Major November Hurricanes

 

Hurricane Eta, November 2020 (Source: NOAA)

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

Iota (2020): Less than two weeks after Eta became a Category 4 Atlantic hurricane, Iota was an even stronger storm.  At peak intensity in the Caribbean Sea, Iota nearly reached Category 5 intensity with sustained winds of 155 mph and a minimum central air pressure of 917 millibars (mb).  By comparison, standard sea level air pressure is approximately 1013 mb.  Iota caused widespread damage in Central America, not far from where Eta made landfall. 

Paloma (2008): Hurricane Paloma formed in the Caribbean Sea and reached 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).  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).  

Lenny (1999):  On November 17, Lenny made landfall on the island of St. Croix with sustained winds of 155 mph.  Lenny’s minimum central air pressure was 933 mb.  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 Category 2 status before its 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 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.