A first: Category 5 storms have formed in every ocean basin this year

For the first time on record, storms have reached top-tier Category 5 strength in every tropical ocean basin in the same year. Skip to end of carousel tracking the path of Hurricane Lee, which has intensified in the Atlantic Ocean throughout the week. This week alone, two tropical cyclones leaped to Category 5 intensity in two days — Hurricane Jova in the northeastern Pacific on Wednesday, closely followed by Hurricane Lee in the Atlantic on Thursday. The pair of storms intensified with astonishing haste, their peak winds increasing 90 mph and 85 mph, respectively, in 24 hours. Meteorologists monitor seven tropical oceans basins around the world for storm development. In addition to the Atlantic and eastern Pacific, Category 5 storms formed in the other five basins earlier this year. Brian McNoldy, a tropical weather expert at the University of Miami, confirmed that 2023 marked the first instance of Category 5 storms in all seven and linked it to the warm waters. “I think it’s reasonable to hypothesize that the abnormally warm ocean temperatures around the world made this more likely to happen,” McNoldy said in an email. “Gives everything a boost.” Waters are warmer-than-normal almost everywhere, helping storms intensify quickly even in areas in which storm activity is often reduced during El Niño because of hostile high-altitude winds. “In an El Niño year, the strong storms in the Pacific are not surprising, but the Atlantic would be the basin that’s highly unlikely to pull its weight and produce a 5,” said Alex DesRosiers, a tropical weather researcher at Colorado State University. “The record warm [sea surface temperatures] we are seeing in regions of the tropical and subtropical Atlantic are key in allowing for the active hurricane season we’ve had so far despite the usually prohibitive El Niño.” Category 5 storms have maximum sustained winds of at least 157 mph and are considered the most dangerous on Earth. When they strike land, “catastrophic damage will occur,” the National Hurricane Center writes. Homes are severely damaged, trees are uprooted, and areas can be left inhabitable for “weeks or months.” Depending on the part of the world in which they form, these hurricane-strength storms have different names but produce the same effects. In the Southern Hemisphere, they are mostly called cyclones, while they are referred to as typhoons in the western Pacific Ocean. The first of 2023’s Category 5 storms came in February. Here’s a snapshot of the seven Category 5 storms so far this year. February: Tropical Cyclone Freddy, 165 mph winds in the southwest Indian Ocean Freddy was an extremely long-duration storm, with a total life cycle of about five weeks, which made it the longest-lived tropical cyclone on record. Freddy rapidly intensified — gaining at least 35 mph in wind speed over the course of a day — multiple times, including to a peak of 165 mph on Feb. 19. Cyclone— Michael Ferragamo (@FerragamoWx) #Freddy approaching Mauritius as a Category 5 hurricane. Freddy’s WSW motion should allow it to pass just north of #Mauritius, however a slight jog south and a strike on the island is possible. Preparations should be rushed to completion in the coming hours regardless. pic.twitter.com/8k3XMvJcqA February 20, 2023 March: Tropical Cyclone Kevin, 160 mph winds in the southwest Pacific Ocean Kevin also underwent rapid intensification between March 1 and 3, climbing from a Category 1 to a Category 4. It reached Category 5 status largely over open water, but Vanuatu northeast of Australia suffered damaging winds and flooding. Here in the Southwest Pacific, Tropical Cyclone Kevin intensified to a category 5 (BoM scale) 🌀— Ben Noll (@BenNollWeather) Sustained winds expected to peak at 115 kts / 130+ mph — after lashing Vanuatu, it’s no longer a threat to land. On the U.S. scale, it’s a high end category 3 / low end category 4. pic.twitter.com/3v2ZfmizIz March 4, 2023 April: Tropical Cyclone Ilsa, 160 mph winds in the Australian basin (or southeast Indian Ocean) Passing over waters in the mid- and upper 80s, Ilsa rapidly intensified as it closed in on the northwestern coast of Australia in mid-April. Record-breaking wind speeds for the region were recorded at Bedout Island off the Australian mainland, and settlements near landfall sustained major damage. Category 5 Tropical Cyclone Ilsa 🌀 made landfall near Port Hedland, Australia after undergoing rapid intensification.— Pat Hyland (@hylandwx) According to the Bureau of Meteorology (Western Australia), Ilsa set a new preliminary Australian ten-minute sustained wind speed record of 218km/h pic.twitter.com/WTKsS40z9S April 13, 2023 May — Tropical Cyclone Mocha, 175 mph winds in the North Indian Ocean Yet another storm took advantage of unusually warm waters and rapidly intensified near shore. Mocha ended up as one of the worst North Indian Ocean tropical cyclones on record after it crashed into Myanmar and Bangladesh, killing hundreds. Right now— Prof Ray Wills👋 (@ProfRayWills) Cyclone #Mocha in the Bay of Bengal now Category 5 as to makes landfall in Myanmar near border with Bangladesh — @JMA_kishou #Himawari9 Infrared images https://t.co/Ll1sjQfOnC If only we locked up more climate change protestors, these things would not happen. pic.twitter.com/cslwpCxtDV May 14, 2023 May: Super Typhoon Mawar, 185 mph winds in the northwest Pacific Ocean Mawar became the strongest storm of the year, the strongest on record in May and one of the strongest observed at any time as its pressure bottomed out below 900 millibars. The lower the pressure, the stronger the storm. The storm underwent two episodes of rapid intensification. September: Hurricane Jova, 160 mph winds in the northeast Pacific Ocean Between Tuesday and Wednesday this week, Jova catapulted from a strong tropical storm to a 160 mph Category 5. Fortunately, it has remained over water and is weakening. In the East Pacific, a remarkable transition today as Hurricane Jova went from a pedestrian 85 mph category 1 hurricane this morning to a 160 mph category 5 beast this evening— Greg Diamond (@gdimeweather) The change in appearance on satellite is just as striking Thankfully it poses no threat to land pic.twitter.com/9WWffNeiAX September 7, 2023 September: Hurricane Lee, 165 mph winds in the Atlantic Lee also exploded from a forgettable looking storm to a beastly Category 5 in about a day. Hurricane Hunter aircraft observed the storm near its peak Thursday night, capturing frequent lightning in its core. The powerful storm is forecast to plow across the western Atlantic and could affect eastern New England and the Canadian Maritimes in about eight to 10 days. This is one of the most impressive rapid intensification episodes I’ve ever seen in the Atlantic. Hurricane— Dr. Levi Cowan (@TropicalTidbits) #Lee went from having no eye this morning to possibly Cat 5 intensity this evening. Absolutely incredible. pic.twitter.com/49NmtkIJO2 September 8, 2023 Lee became the eighth Category 5 hurricane to form in the Atlantic in the last eight years. Between 1970 and 2000, only six Atlantic storms reached Category 5, according to John Morales, a broadcast meteorologist in Miami. “Category 5 hurricanes used to be rare,” he tweeted. “Used to be.”