Forecast to weaken over the weekend, defiant Hurricane Lorenzo did the opposite – intensifying to a Category 5 with 160 mph winds for a time Saturday night. In doing so, it became the strongest hurricane on record so far north and east in the Atlantic Ocean.
Here are some remarkable facts about Lorenzo and recent Category 5 activity in the Atlantic:
– It became a Category 5 more than 600 miles east-northeast of the previously farthest east Category 5s on record – Isabel and Hugo.
– It became the sixth Category 5 since 2016 (after Matthew, Irma, Maria, Michael, and Dorian). There have only been 26 Category 5 since 1960.
– 2019 becomes just the seventh year with more than one Category 5 in the Atlantic, joining 1932, 1933, 1961, 2005, 2007, and 2017.
– Its pressure of 925 millibars Saturday night was the lowest on record east of 50 degrees west longitude. The lower the pressure, the stronger the storm.
Abnormally warm waters in the Atlantic, likely boosted by climate change, aided Lorenzo in attaining such strength. “The water under Lorenzo when it was a Category 5 hurricane is about 28°C (82.4), which is about 1°C (1.8°F) warmer than average… just enough to give it that extra jolt,” wrote Brian McNoldy, Capital Weather Gang’s tropical weather expert.
As of Sunday morning, Lorenzo still had peak winds of 155 mph, making it a high-end Category 4. The storm is expected to gradually weaken as it accelerates northeastward into much cooler waters. Its projected track brings it close to the Azores Tuesday night and Wednesday where “strong winds are becoming increasingly likely,” according to the National Hurricane Center. After that, Lorenzo could affect the United Kingdom as a former hurricane Thursday or Friday.
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