List of Category 5 Atlantic hurricanes

This is a list of all recorded Atlantic hurricanes that have reached Category 5, the highest classification of tropical cyclone intensity on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale. Category 5 storms are the most catastrophic hurricanes that can form, and occur only about once every three years on average in the Atlantic basin. Only four times — in the 1960, 1961, 2005 and 2007 hurricane seasons — have multiple Category 5 hurricanes formed. Only in 2005 have more than two Category 5 storms formed, and only in 2007 has more than one made landfall at Category 5 strength.cite web|url=http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/tracks1851to2007_atl_reanal.txt|title=Atlantic Tracks File 1851-2007|format=plain text|publisher=National Hurricane Center|accessdate=2008-08-31|date=2008-04-22]

tatistics

A Category 5 hurricane has sustained winds greater than convert|135|kn|mph km/h|1|lk=on. "Sustained winds" refers to the average wind speed observed over one minute at convert|10|m|ftin|1 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.cite web|url=http://www.aoml.noaa.gov/hrd/tcfaq/D4.html|author=Chris Landsea|publisher=National Hurricane Center|work=Tropical Cyclone FAQ|title=Subject: D4) What does "maximum sustained wind" mean? How does it relate to gusts in tropical cyclones?|accessdate=2006-03-16] 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.cite web|url=http://www.aoml.noaa.gov/hrd/tcfaq/D6.html|publisher=National Hurricane Center|work=Tropical Cyclone FAQ|title=Subject: D6) Why are the strongest winds in a hurricane typically on the right side of the storm?|author=Chris Landsea|accessdate=2006-03-16]

Between 1928 and 2007, 31 hurricanes have been recorded at Category 5 strength. No Category 5 hurricanes were observed officially before 1928. It can be presumed that earlier storms reached Category 5 strength over open waters, but the strongest winds were not measured. An ongoing reanalysis of weather data is ongoing by researchers who may upgrade or downgrade other Atlantic hurricanes currently listed at Categories 4 and 5.cite web|url=http://www.aoml.noaa.gov/hrd/data_sub/re_anal.html|title=Re-analysis Project|author=Hurricane Research Division|publisher=Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Project|accessdate=2006-03-16]

Officially, the decade with the most Category 5 hurricanes is 2000-present, with 8 Category 5 hurricanes occurring thus far this decade, Hurricanes Isabel, (2003), Ivan (2004), Emily (2005), Katrina (2005), Rita (2005), Wilma (2005), Dean (2007), Felix (2007).The previous decade with the most Category 5 hurricanes was the 1960s, with six occurring between 1960 and 1969. (Ethel, Donna, Carla, Hattie, Beulah, and Camille)

Lists of Category 5 Atlantic hurricanes

Listed in chronological order

This is a list of all of the Category 5 hurricanes in the order in which they formed.

Before the advent of reliable geostationary satellite coverage in 1966, the number of tropical cyclones in the Atlantic Ocean was underestimated. It is therefore probable that there are additional Category 5s other than those listed, but they were not reported and therefore not recognized.cite web|url=http://www.aoml.noaa.gov/hrd/tcfaq/E10.html|publisher=National Hurricane Center|work=Tropical Cyclone FAQ|title=Subject: E10) What are the average, most, and least tropical cyclones occurring in each basin?|accessdate=2006-03-16|author=Chris Landsea]

Wind speeds are rounded to the nearest five units. Many older estimates are unreliable because measurement equipment would often be destroyed or damaged in the extreme conditions present in a Category 5 hurricane.cite web|url=http://www.aoml.noaa.gov/hrd/tcfaq/E1.html|publisher=National Hurricane Center|work=Tropical Cyclone FAQ|title=Subject: E1) Which is the most intense tropical cyclone on record?|accessdate=2006-03-16|author=Chris Landsea]

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.

These pressure values do not "match-up" with the wind readings. 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.cite web|url=http://www.aoml.noaa.gov/hrd/tcfaq/D9.html|publisher=National Hurricane Center|work=Tropical Cyclone FAQ|title=Subject: D9) What causes each hurricane to have a different maximum wind speed for a given minimum sea-level pressure?|author=Chris Landsea|accessdate=2006-03-16]

This listing is not entirely identical to the list of most intense Atlantic hurricanes. Some modern Category 5 hurricanes have readings higher than some "weaker" Category 4 hurricanes. The most intense Atlantic hurricane not to reach Category 5 intensity was Hurricane Opal with a pressure of 916 millibars.cite web|url=http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/1995opal.html|author=Max Mayfield|publisher=National Hurricane Center|title=Preliminary Report Hurricane Opal|accessdate=2006-03-16|date=1995-11-29] This value is lower than the minimum pressure of some Category 5s with reliable pressure readings, such as Hurricane Andrew. Below Opal's intensity, this listing is identical to the list of most intense Atlantic hurricanes. Above it, some Category 4s would be included.

Climatology

A total of thirty-one Category 5s have been recorded in the Atlantic basin. One was in July, seven in August, twenty in September, and three in October. There have been no June, November or off-season Category 5 hurricanes.

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 favourable for tropical cyclone development in those months.cite web|url=http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/pastprofile.shtml|publisher=National Hurricane Center|title=Tropical Cyclone Climatology|accessdate=2006-03-16]

September sees the most Category 5 hurricanes. This coincides with the climatological peak of the Atlantic hurricane season, which occurs in early September.cite web|url=http://www.aoml.noaa.gov/hrd/tcfaq/G1.html|publisher=National Hurricane Center|work=Tropical Cyclone FAQ|title=Subject: G1) When is hurricane season ?|author=Neal Dorst|accessdate=2006-03-16] 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.cite web|url=http://www.aoml.noaa.gov/hrd/tcfaq/A2.html|publisher=National Hurricane Center|work=Tropical Cyclone FAQ|title=Subject: A2) What is a "Cape Verde" hurricanes?|author=Chris Landsea|accessdate=2006-03-16]

All three October Category 5s reached their intensities in the western Caribbean, a region where 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 which promotes rapid intensification late in the season, as well as warm waters.cite web|url=http://www.weathermatrix.net/archive/tropical/summaries/0017.html|date=2004-01-29|title=SUMMARY: Part 1 - October TC Summary|author=Gary Padgett|accessdate=2006-03-16]

Landfalls

All Atlantic Category 5 hurricanes except Dog, Easy, and Cleo have made landfall at some location at some strength. Most Category 5 hurricanes in the Atlantic make landfall because of their usual 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.cite web|title=Subject: G8) Why do hurricanes hit the East coast of the U.S., but never the West coast?|url=http://www.aoml.noaa.gov/hrd/tcfaq/G8.html|work=Tropical Cyclone FAQ|author=Chris Landsea|accessdate=2008-08-31] Thirteen of the storms made landfall while at Category 5 intensity.

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.cite web|url=http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/pdf/TCR-AL122005_Katrina.pdf|author=Richard Knabb, Jamie Rhome, & Daniel Brown|title=Tropical Cyclone Report Hurricane Katrina|format=PDF|date=2005-12-20|publisher=National Hurricane Center|pages=4|accessdate=2008-08-31]

The hurricanes are listed in chronological order with their landfalls indicated. Because they never made landfall, Hurricanes Dog, Easy, and Cleo are not included.

The 2007 season is the only one in recorded history to have more than one Category 5 storm make landfall at that intensity.

ee also

*List of Atlantic hurricanes
*List of Atlantic hurricane seasons
*List of Category 5 Pacific hurricanes

References

* [http://www.weather.unisys.com/hurricane/atlantic/index.html Unisys Archive] accessed March 14, 2006
* [http://pipsey.net:8080/~thegreatzo/cat5.html The Great Zo's Category 5 research page] accessed March 14, 2006

External links

* [http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/ NHC web site]