Quote:
Originally Posted by accord1999
Nobody disputes Irma is a massive and very damaging storm if it hits Florida, but those sustained wind speeds are matched by Hurricane Wilma (2005), Hurricane Gilbert (1988) and the 1935 Labor Day Hurricane. All of these currently trail the maximum sustained wind speed of Hurricane Allen (1980) and Irma's central pressure is unusually higher than the earlier hurricanes.
|
What sets Irma apart is it reached cat 5 status far earlier and faster than any other storm on record and it did so in the Atlantic Basin before it even reached the Leeward Islands.
Wilma - Cat 5 in the South West Caribbean Sea for 1 day
Gilbert - Cat 5 in the West Caribbean Sea for 1 day
1935 Labor Day - Cat 5 for 12 hours in the west Bahamas
Allen - Earliest Cat 5 on record until now but again in the hot Caribbean Sea south of Puerto Rico
I haven't looked but I doubt there was even a cat 4 ever recorded east of the Leeward Islands