List of Category 5 Atlantic hurricanes
A Category 5 Atlantic hurricane is a tropical cyclone that reaches Category 5 intensity on the Saffir–Simpson hurricane wind scale, within the Atlantic Ocean to the north of the equator. They are among the strongest tropical cyclones that can form on Earth, having 1-minute sustained wind speeds of at least. The United States National Hurricane Center currently estimates that 11 tropical cyclones between 1851 and 1959 peaked as Category 5 hurricanes. However, because technologies such as satellite monitoring were not available until the 1960s, some cyclones may have remained undetected. Since 1960, 34 Atlantic hurricanes have reached Category 5.
Background
Within the Atlantic Ocean to the north of the equator, hurricanes are officially monitored by the United States's National Hurricane Center, however, other meteorological services, such as Météo-France, the United Kingdom's Met Office and Environment Canada also monitor the basin. Within the region, a Category 5 hurricane is a tropical cyclone which reaches Category 5 status on the Saffir–Simpson hurricane wind scale, that is, a tropical cyclone that has 1-minute mean maximum sustained wind speeds of or greater at above ground.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. Although the anemometer, a device used for measuring wind speed, was invented in 1846, during major hurricane strikes, the instruments were often blown away or damaged, 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.
, a reanalysis of weather data was ongoing by researchers who may upgrade or downgrade Atlantic hurricanes. For example, the 1825 Santa Ana hurricane is suspected to have reached Category 5 strength. 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 has been identified in Belizean sediment, having struck the region sometime before 1500.
Records
Officially, the decade with the most Category 5 hurricanes is the 2000s, with eight Category 5 hurricanes having occurred: Isabel, Ivan, Emily, Katrina, Rita, Wilma, Dean, and Felix. The previous decades with the most Category 5 hurricanes were the 1930s and 1960s, with six occurring between 1930 and 1939. The most Category 5 hurricanes recorded in a single season is four, in 2005, followed by 2025, which recorded three. No other seasons had more than two Category 5 hurricanes. The most consecutive years to feature at least one Category 5 hurricane each is four, both from 2016 to 2019 and from 2022 to 2025.Ten Atlantic hurricanes—Camille, Allen, Andrew, Isabel, Ivan, Dean, Felix, Irma, Maria, and Milton—reached Category 5 intensity on more than one occasion; that is, by reaching Category 5 intensity, weakening to a Category 4 status or lower, and then becoming a Category 5 hurricane 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, Ivan, and Milton reached Category 5 intensity on three occasions. The 1932 Cuba hurricane holds the record for the most time spent as a Category 5 hurricane. Irma holds the record for the longest continuous span as a Category 5 storm in the satellite era.
Of the 45 Category 5 Atlantic hurricanes on record, 2 have been recorded in July, 8 in August, 26 in September, 8 in October, and 1 in November. There have been no officially recorded June or off-season Category 5 hurricanes.
July and August Category 5 hurricanes reached their high intensities in either the Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean, or the southwestern Atlantic.
September sees the most Category 5 hurricanes, with over half of the total. This coincides with the climatological peak of the Atlantic hurricane season, which occurs in early September. September Category 5s reached their strengths in any of the Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean, and open Atlantic. These places are where September tropical cyclones are likely to form. Many of these hurricanes are either Cape Verde hurricanes, which develop their strength due to a long track over warm waters, or else intensify over the warm Loop Current in the Gulf of Mexico.
All but two of the Category 5 hurricanes in October and November reached their intensities in the western Caribbean, a region that 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 that promotes rapid intensification late in the season, as well as warm waters.
Systems
Other systems
The 1947 Fort Lauderdale hurricane and Hurricanes Dog (1950), Easy (1951), Cleo (1958), Donna (1960), Ethel (1960) and Carla (1961) were all originally estimated to have Category 5 sustained wind speeds. However, later systematic studies by the Atlantic hurricane reanalysis project found that the wind speeds associated with these systems were overestimated and downgraded them to either Category 4 or 3. Most recently, Hurricane Iota was operationally considered to be a Category 5 hurricane, with estimated 1-minute sustained wind speeds of. However, during their routine post-analysis best track process after the season, the NHC downgraded Iota to a Category 4 hurricane as a result of post season reanalysis, which suggested that there was a high bias in windspeeds derived from the Stepped Frequency Microwave Radiometer instrument.Landfalls
Nearly all Atlantic Category 5 hurricanes have made landfall at some location while a tropical or subtropical cyclone. This is primarily 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. 20 of the storms made landfall at least once while at Category 5 intensity; 2007 and 2017 are the only years in which two storms made landfall at this intensity. All but six landfalling systems did so at major hurricane strength.Many of these systems made landfall shortly after weakening from a Category 5 hurricane. This weakening can be caused by dry air near land, shallower waters due to shelving, interaction with land, eyewall replacement cycles, increased vertical wind shear, or cooler waters near shore.
The only Atlantic Category 5 hurricanes that did not make landfall while a tropical or subtropical cyclone were Hurricane Lorenzo, which still brought hurricane-force winds to the Azores; Hurricane Lee, which still made landfall as an extratropical cyclone in Nova Scotia; and Hurricane Humberto, which still caused increased surf along the East Coast of the United States and minor impacts to Bermuda. These three storms are therefore not included in the table below.
The following table lists these hurricanes by landfall intensity.