wxdam.com | Category Five Hurricanes

Meteorologists categorize the strength of hurricanes based on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale (SSHWS). The SSHWS rates hurricanes based on their maximum one-minute sustained wind speeds.

Low-end category one hurricanes pack maximum sustained winds of at least 74 mph. These storms will damage trees, power lines, and lead to superficial damage to well-built homes. The potential for wind damage gradually increases with a hurricane's strength.

A major hurricane is rated category three or stronger on the SSHWS. Category four and five storms can leave communities uninhabitable for weeks or even months, shutting down utilities and completely destroying even well-built homes.

Use of the SSHWS is controversial because folks tend to fixate on a hurricane's winds—sometimes at the expense of a hurricane's other threats. The SSHWS doesn't account for serious hazards like flooding rains, life-threatening storm surge, and tornadoes.

A satellite image of Hurricane Beryl at 12:14 UTC on July 2, 2024. — Hurricane Beryl was the Atlantic's most recent category five.
**IMAGE:** 12:14 UTC July 2, 2024, NOAA

Meteorologists have only documented 41 scale-topping category five hurricanes in the Atlantic Ocean since reliable records began back in 1851. It's likely that there have been more category five storms, but the lack of reliable data before the satellite era makes it difficult to know for certain.

The Atlantic's first category five hurricane on record was an unnamed storm that hit Cuba in October 1924.

The most recent category five hurricane in the Atlantic was Hurricane Beryl, which was the earliest such storm ever observed in the basin. Beryl reached scale-topping status in the eastern Caribbean on July 1, 2024.

Only four of these storms have ever been recorded making landfall in the contiguous United States at category five intensity. Those storms were the Florida Keys Hurricane of 1935, Camille in 1969, Andrew in 1992, and Michael in 2018.

A map of all category five hurricanes in the Atlantic basin since 1851.

#	Year	Storm	Max Winds	Min Press.	Notes
41	2024	Beryl	165	934	Atlantic's earliest category five on record
40	2023	Lee	165	926	Rapidly intensified from 85 mph to 165 mph in 24 hours
39	2022	Ian	160	937	Florida's deadliest hurricane in nearly a century
38	2019	Lorenzo	160	925	Atlantic's easternmost category five on record
37	2019	Dorian	185	910	Lashed The Bahamas at peak intensity for nearly 24 hours
36	2018	Michael	160	919	Struck Florida's panhandle at maximum strength
35	2017	Maria	175	908	Struck Dominica as a category five
34	2017	Irma	180	914	Struck Barbuda and Saint Martin as a category five
33	2016	Matthew	165	934	Atlantic's southernmost category five on record
32	2007	Felix	175	929	Second category five to hit Central America in three weeks
31	2007	Dean	175	905	Struck Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula as a category five
30	2005	Wilma	185	882	Lowest pressure ever measured in an Atlantic hurricane
29	2005	Rita	180	895	Strongest hurricane recorded in the Gulf of Mexico
28	2005	Katrina	175	902	Costliest U.S. hurricane on record
27	2005	Emily	160	929	Atlantic's second-earliest category five on record
26	2004	Ivan	165	910	Remained a category four/five for nearly 200 hours
25	2003	Isabel	165	915	At the time, the strongest hurricane in the open Atlantic
24	1998	Mitch	180	905	Central America's deadliest hurricane on record
23	1992	Andrew	175	922	Struck southern Florida as a category five
22	1989	Hugo	160	918	Produced highest storm surge recorded on the U.S. East Coast
21	1988	Gilbert	185	888	Struck Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula as a category five
20	1980	Allen	190	899	Strongest Atlantic hurricane on record
19	1979	David	175	924	Struck the Dominican Republic as a category five
18	1977	Anita	175	926	Struck Mexico's east coast as a category five
17	1971	Edith	160	943	Struck Nicaragua as a category five
16	1969	Camille	175	900	Strongest Gulf Coast landfall on record
15	1967	Beulah	160	923	Record for most tornadoes in a tropical cyclone (115, Texas)
14	1966	Inez	160	927	Struck the Dominican Republic as a category five
13	1961	Hattie	165	914	Destruction so severe, Belize had to move its capital city
12	1961	Esther	160	919	First major hurricane observed on satellite imagery
11	1955	Janet	175	914	Struck Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula as a category five
10	1953	Carol	160	929	Remained far out to sea at peak strength
9	1944	Unnamed	160	918	Known as the "Great Atlantic Hurricane," hit New England
8	1938	Unnamed	160	940	Known as the "Long Island Express" hurricane
7	1935	Unnamed	185	892	Florida Keys hurricane, strongest on record at U.S. landfall
6	1933	Unnamed	160	929	Known as the "1933 Tampico Hurricane"
5	1933	Unnamed	160	940	Known as the "Cuba-Brownsville Hurricane"
4	1932	Unnamed	175	918	Known as the "1932 Cuba Hurricane"
3	1932	Unnamed	160	unk	Struck The Bahamas as a category five
2	1928	Unnamed	160	929	"Okeechobee hurricane," struck southern Florida as a category five
1	1924	Unnamed	165	910	Known as the "1924 Cuba Hurricane"

INFO SOURCES: NOAA/NHC | IBTrACS