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With all of the press surrounding Hurricane Patricia and its devastatingly high Category 5 classification, we’re shocked it made as little impact as it did. Initially predicted to have a catastrophic affect on Mexico with its maximum sustained winds of 200 mph and storm surge as high as 39 feet, the monstrous storm thankfully broke up into a tropical storm shortly after making landfall.
However, it is still considered to be one of the largest hurricanes ever recorded. Keep in mind that the term “largest” doesn’t refer to the physical dimensions of the storm, but to the devastation inflicted or overall strength. The methodology is based on several factors, including wind speed, damage inflicted, and death toll.
Below are the five strongest storms ever recorded in American history.
5.) Hurricane Patricia
Before you say anything, Mexico is in the Americas. Don’t be a Trump-nugget.
Patricia makes the list because it had the highest sustained wind speeds ever measured at 200 mph. Sustained wind speed is an average measurement taken at ten meters in the air over the course of a minute’s time. To reach Category 5 status, a storm must meet sustained wind speeds of 157mph. Fortunately, Patricia didn’t live up to her potential, and damage caused by the storm “[was] less than those expected from a hurricane of this magnitude,” according to the Associated Press. At the time of the AP report, Patricia had been downgraded to Category 1. The hurricane dissipated just thirty hours after peaking in intensity.
Hurricane Patricia Advancing on Mexico
4.) The 1935 Labor Day Hurricane Initially thought to pass through without causing much of a fuss, earlier reports segued into evacuation orders as the 1935 Labor Day Hurricane quickly upgraded into the strongest ever to hit U.S. soil. With windspeeds of 185 mph and a top of the charts pressure rating, the Category 5 storm caused immense damage to the Florida keys and claimed the lives of close to 500 people. A train sent to carry evacuees barely escaped the hurricane’s reach as eleven of its cars were blasted from the track. Miraculously, all passengers survived. After the storm passed, Ernest Hemingway surveyed the damage, writing about the destruction of a veteran’s work camp in a piece for The New Masses.
A train derailed by the 1935 Labor Day Hurricane
3.) Hurricane Andrew
In 1992, Andrew struck Florida with sustained wind speeds of 175mph, causing $26 billion in damage and killing 44 people. 63,000 houses were lost and 100,000 or more were heavily damaged. Andrew also caused $250 million in damage when it hit the Bahamas, and killed four people there. Oil companies reported over $500 million in damage to offshore oil production. The storm killed 65 people in total over the course of its lifespan and launched 28 tornadoes.
Hurricane Andrew Bearing Down on Florida
2.) The 1900 Galveston Hurricane
Galveston is located on an island of the same name that sits close to two miles off the coast of Texas. The hurricane that struck Galveston in 1900 is, to this day, the deadliest natural disaster in U.S. history. A Category 4 storm when it made landfall, the Galveston Hurricane killed upwards of 8,000 people. Local firefighters and volunteers transported corpses by the wagon load to be identified, but there were too many to bury and were eventually burned.
View of the destruction, looking toward the Gulf Coast
1.) Hurricane Katrina
Katrina was the most expensive natural disaster in U.S. history. It also hits the charts as one of the five deadliest hurricanes. The biggest contributing factor to its bloated stats was the failure of Louisiana’s levee system, causing 80% of the city and its surroundings to flood. The storm was four times as devastating as Andrew, and caused $108 billion in damage in 2005 dollars.
Flooding at Six Flags, Two Weeks Following Hurricane Katrina