Milton makes list for strongest Atlantic hurricanes of all time

On Monday, Hurricane Milton stunned weather watchers around the globe as it rapidly intensified into a Category 5 hurricane in a matter of hours. At Milton’s strongest, winds topped out at 180 mph, making Milton one of the strongest Atlantic hurricanes of all time.

Milton could be in the company of storms that need only one name: Katrina, Andrew and Wilma.

Here are a few of the comparable storms.

Hurricane Allen made landfall on South Padre Island, Texas after developing in the Atlantic on July 31, 1980. Allen is the only storm on record to reach 190 mph of sustained winds in the Atlantic basin. Allen did $1.57 billion in damage and took 269 lives.

Hurricane Wilma formed in late October 2005 and made landfall in the United States at Cape Romano, Florida. Wilma had the lowest pressure ever recorded at 882 millibars. Wilma’s winds were measured at 185 mph. Wilma did $26.5 billion in damage and had 52 deaths.

Hurricane Katrina became a large and extremely powerful hurricane in late August of 2005, making landfall three times in the US with catastrophic damage in New Orleans, Louisiana. Katrina’s highest wind speed was 175 mph. Katrina is the costliest hurricane to ever hit the United States, costing $125 billion. Katrina’s death toll was 1,392.

Hurricane Andrew was small but mighty, as far as hurricanes go. Andrew formed in late August of 1992. Andrew’s highest wind speed was 175 mph. Andrew killed 65 people and did $27.3 billion in damage.

Thankfully, Hurricane Milton has weakened a bit but is expected to gain strength before weakening again as it runs into dry air on its way to Florida. Regardless of the outcome, Milton is already a record-setting storm.

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