what is a category 5 hurricane?
153685
The highest classification in the scale, Category 5, consists of storms with sustained winds over 156 mph (70 m/s; 136 kn; 251 km/h). The classifications can provide some indication of the potential damage and flooding a hurricane will cause upon landfall.
1088060
Hurricane Dorian spared Puerto Rico the worst of its gale-force winds and rain, but is expected to become a Category 4 hurricane by the time it makes landfall in the mainland U.S. It is expected to arrive in Florida at the tail end of Labor Day weekend, and it could be the worst hurricane the state has seen since 1992.
890240
These clouds are just the beginning. Meteorologists have divided the development of a tropical cyclone into four stages: Tropical disturbance, tropical depression, tropical storm, and full-fledged tropical cyclone.
131500
Thirty-six Category 5 hurricanes have been recorded in the Atlantic basin since 1851, when records began. Only one Category 5 has been recorded in July, eight in August, twenty-one in September, six in October, and one in November. There have been no officially recorded June or off-season Category 5 hurricanes.
214804
To be classified as a hurricane, a tropical cyclone must have one-minute maximum sustained winds of at least 74 mph (33 m/s; 64 kn; 119 km/h) (Category 1). The highest classification in the scale, Category 5, consists of storms with sustained winds over 156 mph (70 m/s; 136 kn; 251 km/h).
1125075
WATCH: More coverage of Hurricane Dorian At the peak of the scale, Category 5 means sustained winds of a jaw-dropping 252 km/h or higher. The NHC explains that in a Category 5 event, “catastrophic damage will occur.” For every category increase, the damage level generally increases by about a factor of four.
873655
In a Category 1 hurricane, winds range from 74 to 95 mph.
424840
Places hit the most The Bahamas are among the most familiar with Category 5 storms. Four Category 5 storms have made landfall on the islands. They saw Category 5 storms in 1932 and 1933 and another with Hurricane Andrew in 1992 before being hit by Dorian on Sunday.
1204480
A tropical storm is a tropical cyclone that has maximum sustained surface winds ranging from 39-73 mph (34 to 63 knots). A hurricane is a tropical cyclone that has maximum sustained surface winds of 74 mph or greater (64 knots or greater).
937874
A typhoon with maximum sustained surface winds greather than or equal to 130 knots (approximately Category 5) is called a "super typhoon," and a hurricane of Category 3 and above is called a "major hurricane." A tropical cyclone weaker than Category 1 is not a "typhoon" in the international standard, but may be ...
1406979
The intensity of North Atlantic hurricanes and the number of Category 4 and 5 hurricanes has increased since the 1980s. These increases are due in part to warmer sea surface temperatures in the areas where Atlantic hurricanes form and pass through.
1146947
1992: Hurricane Andrew Hits Florida In 1992, Hurricane Andrew became the first of these male-named hurricanes to reach Category 5 in the U.S. Once again, the Category 5's target was Florida. It made landfall in southern Florida on August 24, 1992, and reached sustained wind speeds of 165 miles per hour.
1048494
In 2017, we saw two Category 5 hurricanes, six major hurricanes, and 17 storms. The hyperactive season also happened to be the costliest on record, at $282.22 billion.
777293
Hurricane Maria was a deadly Category 5 hurricane that devastated Dominica, St Croix, and Puerto Rico in September 2017. It is regarded as the worst natural disaster in recorded history to affect those islands and was also the deadliest Atlantic hurricane since Jeanne in 2004.
1308648
Hurricane Characteristics. Hurricanes are especially dangerous storms because they combine the triple threat of violent winds, torrential rains, and abnormally high waves and storm surge.
215006
Nine Atlantic hurricanes—Camille, Allen, Andrew, Isabel, Ivan, Dean, Felix, Irma and Maria—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.
515969
There is no such thing as a category 6 hurricane or tropical storm – yet. ... Meteorologists and scientists never imagined that there would be a need for a category 6 storm, with winds that exceed 200 miles per hour on a sustained basis, sweeping away everything in its path.