Hurricane Melissa sets the wrong kind of records

 

Hurricane Melissa, October 2025 (Source: NOAA)

The 2025 Atlantic hurricane season has been historic for the number of intense Category 5 hurricanes. Earlier this week, Hurricane Melissa became the third Category 5 storm of the season. That set a slew of benchmarks since Category 5 hurricanes are rare. 

Melissa stands out not only for being a Category 5 hurricane, but for how it kept intensifying after it first reached Category 5 status. At peak intensity, Melissa had sustained winds of 185 mph and a minimum central air pressure of 892 millibars (mb). That tied it with the 1935 Labor Day hurricane as the third strongest Atlantic hurricane on record (based on air pressure). The lower the air pressure, the stronger the hurricane is.

Category 5 storms are rare since they require ideal circumstances to develop. When they do occur, they don’t remain at that intensity for very long. For example, the typical Category 5 storm remains at that intensity for less than 24 hours. However, Melissa remained at Category 5 intensity for 36 consecutive hours, according to NOAA. That’s tied with 2004’s Hurricane Ivan for fourth longest such streak.

Earlier this year, Hurricane’s Erin and Humberto also reached Category 5 intensity. That’s the second highest seasonal total behind only the four that developed in 2005. The combined total of five Category 5 Atlantic hurricanes last season and this season also ties with 2004-2005 (five) for highest two-year total of Category 5 hurricanes, according to NOAA.

Hurricane Melissa was also the strongest Atlantic hurricane since Hurricane Wilma in 2005 and also set a record for strongest Atlantic hurricane to occur on or after October 20. Melissa was a damaging and deadly storm across much of the Caribbean Sea from Jamaica and Cuba to the Bahamas. It was also an impactful storm in Bermuda.

Strongest Atlantic hurricanes based on air pressure (Source: NOAA)

1. Wilma (2005) – 882 millibars (mb)
2. Gilbert (1988) – 888 mb
3. Melissa (2025), Labor Day (1935) – 892 mb
5. Milton (2024), Rita (2005) – 895 mb
7. Allen (1980) – 899 mb
8. Camille (1969) – 900 mb
9. Katrina (2005) – 902 mb
10. Dean (2007), Mitch (1998) – 905 mb

Strongest Atlantic hurricanes based on wind speed (Source: NOAA)

1. Allen (1980) – 190 mph
2. Melissa (2025), Dorian (2019), Wilma (2005), Gilbert (1988), Labor Day (1935) – 185 mph
7. Milton (2024), Irma (2017), Rita (2005), Mitch (1998) – 180 mph

Weather Quiz

 

"Sandy" near landfall in New Jersey in 2012 (Source: NOAA)

On this 13^th anniversary of Sandy, what October hurricane gave Washington, D.C. its highest wind gust on record ?

A.  Hazel

B.  Michael

C.  Milton

D.  Sandy

A frightful or delightful Halloween?

 

October often features very nice fall weather

This October will finish both cooler and drier than average in the nation’s capital for the first time since 2022. Halloween is also shaping up to be a dry, but breezy and cooler than average day. That’s in contrast to last year that saw DC’s warmest Halloween since 1950, with a high temperature of 83°.

The nation’s capital will finish the month with three days of 80-degree October warmth. Although that’s within the average of between three and four such days (for the 30-year period of 1995 – 2024), it’s appreciably less than the eight such days in October 2023 and six last October. 

Despite the warm start to October, 11 of the 19 days since October 9 have been cooler than average in the nation’s capital. Although lows downtown fell to 40° on this month’s coolest morning on October 25, Dulles Airport had a low of 30° on the same morning. It hasn’t been at or below freezing at National Airport during the month of October since 1992.

Measurable rainfall has been scarce this month with only 0.48” to date at National Airport. If October were to end today, this month would finish as DC’s eighth driest on record. However, some much-needed rainfall is on tap later this week across the DMV (DC, Maryland and Virginia). That’s particularly good news since moderate to severe drought conditions exist across portions of the DMV. Since the nation’s capital has been so much drier than average so far this month, October finishing as a drier than average month is all but certain given October’s rainfall average of 3.66”. That would make this DC’s fifth consecutive drier than average October. 

However, the dry conditions on Halloween should please trick-or-treaters. But it will also be a chilly Halloween in the nation’s capital with highs only in the upper 50s. That’s similar to Halloween in 2023 when DC had high of only 55°. The last time Washingtonians had measurable rainfall on Halloween was in 2022 with 0.16”. DC’s average high/low temperatures on October 31 are 64°/46°.

Driest Octobers in Washington, D.C. (Source: NOAA)

1. Trace – 1963
2. 0.02” – 2000
3. 0.28” – 1930
4. 0.29” – 1874
5. 0.34” – 1896, 1892
7. 0.40” – 1920
8. 0.44” – 1924
9. 0.53” – 1882
10. 0.59” – 1998
11. 0.65” – 2011
12. 0.66” – 1952
13. 0.67” – 1928
14. 0.69” – 2001
15. 0.75” – 1934
16. 0.79” – 1909, 1879
18. 0.86” – 1918
19. 0.90” – 2016
20. 0.97” – 1901