Hurricane Irma is now the most powerful Atlantic Ocean storm in recorded history with sustained winds at 185mph.

It’s the 2nd most powerful storm in recorded history in the Atlantic basin, which includes the Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea, and the Gulf of Mexico.  Hurricane Allen – which hit in 1980 with 190mph winds – is the strongest storm in the Atlantic basin recorded history.

There are currently 3 hurricanes in the Atlantic basin:  Irma (category 5), Katia (category 1), and Jose (category 1).

This is lining up to be a challenging hurricane season especially after Hurricane Harvey (category 4) made landfall at Rockport, Texas at peak intensity on August 24th, 2017 causing 69 deaths in Texas.

HURRICANE IRMA FACTS:

• Irma is currently a category 5 hurricane with winds up to 185mph.
• Irma is currently hitting the Virgin Islands and is forecast to hit Puerto Rico, Cuba, Florida, more.
• Irma is forecast to remain at least a category 4 hurricane for the next few days.
• Irma is so strong that she is registering on seismometers in the Caribbean.  Seismometers are designed to measure earthquakes…

Seismometer recordings from the past 48 hours on Guadeloupe show Cat. 5 #Hurricane #Irma driving closer toward the Lesser Antilles pic.twitter.com/9y3Nuv2Z9E

— Stephen Hicks (@seismo_steve) September 5, 2017

MORE HURRICANE PROBLEMS:

• Hurricane Katia is hitting Mexico today.
• Hurricane Jose is forecast to become a category 2 hurricane in the coming days.