Hurricane Igor Gives Second Shot At Category 5

UPDATE 9/15: Igor spiked to 155 mph last night, one notch away from a Category 5 storm.

UPDATE: Check out this incredible "super rapid scan" visible satellite animation of Hurricane Igor.

The government's National Hurricane Center said this morning at 5 AM: "MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS REMAIN NEAR 150 MPH... IGOR COULD BECOME A CATEGORY FIVE HURRICANE TODAY." Here's a satellite shot of Igor this morning:

You may remember my blog earlier this month where AccuWeather.com thought Earl could become a Category 5 storm. The situation is more likely to occur with Igor. For one, he is one notch closer to Cat 5 status already, with winds of 150 mph (Cat 5 is >155). And the NHC believes much more strongly that Igor could achieve Category 5 status, giving it a 44% chance this morning (Earl only got an 11% probability from them).

How historically significant is this? Well, although Igor would become one of 33 storms (map) throughout history (none since 2007) that have achieved Category 5 status in the Atlantic Basin, only 12 have done so in the Atlantic north and east of the Caribbean (see map above).* Earl's Category 5 possibility was more notable because he was much further north and west than Igor is today.

For more on the subject of Category 5 storms, visit Mark Vogan's WeatherTalk section today "Why is it tough for the Ocean and Atmosphere to Support Category 5 Hurricanes in the Atlantic?" Ironically, 22 years ago today, Hurricane Gilbert became the strongest Category 5 storm in the Atlantic, and he maintained that record until Wilma surpassed it on October 19, 2005.

*All track maps and data on this page are based on searches through the NOAA Hurricane GIS site.