To qualify as a Category 5 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson hurricane intensity scale, maximum sustained winds must exceed 155 mph (135 kt). Through 1998, only twenty-two Atlantic storms have reached this intensity, and only eight were of category 5 strength at time of landfall. Of these 22, only two made U.S. landfall: the 1935 Florida Keys hurricane and Hurricane Camille, which hit the Mississippi coastline in 1969. The table below lists all known category 5 Atlantic hurricanes since records began in 1886. List of Category 5 Atlantic Hurricanes |
Number | Storm Name | Maximum Wind | Date Attained (UTC) |
Landfall as Category 5 |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Not Named | 140 kt 160 mph |
Sep 13, 1928 | Puerto Rico |
2 | Not Named | 140 kt 160 mph |
Sep 5, 1932 | Bahamas |
3 | Not Named | 140 kt 160 mph |
Sep 3, 1935 | US/FL Keys |
4 | Not Named | 140 kt 160 mph |
Sep 19, 1938 | --- |
5 | Not Named | 140 kt 160 mph |
Sep 16, 1947 | Bahamas |
6 | Dog | 160 kt 185 mph |
Sep 6, 1950 | --- |
7 | Easy | 140 kt 160 mph |
Sep 7, 1951 | --- |
8 | Janet | 150 kt 175 mph |
Sep 28, 1955 | Mexico |
9 | Cleo | 140 kt 160 mph |
Aug 16, 1958 | --- |
10 | Donna | 140 kt 160 mph |
Sep 4, 1960 | --- |
11 | Ethel | 140 kt 160 mph |
Sep 15, 1960 | --- |
12 | Carla | 150 kt 175 mph |
Sep 11, 1961 | --- |
13 | Hattie | 140 kt 160 mph |
Oct 30, 1961 | --- |
14 | Beulah | 140 kt 160 mph |
Sep 20, 1967 | --- |
15 | Camille | 165 kt 190 mph |
Aug 17, 1969 | US/MS |
16 | Edith | 140 kt 160 mph |
Sep 9, 1971 | Nicaragua |
17 | Anita | 150 kt 175 mph |
Sep 2, 1977 | --- |
18 | David | 150 kt 175 mph |
Aug 30, 1979 | --- |
19 | Allen | 165 kt 190 mph |
Aug 7, 1980 | --- |
20 | Gilbert | 160 kt 185 mph |
Sep 14, 1988 | Mexico |
21 | Hugo | 140 kt 160 mph |
Sep 15, 1989 | --- |
22 | Mitch | 155 kt 180 mph |
Oct 26, 1998 | --- |
Interesting Facts
Note that several infamous storms which struck the U.S. are listed in the table above, but no entry appears in the "Landfall" column. This is because the storms had weakened to below Category 5 intensity at the time of U.S. landfall. Hurricanes which had reached Category 5 intensity but had weakened by the time of U.S. landfall include: hurricanes of 1928, 1938 (New England Hurricane), and 1947, plus Donna (1960), Ethel (1960), Carla (1961), Beulah (1967), David (1979), Allen (1980), Hugo (1989), and Mitch (1998). Though it was an extremely strong Category 4 storm, even at landfall, Hurricane Andrew never achieved Category 5 status.
Most Intense At U.S Landfall: | 1935 Florida Keys | 892 mb/ | 26.35 in/ | 140 kt |
Highest Winds at U.S. Landfall: | 1969 Camille | 909 mb/ | 26.84 in/ | 165 kt |
Most Intense Atlantic Hurricane: | 1988 Gilbert | 888 mb/ | 26.22 in/ | 160 kt |
Longest as Category Five:* | 1980 Allen | 899 mb/ | 26.55 in/ | 165 kt |
* Hurricane Allen reached Category 5 intensity three times along its path through the southern Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico: twice these periods were of 24-hours duration and the third lasted 18 hours.
1) With the exception of Camille, no Category 5 hurricanes have ever existed north of 30 degrees N nor south of 14 degrees N.
2) Four oceanic areas have experienced Category 5 intensity hurricanes twice: (26.5N, 77W), (18N, 86W),(24.5N, 96.5W) and (28-30N, 89W) (the path of Camille)!
3) Areas which have never experienced a landfalling hurricane of Category 5 intensity include: the U.S. East Coast, Cuba, Jamaica, nor most of the Windward or Leeward Islands!