document_title: List of Category 5 Atlantic hurricanes

question_text: when was the last time a category 5 hurricane hit the united states

text: List of Category 5 Atlantic hurricanes

text: Background[edit]

text:
Saffir–Simpson hurricane wind scale

TD
TS
C1
C2
C3
C4
C5

text: A Category 5 Atlantic hurricane is one that is considered by the United States National Hurricane Center (NHC), to have had sustained wind speeds greater than 136 knots (157 mph; 252 km/h; 70 m/s) on the Saffir–Simpson scale. The NHC considers sustained wind speeds to be those that occur over a one-minute period at 10 metres (32.8 ft) above ground. These wind speeds are estimated by using a blend of data from a variety of sources, which include observations from nearby ships, reconnaissance aircraft, or automatic weather stations and pictures from various satellites.

text: Between 1924 and 2017, 33 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).[2]

text: A reanalysis of weather data is ongoing by researchers who may upgrade or downgrade other Atlantic hurricanes currently listed at Categories 4 and 5.[3] For example, the 1825 Santa Ana hurricane is suspected to have reached Category 5 strength.[4] 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.[5]

text: 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]

text: 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 or lower, and then becoming a Category 5 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 November 1932 Cuba hurricane holds the record for most time spent as a Category 5 (although it took place before satellite or aircraft reconnaissance, so this record may be somewhat suspect). Irma holds the record for longest continuous span as a Category 5 storm in the satellite era.[1][6]

text: Thirty-three 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, five in October, and one in November. There have been no officially recorded June or off-season Category 5 hurricanes.[1]

text: 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][7]

text: September sees the most Category 5 hurricanes. This coincides with the climatological peak of the Atlantic hurricane season, which occurs in early September.[8] 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.[7] 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.[9]

text: All six 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.[7] 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.

text: Systems[edit]

text:
Name
Dates as a
Category 5
Duration
( hours)
Sustained
wind speeds
Pressure
Areas affected
Deaths
Damage
(USD)
Refs

Cuba !"Cuba"
19241019 !October 19, 1924
7001120000000000000♠12
165 !165 mph (270 km/h)
7004910000000000000♠910 hPa (26.87 inHg)
Central America, Mexico, Cuba
Florida, The Bahamas
7001900000000000000♠90

[10]

Okeechobee !"San Felipe II
Okeechobee"
19280913 !September 13–14, 1928
7001120000000000000♠12
160 !160 mph (260 km/h)
7004929000000000000♠929 hPa (27.43 inHg)
Lesser Antilles, The Bahamas
United States East Coast, Atlantic Canada
7003400000000000000♠4,000
7008100000000000000♠$100 million

Bahamas !"Bahamas"
19320905 !September 5–6, 1932
7001240000000000000♠24
160 !160 mph (260 km/h)
7004921000000000000♠921 hPa (27.20 inHg)
The Bahamas, Northeastern United States
7001160000000000000♠16

Cuba !"Cuba"
19321105 !November 5–8, 1932
7001780000000000000♠78
175 !175 mph (280 km/h)
7004915000000000000♠915 hPa (27.02 inHg)
Lesser Antilles, Jamaica, Cayman Islands
Cuba, The Bahamas, Bermuda
7003310300000000000♠3,103
7007400000000000000♠$40 million

Cuba–Brownsville !"Cuba–Brownsville"
19330830 !August 30, 1933
7001120000000000000♠12
160 !160 mph (260 km/h)
7004930000000000000♠930 hPa (27.46 inHg)
The Bahamas, Cuba, Florida
Texas, Tamaulipas
7002179000000000000♠179
7007279000000000000♠$27.9 million

Tampico !"Tampico"
19330921 !September 21, 1933
7001120000000000000♠12
160 !160 mph (260 km/h)
7004929000000000000♠929 hPa (27.43 inHg)
Jamaica, Yucatán Peninsula
7002184000000000000♠184
7006500000000000000♠$5 million

Labor Day !"Labor Day"
19350903 !September 3, 1935
7001180000000000000♠18
185 !185 mph (295 km/h)
7004892000000000000♠892 hPa (26.34 inHg)
The Bahamas, Florida, Georgia, The Carolinas, Virginia
7002408000000000000♠408

New England ! "New England"
19380919 !September 19–20, 1938
7001180000000000000♠18
160 !160 mph (260 km/h)
7004940000000000000♠940 hPa (27.76 inHg)
Southeastern United States, Northeastern United States, Southwestern Quebec
7002682000000000000♠682
7008306000000000000♠$306 million

Carol
19530903 !September 3, 1953
7001120000000000000♠12
160 !160 mph (260 km/h)
7004929000000000000♠929 hPa (27.43 inHg)
Bermuda, New England, Atlantic Canada
7000500000000000000♠5
7006200000000000000♠$2 million

Janet
19550927 !September 27–28, 1955
7001180000000000000♠18
175 !175 mph (280 km/h)
7004914000000000000♠914 hPa (26.99 inHg)
Lesser Antilles, Central America
7003102300000000000♠1,023
7007658000000000000♠$65.8 million
[11]

Carla
19610911 !September 11, 1961
7001180000000000000♠18
175 !175 mph (280 km/h)
7004931000000000000♠931 hPa (27.49 inHg)
Texas, Louisiana, Midwestern United States
7001430000000000000♠43
7008325740000000000♠$326 million
[12][13]

Hattie
19611030 !October 30–31, 1961
7001180000000000000♠18
160 !160 mph (260 km/h)
7004920000000000000♠920 hPa (27.17 inHg)
Central America
7002319000000000000♠319
7007603000000000000♠$60.3 million
[14][15]

Beulah
19670920 !September 20, 1967
7001180000000000000♠18
160 !160 mph (260 km/h)
7004923000000000000♠923 hPa (27.26 inHg)
The Caribbean, Mexico, Texas
7002688000000000000♠688
7008207650000000000♠$208 million
[16]

Camille
19690816 !August 16–18, 1969 †
7001300000000000000♠30
175 !175 mph (280 km/h)
7004900000000000000♠900 hPa (26.58 inHg)
Cuba, United States Gulf Coast
7002259000000000000♠259
7009142000000000000♠$1.42 billion
[12][17]

Edith
19710909 !September 9, 1971
7000600000000000000♠6
160 !160 mph (260 km/h)
7004943000000000000♠943 hPa (27.85 inHg)
The Caribbean, Central America, Mexico, United States Gulf Coast
7001370000000000000♠37
7007254000000000000♠$25.4 million

Anita
19770902 !September 2, 1977
7001120000000000000♠12
175 !175 mph (280 km/h)
7004926000000000000♠926 hPa (27.34 inHg)
Mexico
7001110000000000000♠11
7000100000000000000♠ Extensive
[18]

David
19790830 !August 30–31, 1979
7001420000000000000♠42
175 !175 mph (280 km/h)
7004924000000000000♠924 hPa (27.29 inHg)
The Caribbean, United States East coast
7003206800000000000♠2,068
7009154000000000000♠$1.54 billion
[19][20]

Allen
19800805 !August 5–9, 1980 †
7001720000000000000♠72
190 !190 mph (305 km/h)
7004899000000000000♠899 hPa (26.55 inHg)
The Caribbean, Yucatán Peninsula, Mexico, South Texas
7002269000000000000♠269
7009123760000000000♠$1.24 billion
[19][21][22]

Gilbert
19880913 !September 13–14, 1988
7001240000000000000♠24
185 !185 mph (295 km/h)
7004888000000000000♠888 hPa (26.22 inHg)
Jamaica, Venezuela, Central America, Hispaniola, Mexico
7002318000000000000♠318
7009710000000000000♠$7.1 billion
[23][24]

Hugo
19890915 !September 15, 1989
7000600000000000000♠6
160 !160 mph (260 km/h)
7004918000000000000♠918 hPa (27.11 inHg)
The Caribbean, United States East Coast
7002107000000000000♠107
7010100000000000000♠$10 billion
[17][25][26]

Andrew
19920823 !August 23–24, 1992 †
7001160000000000000♠16
175 !175 mph (280 km/h)
7004922000000000000♠922 hPa (27.23 inHg)
The Bahamas, Florida, United States Gulf Coast
7001650000000000000♠65
7010265000000000000♠$26.5 billion
[17][27]

Mitch
19981026 !October 26–28, 1998
7001420000000000000♠42
180 !180 mph (285 km/h)
7004905000000000000♠905 hPa (26.72 inHg)
Central America, Yucatán Peninsula, South Florida
7004193250000000000♠19,325
7009620000000000000♠$6.2 billion
[28][29][30][31]

Isabel
20030911 !September 11–14, 2003 †
7001420000000000000♠42
165 !165 mph (270 km/h)
7004915000000000000♠915 hPa (27.02 inHg)
Greater Antilles, Bahamas, Eastern United States, Ontario
7001510000000000000♠51
7009537000000000000♠$5.37 billion
[17][32]

Ivan
20040909 !September 9–14, 2004 †
7001600000000000000♠60
165 !165 mph (270 km/h)
7004910000000000000♠910 hPa (26.87 inHg)
The Caribbean, Venezuela, United States Gulf Coast
7002124000000000000♠124
7010232800000000000♠$23.3 billion
[17][33]

Emily
20050716 !July 16, 2005
7000600000000000000♠6
160 !160 mph (260 km/h)
7004929000000000000♠929 hPa (27.43 inHg)
Windward Islands, Jamaica, Mexico, Texas
7001170000000000000♠17
7009101400000000000♠$1.01 billion
[34]

Katrina
20050828 !August 28–29, 2005
7001180000000000000♠18
175 !175 mph (280 km/h)
7004902000000000000♠902 hPa (26.64 inHg)
Bahamas, United States Gulf Coast
7003183600000000000♠1,836
7011108000000000000♠$108 billion
[35]

Rita
20050921 !September 21–22, 2005
7001240000000000000♠24
180 !180 mph (285 km/h)
7004895000000000000♠895 hPa (26.43 inHg)
Cuba, United States Gulf Coast
7002125000000000000♠125
7010120370000000000♠$12 billion
[36]

Wilma
20071019 !October 19, 2005
7001180000000000000♠18
185 !185 mph (295 km/h)
7004882000000000000♠882 hPa (26.05 inHg)
Greater Antilles, Central America, Florida
7001870000000000000♠87
7010294000000000000♠$29.4 billion
[37][38][39][40]

Dean
20070818 !August 18–21, 2007 †
7001240000000000000♠24
175 !175 mph (280 km/h)
7004905000000000000♠905 hPa (26.72 inHg)
The Caribbean, Central America
7001450000000000000♠45
7009176000000000000♠$1.76 billion
[19][41][42]

Felix
20070903 !September 3–4, 2007 †
7001240000000000000♠24
175 !175 mph (280 km/h)
7004929000000000000♠929 hPa (27.43 inHg)
Nicaragua, Honduras
7002133000000000000♠133
7008720000000000000♠$720 million
[43][44][45][46]

Matthew
20161001 !October 1, 2016
7001120000000000000♠12
165 !165 mph (270 km/h)
7004934000000000000♠934 hPa (27.58 inHg)
Antilles, Venezuela, Colombia
United States East Coast, Atlantic Canada
7002603000000000000♠603
7010150900000000000♠$15.1 billion
[47]

Irma
20170905 !September 5–9, 2017 †
7001750000000000000♠75
185 !185 mph (295 km/h)
7004914000000000000♠914 hPa (26.99 inHg)
Cape Verde, The Caribbean, British Virgin Islands
U.S. Virgin Islands, Cuba, Florida
7002134000000000000♠134
>7010628700000000000♠$62.9 billion
[48]

Maria
20170918 !September 18–20, 2017 †
7001300000000000000♠30
175 !175 mph (280 km/h)
7004908000000000000♠908 hPa (26.81 inHg)
Lesser Antilles, Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Turks and Caicos Islands
≥7001780000000000000♠78
>7010911200000000000♠$91.1 billion
[49]

Overall reference for Name, dates, duration, winds and pressure:[1]
†Discontinuous duration (weakened below Category 5 then restrengthened to that classification at least once)

text: Listed by month[edit]

text:
Month
Number of recorded storms

July
1

August
7

September
19

October
5

November
1

Source
National Hurricane Center[1]

text: Landfalls[edit]

text: All Atlantic Category 5 hurricanes have made landfall at some location at 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.[50] Sixteen of the storms made landfall while at Category 5 intensity;[1] 2007 and 2017 are the only years in which two storms made landfall at this intensity.[1]

text: 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.[35] In southern Florida, the return period for a Category 5 hurricane is roughly once every 50 years.[51]

text: The following table lists these hurricanes by landfall intensity.

text:
Name
Year

Category 5

Category 4

Category 3

Category 2

Category 1

Tropical storm

Tropical depression

References

Cuba !"Cuba"
1924
Cuba

Florida
The Bahamas

[1][52]

Okeechobee !"Okeechobee"
1928
Puerto Rico
Guadeloupe, Turks and Caicos Islands, The Bahamas, & Florida

South Carolina

Bahamas !"Bahamas"
1932
The Bahamas

Cuba !"Cuba"
1932

Little Cayman & Cuba
The Bahamas

Martinique

Cuba !"Cuba–Brownsville"
1933
The Bahamas

Cuba & Texas

Tampico !"Tampico"
1933

Yucatán Peninsula

Mainland Mexico

Labor Day !"Labor Day"
1935
Florida Keys

Northwest Florida
The Bahamas

New England !"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
Quintana Roo

Jamaica & Tamaulipas

[23]

Hugo
1989

Guadeloupe, Saint Croix, & South Carolina
Puerto Rico

[25]

Andrew
1992
Eleuthera & Florida
Berry Islands
Louisiana

[27]

Mitch
1998

Honduras
Campeche & Florida

[28]

Isabel
2003

North Carolina

[32]

Ivan
2004

Alabama

Louisiana
[33]

Emily
2005

Quintana Roo
Tamaulipas

Grenada

[34]

Katrina
2005

Louisiana & Mississippi

Florida

[35]

Rita
2005

Louisiana

[36]

Wilma
2005

Cozumel & Quintana Roo
Florida

[37]

Dean
2007
Quintana Roo

Veracruz

[41]

Felix
2007
Nicaragua

Grenada

[43]

Matthew
2016

Haiti, Cuba & Grand Bahama

South Carolina

[47]

Irma
2017
Barbuda, Saint Martin, Ginger Island, Tortola, Little Inagua & Cuba
Florida Keys
Southwest Florida

[53][54][55][56][57][58]

Maria
2017
Dominica
Puerto Rico

[59]