What Category 5 hurricanes have menaced the United States?

 

Hurricane Andrew making landfall (Source: NOAA)

Category 5 storms are relatively rare. They make up a very small percentage of the total number of hurricanes that form annually. In fact, only four have ever made landfall in the United States. Here’s a closer look at the “Big Four.”

Michael (2018): Hurricane Michael was only the fourth Category 5 storm to make landfall in the United States and first since Hurricane Andrew in 1992. Michael reached peak intensity as it made landfall along the Florida panhandle on October 10 with sustained winds of 160 mph and a minimum central air pressure of 919 millibars (mb). By comparison, standard sea level air pressure is 1013.25 mb. That part of Florida had seen several previous Category 3 hurricanes make landfall, but never a Category 4 or 5 storm. Michael caused $31.2 billion in U.S. damages (2024 dollars) and claimed 16 lives during the storm, according to NOAA.

Andrew (1992): Andrew intensified into a Category 5 hurricane with peak sustained winds of 175 mph when it passed through the Bahamas. Andrew had sustained winds of 165 mph and a minimum central pressure of 922 mb when it came ashore in Florida on August 24, 1992. It was the first major hurricane (Category 3 or higher on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale) to make landfall in the state of Florida since Eloise in 1975. 

Hurricane Andrew became the costliest natural disaster in U.S. history at the time with $26.5 billion in damages. Adjusted for inflation, that damage total would be $60.5 billion in 2024. As bad as Andrew was, the damage could have been worse had the track been a little different.  Since Andrew was a relatively compact hurricane, its strongest winds were concentrated in a limited area compared to other hurricanes that had a larger diameter (like Katrina). Andrew’s eye traveled roughly 30 miles south of downtown Miami, which largely spared the city.

Camille (1969): Like Andrew in 1992, Camille was the first major hurricane of the season. Camille made landfall on August 18 in Mississippi at peak Category 5 intensity with sustained winds of 175 mph and a minimum central air pressure of 900 mb. Camille was both destructive and deadly, having caused $12.2 billion in damages (2024 dollars) with over 200 fatalities.  

1935 Labor Day: At peak intensity, this hurricane was a monster with sustained winds of 185 mph and a minimum central air pressure of 892 mb. It made landfall at peak intensity near Long Key in the Florida Keys where it was both destructive and deadly. The storm made a second landfall near Cedar Key, Florida, as a much weaker storm. It remains the strongest of the four Category 5 hurricanes that have made landfall in the United States.