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 โconfirmedโ case is the so-called Cuba hurricane of Oct. 1924, and the most recent is Milton during 2024.

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. Itโs 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.
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