The Saffir-Simpson Scale was not invented until 1971; however, reliable records on hurricane wind speeds and storm surges have been kept since the 1920s. According to such data, there have been 31 category 5 hurricanes in the Atlantic since 1928. Eight of those have occurred since 2003 (four in 2005 alone), which is one piece of evidence some climatologists point to when talking about global warming and its effects on tropical storm intensity. Of all those hurricanes, only four have actually made landfall on U.S. territory. Others have struck Central America or islands in the Caribbean, or they have weakened to category 4 or below before reaching Puerto Rico or the Gulf Coast or Atlantic seaboard. Below is a chronological list of category 5 hurricanes.
| Hurricane |
Year |
Areas Affected |
| “Okeechobee” |
1928 |
PR, FL, GA, Eastern U.S. Seaboard, U.S. Virgin Islands, Bahamas, Guadeloupe, Virgin Islands, Lesser Antilles |
| “Bahamas” |
1932 |
Bahamas, Northeastern U.S., Newfoundland, Iceland |
| “Labor Day” |
1935 |
FL, GA, SC, NC, VA, Bahamas, Big Bend |
| “New England” |
1938 |
Bahamas, NY, RI, MA, CT, NH, VT, Québec |
| “Fort Lauderdale” |
1947 |
Bahamas, FL, LA, MS |
| Dog |
1950 |
Eastern U.S. Seaboard, Lesser Antilles |
| Easy |
1951 |
Bermuda |
| Janet |
1955 |
Belize, Mexico, Leeward Islands |
| Cleo |
1958 |
Remained at sea |
| Donna |
1960 |
PR, U.S. East Coast, Haiti, Cuba, Bahamas, Dominican Republic, Leeward islands, eastern Canada |
| Ethel |
1960 |
LA, MS |
| Carla |
1961 |
TX, Yucatán Peninsula, Central U.S. |
| Hattie |
1961 |
Belize |
| Beulah |
1967 |
TX, Yucatán Peninsula, northern Mexico, Greater Antilles |
| Camille |
1969 |
AL, MS, LA, Cuba, central East U.S. Coast |
| Edith |
1971 |
TX, LA, Central America, Venezuela, Mexico |
| Anita |
1977 |
Northern Mexico |
| David |
1979 |
PR, FL, GA, U.S. and Canadian East Coast, Cuba, Bahamas, Haiti, Dominican Republic, Windward Islands |
| Alan |
1980 |
TX, Yucatán Peninsula and northern Mexico, Haiti, Jamaica, Windward Islands |
| Gilbert |
1988 |
TX, south-central U.S., Yucatán Peninsula, Venezuela, Haiti, Dominican Republic, Jamaica |
| Hugo |
1989 |
Eastern U.S. Coast, PR, U.S. and British Virgin Islands, Dominica, Montserrat, Guadeloupe |
| Andrew |
1992 |
FL, LA, Bahamas |
| Mitch |
1998 |
FL, Yucatán Peninsula, Central America |
| Isabel |
2003 |
Eastern U.S. Seaboard and as far inland as PA and OH, Ontario, Bahamas, Greater Antilles |
| Ivan |
2004 |
FL, AL, LA, TX, Eastern Seaboard, Cuba, Jamaica, Venezuela, Windward Islands, Grand Cayman |
| Emily |
2005 |
TX, Yucatán Peninsula and northeastern Mexico, Jamaica, Cayman Islands, Honduras, Windward Islands |
| Katrina |
2005 |
FL, LA, MS, AL, Eastern Seaboard, Bahamas, Cuba |
| Rita |
2005 |
FL, AR, MS, LA, TX, Cuba |
| Wilma |
2005 |
FL, Yucatán Peninsula, Central America, Jamaica, Cayman Islands, Bahamas, eastern Canada |
| Dean |
2007 |
PR, Jamaica, Haiti, Belize, Nicaragua, Honduras, Mexico, St. Lucia, Dominica, Martinique, Leeward Islands |
| Felix |
2007 |
Central America, Venezuela, southern Windward Islands |
