Category 5 hurricanes in the Atlantic

Through the 2024 season, there have been 42 Category 5 hurricanes classified in the Atlantic Ocean during the modern record. With maximum sustained winds of 157 mph or greater, the earliest “confirmed” case is the so-called Cuba hurricane of Oct. 1924, and the most recent is Milton during 2024.

Lorenzo, the farthest east Category 5, not show in image above.

Much like the peak of hurricane season often squeezes into a handful of weeks, the most likely time for Category 5 storms is September, by far. About 62 percent of all Category 5 storms occurred in that month. It’s almost perfectly distributed: seven each in August and October, two in July and one in November.

Below, Category 5s by month, then chronological order. The parentheses are year it occurred and when it first reached Category 5, respectively. Other stats are maximum wind and minimum pressure.

July

Emily (2005), 7-11 to 7-21 (7-16), 140 kt/161 mph, 929 mb
Beryl (2024), 6-28 to 7-11 (7-2), 145 kt/167 mph, 932 mb

August

Unnamed (1933), 8-22 to 9-5 (8-31), 140 kt/161 mph, 940 mb
Camille (1969), 8-14 to 8-22 (8-16), 150 kt/173 mph, 900 mb
David (1979), 8-25 to 9-8 (8-30), 150 kt/173 mph, 924 mb
Allen (1980), 7-31 to 8-11 (8-5), 165 kt/190 mph, 899 mb
Andrew (1992), 8-16 to 8-28 (8-23), 150 kt/173 mph, 922 mb
Katrina (2005), 8-23 to 8-31 (8-28), 150 kt/173 mph, 902 mb
Dean (2007), 8-13 to 8-23 (8-18), 150 kt/173 mph, 905 mb

September

Unnamed (1928), 9-6 to 9-21 (9-13), 140 kt/161 mph, 929 mb
Unnamed (1932), 8-30 to 9-17 (9-5), 140 kt/161 mph, UNK mb
Unnamed (1933), 9-16 to 9-25 (9-21), 140 kt/161 mph, 929 mb
Unnamed (1935), 8-29 to 9-10 (9-2), 160 kt/184 mph, 892 mb
Unnamed (1938), 9-9 to 9-23 (9-19), 140 kt/161 mph, 940 mb
Unnamed (1944), 9-9 to 9-16 (9-13), 140 kt/161 mph, 918 mb
Carol (1953), 8-28 to 9-9 (9-3), 140 kt/161 mph, 929 mb
Janet (1955), 9-21 to 9-30 (9-27), 150 kt/173 mph, 914 mb
Esther (1961), 9-10 to 9-27 (9-17), 140 kt/161 mph, 919 mb
Inez (1966), 9-21 to 10-11 (9-28), 140 kt/161 mph, 927 mb
Beulah (1967), 9-5 to 9-24 (9-19), 140 kt/161 mph, 923 mb
Edith (1971), 9-5 to 9-18 (9-9), 140 kt/161 mph, 943 mb
Anita (1977), 8-29 to 9-3 (9-2), 150 kt/173 mph, 926 mb
Gilbert (1988), 9-8 to 9-20 (9-13), 160 kt/184 mph, 888 mb
Hugo (1989), 9-10 to 9-25 (9-15), 140 kt/161 mph, 918 mb
Isabel (2003), 9-6 to 9-20 (9-11), 145 kt/167 mph, 915 mb
Ivan (2004), 9-2 to 9-24 (9-9), 145 kt/167 mph, 910 mb
Rita (2005), 9-18 to 9-26 (9-21), 155 kt/178 mph, 895 mb
Felix (2007), 8-31 to 9-6 (9-3), 150 kt/173 mph, 929 mb
Irma (2017), 8-30 to 9-13 (9-5), 155 kt/178 mph, 914 mb
Maria (2017), 9-16 to 10-2 (9-19), 150 kt/173 mph, 908 mb
Dorian (2019), 8-24 to 9-9 (9-1), 160 kt/184 mph, 910 mb
Lorenzo (2019), 9-22 to 10-4 (9-29), 140 kt/161 mph, 925 mb
Ian (2022), 9-22 to 10-1 (9-28), 140 kt/161 mph, 937 mb
Lee (2023), 9-5 to 9-18 (9-8), 145 kt/167 mph, 926 mb

October

Unnamed (1924), 10-14 to 10-23 (10-19), 145 kt/167 mph, 910 mb
Hattie (1961), 10-26 to 11-1 (10-30), 145 kt/167 mph, 914 mb
Mitch (1998), 10-22 to 11-9 (10-26), 155 kt/178 mph, 905 mb
Wilma (2005), 10-15 to 10-26 (10-19), 160 kt/184 mph, 882 mb
Matthew (2016), 9-28 to 10-10 (10-1), 145 kt/167 mph, 934 mb
Michael (2018), 10-6 to 10-15 (10-10), 140 kt/161 mph, 919 mb
Milton (2024), 10-4 to 10-11 (10-7), 155 kt/178 mph, 895 mb

November

Unnamed (1932), 10-30 to 11-14 (11-5), 150 kt/173 mph, 918 mb

All stats above via NOAA datasets analyzed by author.