Hurricane Melissa is one of the strongest Atlantic hurricanes in over 100 years
Hurricane Melissa is already a history-making storm, topping the all-time list of Atlantic Basin Hurricanes and possibly the highest Atlantic basin on record.
The most powerful hurricanes in the Atlantic basin have a history of span from high pressure and day.
Advances in technology, including satellites and Hurricane Hunter instruments, make it challenging to draw apples-to-apples comparisons between the 19th and early 20th centuries.
Despite that, here is a list of those elite storms on record.
There are two basic metrics to measure hurricane intensity. We will look at the most powerful list using each of these.
Very low pressure
One of these metrics is low pressure measured on the surface. Basically, it lowers the pressure and strengthens the storm.
Meteorologists talk about pressure in units called meters, not inches, of mercury. The average pressure at sea level is about 1,013 milliyars.
Melissa currently ranks as the third most violent crime on record, in 1935 for Surricane Labor, after Wilbert in 1988 and 2005. Only seven Atlantic hurricanes have had a mean pressure lower than 900 meters.
1. Wilma (2005): 882 Millilars
2. Gilbert (1988): 888 milliyars
3. Melissa (2025)“Labor Day” Hurricane (1935): 892 milliyars
5 (tie). Rita (2005): 895 million
5 (tie). Milton (2024): 895 Millibars
7. Allen (1980): 899 billion
Melissa came in three meters stronger (lower) than last October’s hurricane Milton when it reached peak strength over the Gulf well before landfall.
This satellite image of Category 5 Hurricane Melissa was taken Tuesday morning, Oct. 28, 2025 as it approaches Jamaica.
Wilma set this record in October 2005 while over the Western Caribbean Sea. Wilma’s extreme intensity also sets the record for the smallest eye size on record, only 2.3 miles in diameter. According to the hurricane research division of Noah, the typical eye is 20 to 40 miles in diameter.
The Labor Day 1935 hurricane was the only one to hit the US with intensity. It made landfall in the Florida Keys with maximum sustained winds of 185 mph and a storm surge of 20 feet. It remains to make landfall in America’s most powerful hurricane on record.
Its winds and its structure caused the death of 408, mainly among the World War I Veterans who worked in the construction of this place.
NOAA
Very high winds
Another metric used to size hurricanes is their peak winds. In most cases today, these winds are measured by aircraft analysis equipment, because these high winds occur mostly in the Caribbean Sea, Gulf, or Southwest Atlantic Ocean located in these aircraft.
Melissa is currently tied for second on the list with four other hurricanes. Nine Atlantic Basin hurricanes had peak winds of 180 mph or more. This list includes all the storms on the low pressure list, as well as several other notable storms.
1. Allen (1980): 190 mph
2. Melissa (2025)“Labor Day” (1935), Gilbert (1988), Wilma (2005) and Dorian (2019): 185 mph
6. Mitch (1998), Rita (2005), Irma (2017) and Milton (2024): 180 Mph
(MORE: History of the category 5 Atlantic HurricaneWe are divided
While Allen holds the top spot, the most recent entry on this list before Melissa is 2024 and Dorian in the year of Apthemba in September in September in September in September.
The fall of the world
Melissa could tie or break the Atlantic Basin record for the most intense pressure drop and/or wind speed.
Here is the Atlantic basin cat 5 for the fall of the world 5:
– Low pressure: Labor Day 1935 Florida Keys Hurricane (892 milliars)
– Strongest strong winds: Dorian 2019 and Labor Day 1935 Hurricane (185 Mph)
Section 5 Transplantation sites in the Atlantic Basin are rare (thankfully), but perhaps not as rare as you might think.
Since 1924, separate storms in the Atlantic Basin have produced at least one cat in 5. 2017’s Hurricane Irma’s made four separate catwalks of 5 cats from Barbuda to northern Cuba.
The last time this happened was about six years ago, with the aforementioned Hurricane Dorian.
World records
As we move away from the Atlantic Basin, world records for low pressure and incredible winds.
The lowest land pressure measured for any tropical cyclone was 870 m at Super Thon Tip in 1979. That 12 milliyars is lower (stronger) than the 2005 Hurricane.
The tip was also the largest tropical storm on record, the size of which would have blanketed the western US
A sustained wind speed record was recently achieved. Hurricane Patricia reached maximum sustained winds of 215 MPH off the coast of Southwest Mexico in October 2015. It was just 2 feet shy of setting the record for low land pressure, at 872 mph.
NOAA (Additional Area Labels)
Jonathan Erdman is a senior meteorologist at Weather.com and has been covering national and international weather since 1996. Extreme weather and wonder are his favorite subjects. Reach out to him – Physical, X (formerly twitter) and Facebook.
