A late October storm.....The Great Hurricane Mitch!!!

[Burn1]

The fourth strongest Hurricane ever recorded in the Atlantic Basin(Western Caribbean) Oct 26th on.......180 mph winds and of course
tremendous loss of life in Central America due to the deluge of rain...

I guess you could say Cat 4/5's can form late into the season.......

Any other late major canes that any one can remember?

[Scorpion]

Michelle in November 2001, was a Cat 4. Pales in comparison to Mitch however.

[DoctorHurricane2003]

Since 1979:
2001: Michelle, Category 4 140 MPH (Oct-Nov)
1999: Lenny, Category 4 150 MPH (November)
1998: Mitch, Category 5 180 MPH (October)
1996: Lili, Category 3 115 MPH (October)
1995: Opal, Category 4 150 MPH (Sept-Oct); Roxanne Category 3 115 MPH (October)
1988: Joan, Category 4 145 MPH (October)
1985: Kate, Category 3 120 MPH (November)

Edit: Oops...mistype on Michelle. Thanks for be alarming, Scorpion. lol

[Scorpion]

Michelle got up to 150 mph?? Wow! Thank goodness for the shear or whatever weakened her and took her NE, S FL would have been badly damaged!

[Stratosphere747]

Although not quite October....Hurricane Janet in 1955..Sept 27..I try to mention this hurricane when I can to bring attention to the "Hurricane hunters" and what they do...

For those that don't know this was the last time we lost a HH plane...

[Terry]

Hurricane Mitch.

I've read tons of "storm stories" and shipwreck stories. The stories abouth Mitch were the most compelling I've ever read.

We want no more Mitches!

[SouthernWx]

Yes....1955 was the last time we lost a reconnisance aircraft in an Atlantic hurricane. We've had some close calls since....Camille in 1969, Edith in 1971, and Hugo in 1989. We're fortunate it hasn't happened since.

As for severe late season hurricanes, in 2000 Keith also reached cat-4 in October....in 2001, Iris reached 125 kt in October (in addition to Michelle later that month). Last season Kate reached 110 kt in early October.

In past decades, there were many severe late season hurricanes....Hazel reached cat-4 and slammed the Carolinas in October 1954, an October 1944 hurricane peaked at 145 mph before plowing Havana...later crossed Florida as a large cat-3 hurricane. In early November of 1932, a monster hurricane crossed the Caribbean....there was a report of 915 mb and 150-200 mph winds from a ship in the SW Caribbean. This hurricane killed thousands in Cuba as a cat-4.

All throughout the period of record there are many examples of violent October hurricanes....including one in mid-October 1846 that was likely a cat-5 near Key West, Florida. This monster obliterated Havana, Cuba and roared northward. Central pressure readings of 915-917 were recorded both in Cuba and the Florida Keys....where a storm surge 15' high innundated Key West, killing hundreds. The hurricane later smashed into Florida near Cedar Key...still of cat-4 intensity. After crossing the state from Cedar Key to Jacksonville and causing severe damage, the still intense hurricane roared NE into North Carolina. Several new inlets were cut in barrier islands by the storm surge in eastern North Carolina, indicating a hurricane still of cat-3 intensity.

Considerable damage was reported all along the Atlantic Coast to New England after the hurricane moved inland and moved rapidly northward.

[Scorpion]

. Imagine that happening today!

[ROCK]

geezz...Southernwx that 1886 storm sounds like a really baddd horror movie....Ivanish almost

[Stratosphere747]

Rock....I think that was 1846....

Strange that you mention 1886 though and being from Houston...As that is the year of the "Great Indianola Hurricane"

This is what is thought of as the only Cat5 hurricane to hit Texas...

[inotherwords]

I've read tons of "storm stories" and shipwreck stories. The stories abouth Mitch were the most compelling I've ever read.

Me too. I just finished reading "The Ship and the Storm" about the loss of the Fantome, a four-masted Windjammer sailing vessel. The captain and crew, some thirty-odd people, were never found, and only bits of the top two levels of the ship were ever recovered.

I was particularly interested in this because I'd sailed on vacation on the Fantome for 10 days in 1984. The book also quotes one of the hurricane hunters I interviewed for a story I wrote. He flew into Mitch and it was interesting to find out how little was known at the time about Cat 5 hurricanes because they happened so infrequently.

[dhweather]

Mitch - the man, the legend.

Good thing no troughs picked him up

[Hurricane Cheese]

Lili was at 145 mph in the gulf before she weakened when she came into LA

[Wnghs2007]

My Uncle flew into Mitch and he said it was amazing. Thought he was pulling a couple g's. I dont know but man that had to been a scary and awsome time at once.

[cycloneye]

Let's not forget the crazy Lenny in 1999 which got to cat 4 status in almost late november.

[Wnghs2007]

Let's not forget the crazy Lenny in 1999 which got to cat 4 status in almost late november.

Wow I had totally forgotten about Lenny. Yeah it was a crazy storm. Hehe.

[Scorpion]

Yeah and Lenny was going the wrong way too .

[HurricaneBill]

Don't forget the Category 5 Hurricane Hattie in 1961. She made landfall on Belize as a very strong category 4 on October 31st.

Didn't somebody say that the SSTs in the Caribbean could sustain a hurricane at any point of the year? However, other conditions make off-season storms rare.