Colorado State University meteorologist Philip Klotzbach is a weather savant. In the midst of a storm that’s put many experts at a loss for words, Klotzbach compiled a short document that serves as a testament to Hurricane Irma’s improbable existence.
Here are some of the more notable records Irma has already set, as of Friday afternoon:
- 185 mph lifetime max winds — the strongest storm to exist in the Atlantic Ocean
- 185 mph max winds for 37 hours — the longest any cyclone around the globe has maintained that intensity on record
- Three consecutive days as a Category 5 hurricane — the longest in the satellite era (since 1966)
- Generated the most Accumulated Cyclone Energy — a measure that combines a hurricane’s wind speed and size — on record in the tropical Atlantic
- Generated more Accumulated Cyclone Energy than 14 entire Atlantic hurricane seasons in the satellite era
These statistics are even more impressive taken in context with Jose and Katia, two other powerful hurricanes currently spinning in the Atlantic. Collectively, these three hurricanes produced more total energy on Friday than any group of hurricanes ever has in the Atlantic on a single day, in history.
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