The most intense hurricanes ever measured
The ranking uses HURDAT2, the National Hurricane Center best track database, which reanalyses every storm after the season.
Official warnings come from the National Hurricane Center and your local emergency agency. This page is informational and does not replace an official advisory.
| Name | Year | kt | km/h | hPa | Category |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Patricia | 2015 | 185 | 343 | 872 | Category 5 |
| Melissa | 2025 | 165 | 306 | 892 | Category 5 |
| Allen | 1980 | 165 | 306 | 899 | Category 5 |
| Wilma | 2005 | 160 | 296 | 882 | Category 5 |
| Gilbert | 1988 | 160 | 296 | 888 | Category 5 |
| Linda | 1997 | 160 | 296 | 902 | Category 5 |
| Dorian | 2019 | 160 | 296 | 910 | Category 5 |
| Paka | 1997 | 160 | 296 | — | Category 5 |
| Rita | 2005 | 155 | 287 | 895 | Category 5 |
| Milton | 2024 | 155 | 287 | 895 | Category 5 |
| Mitch | 1998 | 155 | 287 | 905 | Category 5 |
| Rick | 2009 | 155 | 287 | 906 | Category 5 |
| Irma | 2017 | 155 | 287 | 914 | Category 5 |
| Camille | 1969 | 150 | 278 | 900 | Category 5 |
| Katrina | 2005 | 150 | 278 | 902 | Category 5 |
| Dean | 2007 | 150 | 278 | 905 | Category 5 |
| Maria | 2017 | 150 | 278 | 908 | Category 5 |
| Janet | 1955 | 150 | 278 | 914 | Category 5 |
| Andrew | 1992 | 150 | 278 | 922 | Category 5 |
| David | 1979 | 150 | 278 | 924 | Category 5 |
| Anita | 1977 | 150 | 278 | 926 | Category 5 |
| Felix | 2007 | 150 | 278 | 929 | Category 5 |
| John | 1994 | 150 | 278 | 929 | Category 5 |
| Patsy | 1959 | 150 | 278 | — | Category 5 |
| Ivan | 2004 | 145 | 269 | 910 | Category 5 |
- NOAA HURDAT2 (banco de melhores trajetórias)Licence: Domínio público (dado federal dos EUA) · Credit: NOAA / NHC, HURDAT2 (Atlântico e Pacífico Nordeste)
How to read these numbers
The list covers storms from 1950 on, when reconnaissance flights made measurements comparable. Intensity is not the same as deaths or damage: that depends on where the storm hit land and how many people lived there.
The wind record belongs to Patricia, in the eastern Pacific in 2015, at 185 knots. The lowest Atlantic pressure belongs to Wilma, in 2005, at 882 hPa.
Frequently asked questions
- What was the strongest Atlantic hurricane?
- By sustained wind, Allen (1980) and Dorian (2019) tie at 160 knots; by pressure, Wilma (2005) at 882 hPa.
- And the deadliest?
- The Galveston hurricane of 1900, with about eight thousand deaths in the United States, and Mitch in 1998, with more than eleven thousand in Central America.