Major November Hurricanes

Hurricane Lenny (Source: NOAA)

November is the final month of the Atlantic hurricane season when major hurricane are exceedingly rare.  However, there have been some significant ones over the course of history.  A major hurricane is defined as a Category 3 or higher on the Saffir-Simpson Scale with sustained winds of at least 111 mph.

Otto (2016):  Otto attained hurricane status in the Caribbean Sea on November 23 and intensified into a Category 3 hurricane with sustained winds of 115 mph.  Otto made landfall in Nicaragua on November 24 at peak intensity and was the latest landfalling Atlantic hurricane in modern history.  It was the first tropical system since 1996 to cross Central America and emerge in the Pacific Ocean.  Otto remains the most recent major November hurricane in the Atlantic Ocean Basin (that includes the Atlantic Ocean, Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea).

Paloma (2008): Hurricane Paloma formed in the southwest Caribbean Sea, which is an area favorable for tropical storms and hurricanes late in the season.  Paloma reached its peak intensity on November 8 as a Category 4 hurricane with sustained winds of 145 mph and a minimum central air pressure of 944 millibars (mb).  By comparison, standard sea level air pressure is approximately 1013 mb.  The lower the air pressure, the stronger the storm is.  Hurricane Paloma was also significant because it marked the first known instance when major hurricanes formed in the Atlantic Ocean Basin in five consecutive months (July through November).

Michelle (2001):  According to the National Hurricane Center, Michelle became a Category 4 hurricane on November 3 with sustained winds of 140 mph and a minimum air pressure of 933 mb.  Hurricane Michelle caused major damage and claimed more than 20 lives across the Caribbean during its destructive lifespan.

Lenny (1999):  On November 17, Lenny made landfall on the island of St. Croix with sustained winds of 155 mph, nearly Category 5 intensity.  Although Lenny’s minimum central air pressure of 933 mb was the same as Michelle’s two years later, Lenny’s peak winds were higher.  Hurricanes normally track from east to west in the Northern Hemisphere.  However, being a late season storm, Hurricane Lenny tracked west to east across the Caribbean Sea.  Lenny was the first major November hurricane anywhere in the Atlantic Ocean Basin since Kate in 1985.

Kate (1985):  Kate reached peak intensity in the Gulf of Mexico on November 20 with sustained winds of 120 mph and a minimum central air pressure of 953 mb.  Kate weakened slightly to a Category 2 storm before making landfall on the Florida Peninsula on November 21.  That made it the latest landfalling hurricane on record in the contiguous United States.  Kate was also the fourth hurricane to impact the U.S. Gulf Coast during the 1985 season.

“Cuba Hurricane of 1932”: The strongest November hurricane on record occurred so long ago that it was before hurricanes were named.  Consequently, it’s referred to as the “1932 Cuba hurricane” and remains the Atlantic’s only Category 5 November hurricane on record.  On November 6, 1932 it reached peak intensity with maximum sustained winds of approximately 175 mph and a minimum central air pressure of 915 mb.  Since hurricane hunter flights didn’t begin until the early 1940s, the most accurate way to measure the intensity of an offshore tropical storm or hurricane were ships at sea.  These measurements weren’t made at the center of the storm, so the air pressure could have been even lower.