List of Atlantic Category 5 hurricanes
This list of Atlantic Category 5 hurricanes names all hurricanes in the Atlantic Ocean that have reached an intensity within Category 5 of the Saffir-Simpson hurricane wind scale since systematic records began . A category five hurricane - the highest on this scale - causes the most severe damage. On a statistical average, such a storm occurs once every three years. In just seven hurricane seasons - 1932 , 1933 , 1961 , 2005 , 2007 , 2017, and 2019 - more than one such storm was recorded. Only in 2005 did more than two hurricanes of this magnitude form, and only in 2007 did more than one Category 5 hurricane of this magnitude cross land.
statistics
A category five hurricane can reach sustained wind speeds of more than 135 knots (251 km / h). In the area of responsibility of the National Hurricane Center, the term continuous wind speed means the average wind speed measured ten meters above the ground within a period of one minute. In gusts , a hurricane briefly reaches wind speeds of up to 50 percent higher. Because a hurricane is usually a moving system, the wind field is asymmetrical; the strongest winds occur in the northern hemisphere in the direction of pull to the right of the center. The wind speeds mentioned in storm warnings are those on the right.
Between 1924 and 2007 , 32 hurricanes were observed that reached category five. Before 1924 there were officially no hurricanes with this classification. It can be assumed that there were previously hurricanes of such intensity over the open water, but such values have not been measured. The anemometer used to measure wind speeds was invented in 1846. However, in severe storms, these measuring devices were often blown away so that the top speed could not be recorded. For example, when the Great Beaufort Hurricane hit North Carolina in 1879, the anemometer was carried away when it was reading 220 km per hour.
The meteorologists reassess past readings, which may lead to hurricanes being upgraded or downgraded that are currently classified as category four or five. For example, the Santa Ana hurricane is a possible candidate for a hurricane that has reached the strongest category. In addition, severe hurricanes can be identified during paleotempestological research by comparing sediments based on current and past hurricane events. In this way it is known that in the period before 1500 a much stronger hurricane than Hurricane Hattie (Category 5) hit the area of what is now Belize .
Officially, the decade with the most hurricanes in category five is the decade between 2000 and 2010, at that time eight hurricanes reached this strength: Isabel (2003), Ivan (2004), Emily (2005), Katrina (2005), Rita ( 2005), Wilma (2005), Dean (2007) and Felix (2007). The second highest number of Category 5 hurricanes occurred with six events in the 1930s ( Bahamas , Cuba , Cuba-Brownsville , Tampico , Labor Day , New England ).
List in chronological order
The following list lists all hurricanes that have reached Category 5 in chronological order.
Prior to the advent of reliable geostationary weather satellites in 1966, the number of tropical cyclones in the Atlantic Ocean was underestimated. So it is very possible that there were more Category 5 hurricanes than those mentioned here - but they were not observed.
The stated wind speeds are rounded to five units based on the measurements in knots. Many of the older measurements are not reliable because the measuring equipment was often destroyed or damaged by the conditions during a Category 5 cyclone.
In 2017, Irma was the first ever Atlantic hurricane to reach a continuous wind speed of 295 km / h for 37 hours.
| Surname | season | Max. One minute wind speed | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| node | kilometers per hour | |||
| 1920s | ||||
| Cuba | 1924 | 145 | 270 | |
| Okeechobee | 1928 | 140 | 260 | |
| 1930s | ||||
| Bahamas | 1932 | 140 | 260 | |
| Cuba | 175 | 280 | ||
| Cuba – Brownsville | 1933 | 160 | 260 | |
| Tampico | 160 | 260 | ||
| Labor day | 1935 | 140 | 260 | |
| New England | 1938 | 140 | 260 | |
| 1940s | ||||
| 1950s | ||||
| Carol | 1953 | 160 | 260 | |
| Janet | 1955 | 150 | 280 | |
| 1960s | ||||
| Carla | 1961 | 150 | 280 | |
| Hattie | 140 | 260 | ||
| Beulah | 1967 | 140 | 260 | |
| Camille | 1969 | 150 | 280 | |
| 1970s | ||||
| Edith | 1971 | 140 | 260 | |
| Anita | 1977 | 150 | 280 | |
| David | 1979 | 150 | 280 | |
| 1980s | ||||
| Everyone | 1980 | 165 | 305 | |
| Gilbert | 1988 | 160 | 295 | |
| Hugo | 1989 | 140 | 260 | |
| 1990s | ||||
| Andrew | 1992 | 150 | 280 | |
| Mitch | 1998 | 155 | 285 | |
| 2000s | ||||
| Isabel | 2003 | 145 | 270 | |
| Ivan | 2004 | 145 | 270 | |
| Emily | 2005 | 140 | 260 | |
| Katrina | 150 | 280 | ||
| Rita | 155 | 285 | ||
| Wilma | 160 | 295 | ||
| dean | 2007 | 150 | 280 | |
| Felix | 150 | 280 | ||
| 2010s | ||||
| Matthew | 2016 | 140 | 260 | |
| Irma | 2017 | 160 | 295 | |
| Maria | 150 | 280 | ||
| Michael | 2018 | 140 | 260 | |
| Dorian | 2019 | 160 | 295 | |
| Lorenzo | 140 | 260 | ||
Sorting according to the date in the season
Category 5 hurricanes have so far been observed every month between July and October. The earliest Category 5 hurricane formation was Hurricane Emily and the latest was Hurricane Hattie . Hurricanes Emily, Allen , Gilbert, and Wilma were the most intense hurricanes that month.
Nine hurricanes in the Atlantic Basin - Allen , Andrew , Camille Dean , Isabel , Ivan , Dean , Felix , Irma and Maria - reached the highest category more than once, i.e. H. after reaching Category 5, they weakened to Category 4 and, after intensifying again, again reached Category 5. Of these seven, Hurricanes Allen, Isabel and Ivan made it into the highest stage of the Saffir-Simpson hurricane three times each. Windskala, Andrew, Camille, Dean, Felix and Maria managed to do this twice. Hurricane Allen holds the record for the longest time in Category 5 overall, while Hurricane Irma holds the record for the longest consecutive time in Category 5.
| Surname | Date of Reach ( UTC ) |
Date of loss (UTC) |
Duration in category 5 (total) |
year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Emily | 17th July | 17th July | 6 hours | 2005 |
| Everyone | 5th of August | 6th of August | 72 hours | 1980 |
| August 7th | 8th August | |||
| August 9 | August 9 | |||
| Cleo | August 16 | August 16 | 6 hours | 1958 |
| Camille | 17th August
18th of August |
17th August
18th of August |
30 hours | 1967 |
| dean | 18th of August | 18th of August | 24 hours | 2007 |
| August 21 | August 21 | |||
| Andrew | August 23 | August 23 | 16 hours | 1992 |
| August 24th | August 24th | |||
| Katrina | August 28th | 29th August | 18 hours | 2005 |
| David | August 30th | August 31 | 42 hours | 1979 |
| Anita | September 2nd | September 2nd | 12 hours | 1977 |
| Labor day | September 3 | September 3 | 6 hours | 1935 |
| Felix | September 3 | September 3 | 24 hours | 2007 |
| September 4th | September 4th | |||
| donna | September 4th | September 4th | 12 hours | 1960 |
| Dog | 5th September | 7th of September | 60 hours | 1950 |
| Bahamas | 5th September | September 6th | 24 hours | 1932 |
| Irma | 5th September | September 8th | 75 hours | 2017 |
| the 9th of September | the 9th of September | |||
| Easy | 7th of September | September 8th | 18 hours | 1951 |
| Ivan | the 9th of September | the 9th of September | 60 hours | 2004 |
| September 11 | September 11 | |||
| 13.september | September 14th | |||
| Edith | the 9th of September | the 9th of September | 6 hours | 1971 |
| Carla | September 11 | September 11 | 18 hours | 1961 |
| Isabel | September 11 | 12th September | 42 hours | 2003 |
| 13.september | 13.september | |||
| September 14th | September 14th | |||
| Okeechobee | 13.september | September 14th | 12 hours | 1928 |
| Gilbert | 13.september | September 14th | 24 hours | 1988 |
| Ethel | September 15th | September 15th | 6 hours | 1960 |
| Hugo | September 15th | September 15th | 6 hours | 1989 |
| Fort Lauderdale | 16th September | 17th of September | 30 hours | 1947 |
| Maria | September 18
September 19th |
September 18
September 20th |
30 hours | 2017 |
| New England | September 19th | September 20th | 18 hours | 1938 |
| Beulah | September 20th | September 20th | 18 hours | 1967 |
| Rita | 21st September | September 22 | 24 hours | 2005 |
| Lorenzo | September 23rd | active | active | 2019 |
| Janet | September 27th | September 28th | 18 hours | 1967 |
| Matthew | 30. September | October 1 | 6 hours | 2016 |
| Michael | October 07 | October 11th | 1 hour | 2018 |
| Wilma | October 19th | October 19th | 18 hours | 2005 |
| Cuba | October 19th | October 19th | 12 hours | 1924 |
| Mitch | October 26th | 28th of October | 42 hours | 1998 |
| Hattie | 30th of October | October 31 | 18 hours | 1961 |
Set up according to the lowest air pressure
| Surname | hPa ( mbar) |
|---|---|
| Wilma | 882 |
| Gilbert | 888 |
| Labor day | ≤892 |
| Rita | 895 |
| Everyone | 899 |
| Katrina | 902 |
| Camille | ≤905 |
| Mitch | 905 |
| dean | 905 |
| Maria | 908 |
| Dorian | 910 |
| Cuba | 910 |
| Ivan | 910 |
| Janet | ≤914 |
| Irma | 914 |
| Isabel | 915 |
| Hugo | 918 |
| Michael | 919 |
| Hattie | ≤920 |
| Andrew | 922 |
| Beulah | 923 |
| David | 924 |
| Anita | 926 |
| Okeechobee | ≤929 |
| Emily | 929 |
| Felix | 929 |
| Carla | 931 |
| Bahamas | ≤931 |
| donna | ≤932 |
| Matthew | 934 |
| New England | ≤938 |
| Fort Lauderdale | ≤940 |
| Edith | ≤943 |
| Cleo | ≤948 |
| Easy | ≤957 |
| Dog | ≤979 |
| Ethel | ≤981 |
The minimum air pressure of the chronologically more recent storm events was measured by a probe set down from reconnaissance aircraft or determined on the basis of satellite images using the Dvorak technique . The measurements are often incomplete for previous storms. They come exclusively from measurements by moving ships , weather stations on land or from airplanes. These methods cannot deliver constant measurement results. Such measurements often come from the edge of a hurricane. In some cases, the stated lowest known air pressure of a system is unrealistically high for a Category 5 hurricane.
Air pressure measurements do not necessarily match the wind measurements either. The wind speed of a storm is dependent on the size of the cyclone as well as on how fast the air pressure drops when the center is approached. As a result, a hurricane in a higher air pressure environment will generate higher wind speeds than a hurricane moving in a lower air pressure environment, even if the central air pressure is the same.
The most intense hurricane that did not reach category 5 was Hurricane Opal with a minimum air pressure of 916 hPa (mbar). It therefore had a lower air pressure than some Category 5 hurricanes, such as Hurricane Andrew .
climatology
Of the 32 hurricanes in the Atlantic basin that reached Category 5, one occurred in July, seven in August, twenty in September and four in October. No hurricanes of this magnitude have been observed in the months of June and November or the months outside the official hurricane season.
The Category 5 hurricanes in July and August reached their high intensities in both the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea . These sea areas are particularly suitable for cyclone development in these months.
Most of the Category 5 hurricanes were recorded in September. This accumulation coincides with the climatological climax of the hurricane season in the Atlantic at the beginning of September. These Category 5 hurricanes reach this intensity in both the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean and the open Atlantic Ocean. Many of these hurricanes correspond to the Cape Verde type , which build their strength through the expanse of the open sea, or they are so-called "bahama buster" that intensify over the warm waters of the Gulf Stream .
All four Category 5 hurricanes in October reached this intensity in the western Caribbean, where the focus of activity is towards the end of the Atlantic hurricane season. This is related to the climatology of the region, because at this point in time there is sometimes an anti-cyclone at high altitude which, in combination with the warm water temperatures, favors the rapid intensification of a system.
Line up with the intensity on landfall
With the exception of Hurricanes Dog, Easy, and Cleo, all Atlantic Category 5 hurricanes made their way across the mainland somewhere. Most of them in the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico, where, unlike in the eastern Pacific Ocean, the usual weather conditions do not drive the storms away from the mainland. Thirteen of these storms crossed the coastline when they were rated in the highest category.
Many of these systems weakened shortly before the transition to land. This can be caused by the dry air near the land, shallower or cooler water as well as interactions through the land.
Only in the 2007 and 2017 hurricane seasons did more than one Category 5 hurricane cross any coastline in the Atlantic.
The list lists the hurricanes in chronological order and indicates the states or, in the United States, the states in which the storm center crossed the coastline. Because Hurricanes Dog, Easy and Cleo did not come directly over land, they are not included in this list.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e National Hurricane Center: Atlantic hurricane best track (Hurdat) ( English ) Hurricane Research Division. Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administrations Office of Oceanic & Atmospheric Research. April 2018. Retrieved May 9, 2018.
- ↑ Chris Landsea: Subject: D4) What does "maximum sustained wind" mean? How does it relate to gusts in tropical cyclones? . In: Tropical Cyclone FAQ . National Hurricane Center . Retrieved April 22, 2009.
- ↑ Chris Landsea: Subject: D6) Why are the strongest winds in a hurricane typically on the right side of the storm? . In: Tropical Cyclone FAQ . National Hurricane Center . Retrieved April 22, 2006.
- ↑ Tropical cyclones affecting North Carolina since 1586 (PDF; 1.2 MB)
- ^ Hurricane Research Division: Re-analysis Project . Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Project. Retrieved April 21, 2009.
- ↑ JP Donnelly: Evidence of Past Intense Tropical Cyclones from Backbarrier Salt Pond Sediments: A Case Study from Isla de Culebrita, Puerto Rico, USA . In: Journal of Coastal Research . SI42, 2005, pp. 201-210.
- ^ TA McCloskey, Keller, G .: 5000 year sedimentary record of hurricane strikes on the central coast of Belize . In: Quaternary International . 195, No. 1-2, 2009, pp. 53-68. doi : 10.1016 / j.quaint.2008.03.003 .
- ↑ Chris Landsea: Subject: E10) What are the average, most, and least tropical cyclones occurring in each basin? . In: Tropical Cyclone FAQ . National Hurricane Center . Retrieved April 24, 2006.
- ↑ Chris Landsea : Subject: E1) Which is the most intense tropical cyclone on record? ( English ) In: Tropical Cyclone FAQ . National Hurricane Center . Retrieved April 24, 2006.
- ↑ Hurricane Irma causes devastation, Jose strengthens . In: World Meteorological Organization . September 5, 2017 ( online [accessed September 8, 2017]). Hurricane Irma causes devastation, Jose strengthens ( Memento of the original from September 9, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ^ Edward Rappaport : Addendum Hurricane Andrew ( English ) February 7, 2005. Retrieved April 24, 2009.
- ↑ Chris Landsea : Subject: D9) What causes each hurricane to have a different maximum wind speed for a given minimum sea-level pressure? . In: Tropical Cyclone FAQ . National Hurricane Center . Retrieved March 16, 2006.
- ^ Max Mayfield : Preliminary Report Hurricane Opal . National Hurricane Center . November 29, 1995. Retrieved April 26, 2009.
- ↑ a b c Tropical Cyclone Climatology . National Hurricane Center . Retrieved March 16, 2006.
- ^ Neal Dorst: Subject: G1) When is hurricane season? . In: Tropical Cyclone FAQ . National Hurricane Center . Retrieved March 16, 2006.
- ↑ Chris Landsea : Subject: A2) What is a "Cape Verde" hurricanes? . In: Tropical Cyclone FAQ . National Hurricane Center . Retrieved March 16, 2006.
- ↑ Gary Padgett: SUMMARY: Part 1 - October TC Summary . January 29, 2004. Archived from the original on September 28, 2007. Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved March 16, 2006.
- ↑ Chris Landsea : Subject: G8) Why do hurricanes hit the East coast of the US, but never the West coast? . In: Tropical Cyclone FAQ . Retrieved April 24, 2009.
- ↑ Richard Knabb, Jamie Rhome and Daniel Brown: Tropical Cyclone Report Hurricane Katrina (PDF; 2.2 MB) National Hurricane Center . S. 4. December 20, 2005. Retrieved April 24, 2009.
