Atlantic hurricane season begins on June 1st and runs through November 30th. The Atlantic Basin averages about seven hurricanes and three major hurricanes per year.
On the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Meter, a major hurricane means a Category 3 or higher. This scale includes five categories based on the storm’s sustained wind speed. It also estimates the likelihood of property damage, ranging from “moderate damage” to “catastrophic.”
The highest is Category 5, meaning a storm with sustained wind speeds of 157 miles per hour or higher.
Since 1924, there have been an estimated 42 Category 5 tropical cyclones in the Atlantic Basin, the most recent being Hurricane Milton, which hit Florida’s Gulf Coast at speeds of up to 180 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center. (although it was predicted to be much lower at the time of landfall).
The total could be even higher because satellite monitoring technology was not available until the 1960s, and the cyclone, which could be a Category 5 storm, may not have been detected.
Some of the recorded Category 5 hurricanes have reached that strength multiple times during their lifetimes. Hurricanes Allen in 1980, Isabel in 2003, and Ivan in 2004 each reached Category 5 strength three times during their passage.
Hurricane Cuba in November 1932 and Hurricane Irma in 2007 had the longest total durations of Category 5 intensity at 78 and 77 hours, respectively, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration database.
Although multiple hurricanes that have made landfall in the United States have peaked at Category 5, only four on record have actually made landfall at that strength.
Labor Day Hurricane of 1935The Great Labor Day Hurricane struck Florida in early September 1935 and was the most intense storm ever to make landfall in the United States, according to the Hurricane Center.
This killed 408 people, most of them World War I veterans working in the Florida Keys, where the storm first made landfall.
The storm caused an estimated $6 million in damage ($137 million in 2024 dollars), according to NOAA.
Hurricane Camille in 1969
An aerial view of the devastation caused by Hurricane Camille after the major storm made landfall. Bettman, via Getty
Camille, the most severe storm of the 1969 Atlantic hurricane season, entered Mississippi just before midnight on August 17th. The hurricane produced storm surges up to 24 feet high and flattened nearly everything along the Mississippi coast.
The damage was estimated at $1.42 billion (more than $12 billion in 2024) and more than 259 people were killed.
Hurricane Andrew in 1992
On August 22, 1992, Hurricane Andrew struck southern Florida as a Category 5 superstorm with sustained wind speeds of 165 mph and gusts of 174 mph.
After Hurricane Andrew, houses were reduced to piles of rubble. Steve Starr/COBIS/Corbis via Getty Images
The damage amounted to $30 billion and more than 40 people were killed. It was the costliest natural disaster in U.S. history at the time.
After the 1992 hurricane season, the name Andrew was removed from the list of future names for Atlantic tropical cyclones.
2018 Hurricane Michael
Hurricane Michael made landfall in Mexico Beach, Florida, on October 10 with maximum winds of 160 mph, making it the strongest storm to ever make landfall in the Florida Panhandle. It was the first Category 5 storm to make landfall in the continental United States since Andrew 26 years ago.
Mary Battles (left) and Shenike Bishop rest at a bus stop damaged by Hurricane Michael in Panama City, Florida, on October 20, 2018. Scott Olson/Getty Images
The cyclone was initially measured as a Category 4 storm, but forecasters conducted a detailed post-storm analysis before it was measured as a Category 4 storm in April 2019.
The storm killed at least 74 people, 59 in the United States and 15 in Central America.
Michael caused an estimated $25.1 billion in damages.
Historic Category 5 storm
The names of the 42 tropical cyclones estimated to have reached Category 5 intensity since 1924 are:
“Cuba” – 1924 “San Felipe II Okeechobee” – 1928 “Bahamas” – 1932 “Cuba” – 1932 “Brownsville, Cuba” – 1933 “Tampico” – 1933 “Labor Day” – 1935 “New England” – 1938 “Atlantic” ” – 1944 Carol – 1953 Janet – 1955 Esther – 1961 Hattie – 1961 Inez – 1966 Beulah – 1967 Camille – 1969 Edith – 1971 Anita – 1977 David – 1979 Allen – 1980 Gilbert – 1988 Hugo – 1989 Andrew – 1992 Mitch – 1998 Isabel – 2003 Ivan – 2004 Emily – 2005 Katrina – 2005 Rita – 2005 Wilma – 2005 Dean – 2007 Felix – 2007 Matthew – 2016 Irma – 2017 Maria – 2017 Michael – 2018 Dorian – 2019 Lorenzo – 2019 Ian – 2022 Lee – 2023 Beryl – 2024 Milton – 2024
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