Here's how many Category 5 hurricanes have hit the U.S. mainland

The Hurricane season in the Atlantic starts on June 1st and lasts until November 30th. Over the past 30 years, there have been an average of seven hurricanes and three major hurricanes per year in the Atlantic basin.

A major hurricane means a Category 3 or higher on the Saffir-Simpson hurricane wind scale. The scale includes five categories based on the storm's sustained wind speeds and also estimates potential property damage, ranging from “some damage” to “some damage.”catastrophic.”

The highest is category 5, This means a storm with sustained winds of 157 miles per hour or more.

According to the National Hurricane Center, there have been an estimated 42 tropical cyclones that reached Category 5 status in the Atlantic basin since 1924 – the most recent Hurricane Miltonwhich is heading toward Florida's Gulf Coast with winds of 175 miles per hour.

The total is likely higher because satellite monitoring technology was only available in the 1960s and hurricanes that could be a Category 5 storm may have gone undetected.

Several recorded Category 5 hurricanes reached this intensity several times during their lifetime. Hurricanes Allen in 1980, Isabel in 2003 and Ivan in 2004 each reached Category 5 intensity three times during their journey.

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration database, the November 1932 Cuba hurricane and 2007 Hurricane Irma spent the longest combined time at Category 5 strength, at 78 and 77 hours, respectively.

While several hurricanes that made landfall in the U.S. peaked at Category 5, only four recorded storms actually reached that intensity.

Hurricane on Labor Day 1935

The Great Labor Day hurricane struck Florida in early September 1935 and became the most powerful storm ever to make landfall in the United States, according to the hurricane center

It caused the deaths of 408 people – most of whom were World War I veterans who worked in the Florida Keys, where the storm first made landfall.

According to NOAA, the storm caused an estimated $6 million ($137 million in 2024 dollars) in damages.

Hurricane Camille in 1969

Camille, the most powerful storm of the 1969 Atlantic hurricane season, barreled into Mississippi just before midnight on August 17. The hurricane caused a maximum storm surge of 24 feet and leveled almost everything along the Mississippi coast.

It caused an estimated damage of $1.42 billion (more than $12 billion in 2024) and killed more than 259 people.

Hurricane Andrew in 1992

On August 22, 1992 Hurricane Andrew South Florida was hit as a Category 5 monster storm with sustained winds of up to 165 mph and gusts of up to 174 mph.

It caused $30 billion in damages and more than 40 deaths. At the time, it was the costliest natural disaster in US history.

When the 1992 hurricane season ended, the name Andrew was removed from the list of future names for Atlantic tropical cyclones.

Hurricane Michael in 2018

Hurricane Michael barreled toward Mexico Beach, Florida, on October 10 with peak winds of 160 miles per hour, making it the strongest storm ever to make landfall in the Florida Panhandle. It was the first Category 5 storm to make landfall in the U.S. since Andrew 26 years ago.

The cyclone was initially classified as a Category 4 storm, but forecasters said: updated it in April 2019 after a detailed post-storm analysis.

At least 74 deaths were attributed to the storm – 59 in the United States and 15 in Central America.

Michael caused an estimated damage of $25.1 billion.

Historic Category 5 storms

Here are the names of the estimated 42 tropical cyclones that have reached Category 5 intensity since 1924:

• “Cuba” – 1924
• “San Felipe II Okeechobee” – 1928
• “Bahamas” – 1932
• “Cuba” – 1932
• “Cuba Brownsville” – 1933
• “Tampico” – 1933
• “Labor Day” – 1935
• “New England” – 1938
• “Great Atlantic” – 1944
• Carol – 1953
• Janet – 1955
• Esther – 1961
• Hattie – 1961
• Inez – 1966
• Beulah – 1967
• Camille – 1969
• Edith – 1971
• Anita – 1977
• David – 1979
• Allen – 1980
• Gilbert – 1988
• Hugo – 1989
• Andrew – 1992
• Mitch – 1998
• Isabel – 2003
• Ivan – 2004
• Emily – 2005
• Katrina – 2005
• Rita – 2005
• Wilma – 2005
• Dean – 2007
• Felix – 2007
• Matthew – 2016
• Irma – 2017
• Maria – 2017
• Michael – 2018
• Dorian – 2019
• Lorenzo – 2019
• Ian – 2022
• Lee – 2023
• Beryl – 2024
• Milton – 2024