	Time as a Category 5 (hours)	Peak one-minute sustained winds		Pressure
				mph	km/h	hPa	inHg
"Cuba"	1924	October 19	12	165	270	910	26.87
San Felipe II-"Okeechobee"	1928	September 13–14	12	160	260	929	27.43
"Bahamas"	1932	September 5–6	24	160	260	921	27.20
"Cuba"	1932	November 5–8	78	175	280	915	27.02
"Cuba–Brownsville"	1933	August 30	12	160	260	930	27.46
"Tampico"	1933	September 21	12	160	260	929	27.43
"Labor Day"	1935	September 3	18	185	295	892	26.34
"New England"	1938	September 19–20	18	160	260	940	27.76
Carol	1953	September 3	12	160	260	929	27.43
Janet	1955	September 27–28	18	175	280	914	27.0
Carla	1961	September 11	18	175	280	931	27.49
Hattie	1961	October 30–31	18	160	260	920	27.17
Beulah	1967	September 20	18	160	260	923	27.26
Camille	1969	August 16–18†	30	175	280	900	26.58
Edith	1971	September 9	6	160	260	943	27.85
Anita	1977	September 2	12	175	280	926	27.34
David	1979	August 30–31	42	175	280	924	27.29
Allen	1980	August 5–9†	72	190	305	899	26.55
Gilbert	1988	September 13–14	24	185	295	888	26.22
Hugo	1989	September 15	6	160	260	918	27.11
Andrew	1992	August 23–24†	16	175	280	922	27.23
Mitch	1998	October 26–28	42	180	285	905	26.72
Isabel	2003	September 11–14†	42	165	270	915	27.02
Ivan	2004	September 9–14†	60	165	270	910	26.87
Emily	2005	July 16	6	160	260	929	27.43
Katrina	2005	August 28–29	18	175	280	902	26.64
Rita	2005	September 21–22	24	180	285	895	26.43
Wilma	2005	October 19	18	185	295	882	26.05
Dean	2007	August 18–21†	24	175	280	905	26.72
Felix	2007	September 3–4†	24	175	280	929	27.43
Matthew	2016	September 30 – October 1	6	160	260	934	27.58
Reference=[1] †= Attained Category 5 status more than once

Climatology

An October Category 5 that hit Cuba in 1924

Thirty-one Category 5s have been recorded in the Atlantic basin since 1851, when records began. Only one Category 5 has been recorded in July, eight in August, nineteen in September, four in October, and one in November. There have been no officially recorded June or off-season Category 5 hurricanes.^[1]

The July and August Category 5s reached their high intensities in both the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea. These are the areas most favorable for tropical cyclone development in those months.^[1][10]

September sees the most Category 5 hurricanes. This coincides with the climatological peak of the Atlantic hurricane season, which occurs in early September.^[11] September Category 5s reached their strengths in any of the Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean Sea, and open Atlantic. These places are where September tropical cyclones are likely to form.^[10] Many of these hurricanes are either Cape Verde-type storms, which develop their strength by having a great deal of open water; or so-called Bahama busters, which intensify over the warm Loop Current in the Gulf of Mexico.^[12]

All five Category 5s in October and November reached their intensities in the western Caribbean, a region that Atlantic hurricanes strongly gravitate toward late in the season.^[10] This is due to the climatology of the area, which sometimes has a high-altitude anticyclone that promotes rapid intensification late in the season, as well as warm waters. Originally, there were only three Category 5s discovered in October, but reanalysis found out that a Hurricane in 1924 also reached that intensity during the month, so four Category 5s developed in October.^[1]

Listed by month

Month Number of recorded storms July 1 August 7 September 18 October 4 November 1 Source National Hurricane Center [1]

Landfalls

Hurricane Camille, a landfalling Category 5

All Atlantic Category 5 hurricanes have made landfall at some location at some strength. Most Category 5 hurricanes in the Atlantic make landfall because of their proximity to land in the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico, where the usual synoptic weather patterns carry them towards land, as opposed to the westward, oceanic mean track of Eastern Pacific hurricanes.^[13] Thirteen of the storms made landfall while at Category 5 intensity;^[1] 2007 is the only year in which two storms made landfall at this intensity.^[1]

Many of these systems made landfall shortly after weakening from a Category 5. This weakening can be caused by dry air near land, shallower waters due to shelving, interaction with land, or cooler waters near shore.^[14] In southern Florida, the return period for a Category 5 hurricane is roughly once every 50 years.^[15]

The following table lists these hurricanes by landfall intensity.

Name	Year	Category 5	Category 4	Category 3	Category 2	Category 1	Tropical storm
"Cuba"	1924	Cuba				Florida	The Bahamas
"Okeechobee"	1928	Puerto Rico	Guadeloupe, Turks and Caicos Islands, The Bahamas, & Florida			South Carolina
"Bahamas"	1932	The Bahamas
"Cuba"	1932		Little Cayman & Cuba	The Bahamas			Martinique
"Cuba–Brownsville"	1933	The Bahamas		Cuba & Texas
"Tampico"	1933		Yucatán Peninsula		Mainland Mexico
"Labor Day"	1935	Florida Keys			Northwest Florida	The Bahamas
"New England"	1938			New York & Connecticut
Carol	1953					Canada
Janet	1955	Yucatán Peninsula			Mainland Mexico
Carla	1961		Texas
Hattie	1961		Belize			Mexico
Beulah	1967			Texas	Yucatán Peninsula
Camille	1969	Mississippi			Cuba
Edith	1971	Nicaragua				Louisiana	Belize & Mexico
Anita	1977	Mexico
David	1979	Dominican Republic	Dominica		Florida	Cuba, The Bahamas, & Georgia
Allen	1980			Texas
Gilbert	1988	Yucatán Peninsula		Jamaica & Mexico			Martinique
Hugo	1989		Guadeloupe, Saint Croix, and South Carolina	Puerto Rico
Andrew	1992	Eleuthera and Florida	Berry Islands	Louisiana
Mitch	1998					Honduras	Yucatán Peninsula & Florida
Isabel	2003				North Carolina
Ivan	2004			Alabama
Emily	2005		Yucatán Peninsula	Mexico		Grenada
Katrina	2005			Louisiana & Mississippi		Florida
Rita	2005			Texas / Louisiana
Wilma	2005		Yucatán Peninsula	Florida
Dean	2007	Yucatán Peninsula			Veracruz
Felix	2007	Nicaragua					Grenada
Matthew	2016		Haiti, Cuba & The Bahamas			South Carolina

See also

• List of Atlantic hurricanes
• List of Atlantic hurricane seasons
• List of Category 4 Atlantic hurricanes
• List of Category 5 Pacific hurricanes

References

1. National Hurricane Center; Hurricane Research Division (July 6, 2016). "Atlantic hurricane best track (HURDAT version 2)". United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved December 5, 2016.
2. Landsea, Christopher W. "Tropical Cyclone FAQ Subject: D4) What does "maximum sustained wind" mean? How does it relate to gusts in tropical cyclones?". Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved 2006-03-16.
3. Landsea, Christopher W. "Tropical Cyclone FAQ Subject: D6) Why are the strongest winds in a hurricane typically on the right side of the storm?". Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved 2006-03-16.
4. Hudgins, James E. (2000). "Tropical cyclones affecting North Carolina since 1586" (PDF). National Weather Service Office Blacksburg, Virginia. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved 2010-11-25.
5. Staff writer (2010-06-08). "Re-analysis Project". Hurricane Research Division — Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Project. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved 2010-11-30.
6. Donnelly, J. P. (2005). "Evidence of Past Intense Tropical Cyclones from Backbarrier Salt Pond Sediments: A Case Study from Isla de Culebrita, Puerto Rico, USA" (PDF). Journal of Coastal Research. SI42: 201–210. ISSN 0749-0208. Retrieved 2010-11-26.
7. Mccloskey, T; G Keller (2009). "5000 year sedimentary record of hurricane strikes on the central coast of Belize". Quaternary International. 195 (1-2): 53–68. Bibcode:2009QuInt.195...53M. doi:10.1016/j.quaint.2008.03.003. ISSN 1040-6182. Retrieved 2010-11-25.
8. Rappaport, Edward N. "Addendum Hurricane Andrew". National Hurricane Center. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
9. Landsea, Christopher W. "Tropical Cyclone FAQ Subject: D9) What causes each hurricane to have a different maximum wind speed for a given minimum sea-level pressure?". Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved 2006-03-16.
10. Staff writer (2010). "Tropical Cyclone Climatology". National Hurricane Center. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved 2010-11-30.
11. Dorst, Neal (2010-06-10). "Tropical Cyclone FAQ G1) When is hurricane season ?". National Hurricane Center. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved 2010-11-30.
12. Landsea, Christopher W. (2010-06-08). "Tropical Cyclone FAQ A2) What is a "Cape Verde" hurricane?". Hurricane Research Division — Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved 2010-11-30.
13. Landsea, Christopher W (2010-06-08). "Tropical Cyclone FAQ G8) Why do hurricanes hit the East coast of the U.S., but never the West coast?". Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved 2010-11-30.
14. Knabb, Richard D.; Rhome, Jamie R.; Brown, Daniel P. (2005-12-20). "Tropical Cyclone Report Hurricane Katrina" (PDF). National Hurricane Center. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. p. 4. Retrieved 30 November 2010.
15. Landsea, Christopher W.; Franklin, James L.; McAdie, Colin J.; Beven, John L.; Gross, James M.; Jarvinen, Brian R.; Pasch, Richard J.; Rappaport, Edward N.; Dunion, Jason P.; Dodge, Peter P. (2004). "A Reanalysis of Hurricane Andrew's Intensity" (PDF). Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society. 85 (11): 1699. Bibcode:2004BAMS...85.1699L. doi:10.1175/BAMS-85-11-1699. ISSN 0003-0007. Retrieved 2010-11-30.

External links

• NHC web site