List of Category 5 Atlantic hurricanes


A Category 5 Atlantic hurricane is a tropical cyclone that reaches Category 5 intensity on the Saffir–Simpson hurricane wind scale, within the Atlantic Ocean to the north of the equator. They are amongst the strongest tropical cyclones that can form on earth and have 1-minute sustained wind speeds of over. The United States National Hurricane Center currently estimates that a total of 36 tropical cyclones between 1851 and, have peaked as a category 5 hurricane.

Background

Within the Atlantic Ocean to the north of the Equator, hurricanes are officially monitored by the United States's National Hurricane Center, however, other meteorological services, such as Meteo France, the United Kingdom's Met Office and Environment Canada also monitor the basin. Within the region, a Category 5 hurricane is considered to be a tropical cyclone that has 1-minute mean maximum sustained wind speeds of or greater on the Saffir–Simpson hurricane wind scale at above ground.
A total of 36 tropical cyclones have been estimated to have peaked as a Category 5 hurricane on the SSHWS, with the first thought to have occurred during 1924.
Officially, from 1924 to 2019, 36 Category 5 hurricanes have been recorded. 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.
, a reanalysis of weather data was ongoing by researchers who may upgrade or downgrade other Atlantic hurricanes currently listed at Categories 4 and 5. For example, the 1825 Santa Ana hurricane is suspected to have reached Category 5 strength. 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 has been identified in Belizean sediment, having struck the region sometime before 1500.
Officially, the decade with the most Category 5 hurricanes is 2000–2009, with eight Category 5 hurricanes having occurred: Isabel, Ivan, Emily, Katrina, Rita, Wilma, Dean, and Felix. The previous decades with the most Category 5 hurricanes were the 1930s and 1960s, with six occurring between 1930 and 1939.
The most consecutive years to feature at least one Category 5 hurricane each is four, from 2016 to 2019. Six storms have reached that category in these years - Matthew, Irma, Maria, Michael, Dorian, and Lorenzo. Of these, Dorian had the highest winds, at, while Maria had the lowest central pressure, at.
Nine Atlantic hurricanes—Camille, Allen, Andrew, Isabel, Ivan, Dean, Felix, Irma and Maria—reached Category 5 intensity on more than one occasion; that is, by reaching Category 5 intensity, weakening to a Category 4 status or lower, and then becoming a Category 5 hurricane again. Such hurricanes have their dates shown together. Camille, Andrew, Dean, Felix, Irma, and Maria 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 1932 Cuba hurricane holds the record for the most time spent as a Category 5 hurricane. Irma holds the record for the longest continuous span as a Category 5 storm in the satellite era.
Thirty-six Category 5 hurricanes have been recorded in the Atlantic basin since 1851, when records began. Only one Category 5 has been recorded in July, eight in August, twenty-one in September, six in October, and one in November. There have been no officially recorded June or off-season Category 5 hurricanes.
The July and August Category 5 hurricanes 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.
September sees the most Category 5 hurricanes, with over half of the total. This coincides with the climatological peak of the Atlantic hurricane season, which occurs in early September. 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. 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.
Six of the seven Category 5 hurricanes in October and November reached their intensities in the western Caribbean, a region that Atlantic hurricanes strongly gravitate toward late in the season. 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.

Systems

Listed by month


MonthNumber of recorded storms
July1
August7
September21
October6
November1
SourceNational Hurricane Center


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Landfalls

With the exception of Hurricane Lorenzo, which did not make landfall but still brought hurricane-force winds to the Azores, all Atlantic Category 5 hurricanes have made landfall at some location as a hurricane, and all but four of those made landfall at some location at major hurricane 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. Seventeen of the storms made landfall at least once while at Category 5 intensity; 2007 and 2017 are the only years in which two storms made landfall at this intensity.
Many of these systems made landfall shortly after weakening from a Category 5 hurricane. This weakening can be caused by dry air near land, shallower waters due to shelving, interaction with land, replacement of its eyewalls, or cooler waters near shore. In southern Florida, the return period for a Category 5 hurricane is roughly once every 50 years.
The following table lists these hurricanes by landfall intensity. As Lorenzo did not make landfall, it is omitted.

NameYear
Category 5
Category 4
Category 3
Category 2
Category 1
Tropical or subtropical storm
Tropical or subtropical depression
References
1924CubaFloridaThe Bahamas
1928Puerto RicoGuadeloupe,
Turks and Caicos Islands, The Bahamas
& Florida		South Carolina
1932The Bahamas
1932Little Cayman & CubaThe BahamasMartinique
1933The BahamasCuba & Texas
1933Yucatán PeninsulaMainland Mexico
1935Florida KeysNorthwest FloridaThe Bahamas
1938New York & Connecticut
Carol1953New Brunswick
Janet1955Yucatán PeninsulaMainland Mexico
Esther1961Massachusetts & Maine
Hattie1961BelizeMexico
Beulah1967TexasYucatán Peninsula
Camille1969Louisiana & MississippiCuba
Edith1971NicaraguaLouisianaBelize & Mexico
Anita1977Mexico
David1979Dominican RepublicDominicaFloridaCuba, The Bahamas, & Georgia
Allen1980Texas & Barbados
Gilbert1988Quintana RooJamaica & Tamaulipas
Hugo1989Guadeloupe, Saint Croix, & South CarolinaPuerto Rico
Andrew1992Eleuthera & FloridaBerry IslandsLouisiana
Mitch1998HondurasCampeche & Florida
Isabel2003North Carolina
Ivan2004Alabama, GrenadaLouisiana
Emily2005Quintana RooTamaulipasGrenada
Katrina2005Louisiana & MississippiFlorida
Rita2005Louisiana
Wilma2005Cozumel & Quintana RooFlorida
Dean2007Quintana RooVeracruz
Felix2007NicaraguaGrenada
Matthew2016Haiti, Cuba & Grand BahamaSouth Carolina
Irma2017Barbuda, Saint Martin, British Virgin Islands & CubaLittle Inagua & Florida KeysSouthwest Florida
Maria2017DominicaPuerto Rico
Michael2018Florida
Dorian2019Abaco Islands & Grand Bahama North CarolinaSt. ThomasSaint Lucia & Barbados