From CASI HQ Monday, October 26, 1998 (Updated 11/09 pm) | By Meteorologist Jesse Ferrell | Central Atlantic Storm Investigators' Tropical Pages | See Also "Swan Island"
So how does Super Hurricane Mitch, at 180mph tonight (10/26), stack up historically?
The truth is: It depends on who you ask. In attempting to do some quick research for this page I found several different estimations of strength for the famous storms. What I show below was taken from the more reputable source - WXP Purdue used heavily. It is felt in the scientific community that pressure is a better measure of strength than winds, but I'm not sure people in the path of the storm would agree. So take your pick. To wit, the table below is organized by Pressure.
Also: Only two Cat 5 hurricanes had developed this late in the season prior to Mitch, which is likely the strongest ever this late. In record, only two Category 5 storms have hit the US Mainland. AccuWeather notes that Mitch is one of only 9 Atlantic Category 5's in the last 30 years. They also explain, with a QuickTime Movie, why Mitch is so strong. If anything on this page seems to be wrong or you have questions, contact me.
Mitch was the first Category Five storm in the Atlantic since 1989 (Hugo).
Thanks to Ed, who researched the following at Purdue: Of the 23 Atlantic category 5 huricanes, since the first recorded in 1928, 16 (13 since 1960) hit the U.S. mainland. Also, there have only been two category 5 huricanes that formed in the month of October, Mitch and Hattie (10/27-11/01/1961) which made land over the Yucatan.
Strong Hurricanes/Typhoons | ||||
Name | Basin | Year | Wind MPH | Pressure MB |
Typhoon Tip* | Pacific | 1979 | 190 | 870 |
Typhoon Zeb | Pacific | 1998 | ??? | <8724 |
Typhoon Gay | Pacific | 1992 | 185 | 872 |
Typhoon Keith | Pacific | 1997 | 190 | 872 |
Typhoon Joan | Pacific | 1997 | ??? | 872 |
Typhoon Ivan | Pacific | 1997 | ??? | 872 |
Typhoon Yuri | Pacific | 1991 | 175 | 885 |
Hurricane Gilbert | Atlantic | 1988 | 185 | 888 |
Typhoon Nancy3 | Pacific | 1961 | 213 | 888 |
Unnamed1 | Atlantic | 1935 | 160 | 8922 |
Hurricane Allen | Atlantic | 1980 | 190 | 899 |
Hurricane Linda | Pacific | 1997 | 185 | 900 |
Hurricane Camille | Atlantic | 1969 | 190 | 905 |
Hurricane Mitch | Atlantic | 1998 | 180 | 906 |
*-It is generally held that Typhoon Tip was the Strongest Hurricane on
Earth
1 - The "Labor Day" Storm of 1935 is held as the
Strongest Hurricane to Landfall in US but there is little reliable
information on it. It almost certainly was somewhat stronger while over
open water but records do not exist. Wind readings from that time are also
questionable.
2 - The "Labor Day" pressure reading is from
landfall. This is the lowest pressure ever recorded on the Mainland US
3
- Due to modern day (1992) research, the wind reading for Typhoon Nancy is
generally no longer accepted (see
FAQ)
4
- Infomation Sketchy - This is rumored to have gone above 8.0 on the
Dvorak scale which would be <872mb
Thanks to the Central Atlantic Storm Investigators for help as always, esp. Greg Drollinger for help on gathering this data quickly for this report. Also thanks to Jim Leonard for help with the Pacific storms.