Hurricane Irma Meteorological Records/Notable Facts Recap (through September 9 at 11am EDT)
Note: Lifetime refers to storm lifetime to date (Edited for formatting)
Intensity Measures
- 185 mph lifetime max winds – tied with Florida Keys (1935), Gilbert (1988) and Wilma (2005) for second strongest max winds of all time in Atlantic hurricane. Allen had max winds of 190 mph in 1980
- 185 mph lifetime max winds – the strongest storm to exist in the Atlantic Ocean outside of the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico on record
- 185 mph max winds for 37 hours – the longest any cyclone around the globe has maintained that intensity on record. The previous record was Haiyan in the NW Pacific at 24 hours
- 914 mb lifetime minimum central pressure – lowest since Dean (2007) and 10th lowest in satellite era (since 1966)
- 914 mb lifetime minimum central pressure – lowest pressure by an Atlantic hurricane outside of the western Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico on record
- First Category 5 hurricane in the Atlantic since Matthew (2016) and first Category 5 hurricane in the tropical Atlantic (7.5-20°N, 60-20°W) since Hugo (1989)
- 3.25 day lifetime as a Category 5 hurricane – tied with Cuba (1932) for longest lifetime as Category 5
- 3 consecutive days as a Category 5 hurricane – the longest in the satellite era (since 1966)
- 7.25 major hurricane days – tied for 6th most in the satellite era (since 1966)
- 3.75 major hurricane days in the tropical Atlantic (7.5-20°N, 60-20°W) – trailing only Luis (1995) for major hurricane days in the tropical Atlantic
Integrated Measures
- Generated the most Accumulated Cyclone Energy by a tropical cyclone on record in the tropical Atlantic (7.5-20°N, 60-20°W)
- Generated more Accumulated Cyclone Energy than the first eight named storms of the Atlantic hurricane season (Arlene-Harvey) combined
- Generated the most Accumulated Cyclone Energy in a 24-hour period on record, breaking old record set by Allen (1980)
- 59.5 Accumulated Cyclone Energy units so far – the 3rd most by an Atlantic hurricane in the satellite era (since 1966) – trailing only Isabel (63.3) and Ivan (70.4)
- Generated more Accumulated Cyclone Energy than 15 entire Atlantic hurricane Landfall Records
- Leeward Islands: Strongest storm on record to impact the Leeward Islands defined as 15-19°N, 65-60°W for this calculation, with max winds of 185 mph.Okeechobee Hurricane (1928) and David (1979) were previous strongest at 160 mph
- Turks and Caicos: Closest approach of a Category 5 hurricane on record – The Bahamas: First Category 5 hurricane to make landfall since Andrew (1992)
- Cuba: First Category 5 hurricane to make landfall since the Cuba Hurricane of 1924
Source: https://webcms.colostate.edu/tropical/media/sites/111/2017/09/Hurricane-Irma-Records.pdf
At the same time interesting how quiet it is in the Eastern Pacific, right next door between Mexico and Hawaii.
Just watched a 2016 documentary on treasure hunters around Vero Beach off the Atlantic coast of Florida searching for the five ships still missing from the 1715 plate fleet.
Didn’t catch his name, but a NOAA guy interviewed said that 300 years ago, hurricanes were two to three times as frequent as now. That makes sense, given how much colder it was then than now.
The start of the Bermuda colony was due to a hurricane and shipwreck. The ‘Sea Venture’ was driven ashore in Discovery Bay on 28 July 1609. They built a church, houses and two small ships ‘Patience’ and ‘Deliverance’ and continued the journey to Jamestown in May 1610. Shakespeare’s ‘Tempest’ is said to have been influenced by the event.
‘Be not afeard. The isle is full of noises,
Sounds and sweet airs that give delight and hurt not.’
Another New Record.
I suspect we will see an unprecedented sea level rise this year, for much of the south Atlantic and Mexican Gulf.