CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Hurricane Irma was one for the record books.
After slamming the Florida peninsula on September 10 as a Category 4 hurricane with 130 mph winds, Irma continued to move north throughout the Sunshine State, causing millions of power outages along the way before becoming a tropical depression late Monday.
But before reaching the U.S., Irma achieved a number of records that will have meteorologists talking about it for years to come.
Hurricane Irma Meteorological Records/Notable Facts
First Category 5 hurricane to make landfall in The Bahamas since Andrew in 1992. Irma was also the first Category 5 hurricane to make landfall in Cuba since the 1924 hurricane.
Irma was the first Category 5 hurricane in the tropical Atlantic (7.5-20 degrees North, 60-20 degrees West) since Hugo in 1989. Matthew was the last Category 5 in the Atlantic in 2016.
Irma tied Florida Keys (1935), Gilbert (1988), and Wilma (2005) for the second strongest maximum winds of all-time for an Atlantic hurricane when it topped out at 185 mph. Allen holds the record at 190 mph in 1980.
Irma was the strongest Atlantic storm to ever exist outside of the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico with 185 mph sustained winds.
With 185 mph max winds for 37 hours, Irma shattered the previous record for longest maximum intensity, which was 24 hours, set by Haiyan in the Pacific Ocean.
At 914 mb, Irma was the lowest pressure reached by an Atlantic hurricane outside of the western Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico on record, and was the lowest minimum central pressure since Hurricane Dean in 2007.
With a 3.25 day lifetime as a Category 5, Irma tied an unnamed 1932 Cuba hurricane for the longest lifetime as a Category 5.
Irma’s 11.25 days as a hurricane were the most since Nicole in 2016 and tied for the 23rd most in the satellite era.
Irma registered as a major hurricane for 8.5 days, the second most in the satellite era (since 1966), trailing only Ivan in 2004.
First Category 4 hurricane to make landfall in Florida since Charley in 2004 and was the first major hurricane to make landfall in Florida since Wilma in 2005.