7 Extreme Hurricane Facts You May Not Know

Chris Dolce
Published: June 29,2016 



 
The 2016 Atlantic hurricane season has given us a fast start with a record-breaking early arrival of the season's third (Colin) and fourth (Danielle) named storms.
With that in mind, we dug up some other extreme facts that you may not know about hurricanes and tropical storms based on data compiled by NOAA's Hurricane Research Division.
(MORE: Hurricane Central | What to Expect During July in the Atlantic)

1.) Patricia Was the Strongest Hurricane Based on Maximum Sustained Winds

Infrared satellite image showing Hurricane Patricia near its maximum intensity at 5:23 a.m. EDT on Oct. 23, 2015. (CIRA/RAMMB/NOAA/NESDIS)

The record for the strongest hurricane based on maximum sustained winds was set by Hurricane Patricia when it rapidly intensified in the eastern Pacific during late October 2015.
Patricia's maximum sustained winds reached an incredible 215 mph on the morning of Oct. 23, 2015. For perspective, a Category 5 hurricane has winds of 157 mph or greater, which Patricia exceeded by nearly 60 mph.

2.) Tropical Storm John Lasted a Month

The red line shows the path of John in 1994.

In 1994, a single named storm stuck around for 30 days in the Pacific Ocean before finally fizzling.
Tropical Storm John developed on Aug. 11,1994, in the eastern Pacific Ocean off the coast of southern Mexico. The storm would eventually go on to become a Category 5 hurricane south of the Hawaiian Islands on Aug. 23,1994.
John then moved west and crossed the international dateline where its title was changed to Typhoon John. Typhoons are the name for tropical cyclones of hurricane intensity in the western North Pacific Basin west of the dateline.
After crossing back over the international dateline into the central Pacific as a tropical storm, John would become a hurricane once again prior to transitioning into a non-tropical low pressure system on Sept. 10.
In the Atlantic basin, the all-time record is quite impressive as well at 27.75 days set by an unnamed storm (#3) in 1899.

3.) Record For Longest Duration as a Category 5 Held by Two Atlantic Hurricanes

Hurricane Ivan as a Category 5 in the Caribbean on Sept. 11, 2004 (NASA)

Two separate Atlantic hurricanes dating back to 1944 have held Category 5 status for a combined three days.
Most recently, Hurricane Ivan in 2004 reached Category 5 strength three separate times in existence, totaling a combined 72 hours. Hurricane Allen in 1980 is the other Atlantic storm to hold Category 5 strength for a combined three days.
A Category 5 hurricane has winds of 157 mph or greater, the strongest on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale.

4.) Hurricane Emily Moved at Nearly 70 mph

The red line shows the track of Emily in September 1987.

It's not uncommon for tropical storms and hurricanes to increase their forward speed to more than 30 mph as they gain latitude in the north Atlantic. This is due to strong upper-level winds that capture the storms and cause them to accelerate as they reach the mid-latitudes.
The most extreme forward speed that has ever been recorded for a hurricane was Emily in 1987. Just prior to becoming non-tropical, Emily's forward motion was an astonishing 68.65 mph in the north Atlantic.
When looking at storms of tropical storm strength or greater overall, the record is held by Tropical Storm Six in 1961, which had a slightly higher forward speed of 69.75 mph.

5.) A Record 127 Twisters Spawned by Ivan

Hurricane Ivan tornado damage in Fauquier County, Va. (NOAA)

Tornadoes are one of several dangers that hurricanes, tropical storms and their remnants can unleash as they move inland.
Ivan holds the record for the most tornadoes on record produced by a named storm in the United States with 127 total.
Ivan's tornadoes struck nine states from Florida to Pennsylvania in a three-day period from Sept. 15-17. Virginia saw the most tornadoes with 40 total followed by Georgia with 25 and Florida with 22.
On Sept. 15, an F2 tornado killed one person and injured seven others near Panama City Beach, Fla. A little more an hour later, a separate tornado touched down in Panama City, Fla. and killed two people. On that same day, another F2 tornado killed four in Blountstown, Fla.
The strongest tornado spawned by Ivan was an F3 that hit near Remington, Va.
Ivan was the second of two hurricanes that produced more than 100 tornadoes in the 2004 hurricane season. The other was Hurricane Frances.

6.) Smallest Named Atlantic Storm on Record Was Marco in 2008

Tiny Tropical Storm Marco (left) in the southwest Gulf of Mexico in 2008. (NASA)

Hurricanes and tropical storms come in all different shapes and sizes depending on the atmospheric conditions in play.
On the extremely small end of the spectrum was Tropical Storm Marco when it was swirling in the southwest Gulf of Mexico during early October 2008.
Marco's tropical storm-force winds extended out just 12 miles from its center of circulation. That's about the average commuting distance for residents of Atlanta or Dallas.
As a comparison, earlier in the 2008 season Hurricane Ike had tropical storm-force winds that extended up to 275 miles from its center just before it hit the Texas coast. Sandy in 2012 had tropical storm-force winds up to 485 miles from its center as it moved into the Northeast.

7.) 2005 Holds Record For Most Storms in a Single Atlantic Season

Tracks of all 28 storms in the 2005 Atlantic season.

The record for the most storms with tropical storm-force winds or greater in a single Atlantic hurricane season is 28 set in 2005.
Virtually every corner of the Atlantic basin saw a named storm in 2005. An unnamed subtropical storm was later added in post-season analysis, so only 27 of the storm were actually named. The previous record for the most storms in an Atlantic season was 21 in 1933.
The 2005 season also holds the record for the most hurricanes in a single Atlantic season with 15 total.

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