To answer some questions from people who are curious and skeptical (dually so) of the mini-media hoopla over not one, but two category 5 hurricanes happening in one year, it also happened in 2005. Actually in 2005 there were four category 5 hurricanes. It is definitely not common, but I think the most interesting statistic is that two hurricanes have hit land as category 5 hurricanes, and in the same year. That is unusual. It has happened only 12 times in the past 156 years; three of which hit the US, the last one being hurricane Andrew in 1992. Camille in 1969 also struck the US as a category 5 hurricane, as did the Labor Day hurricane of 1935. The first two hurricanes of a season reaching category 5 status, striking land back to back, in the same year, and so close together is truly unprecedented. It will be interesting to see if it was simply coincidence, or strong steering currents in the Atlantic basin. We won’t know unless the Atlantic churns out another storm, and soon. I’d be quite content, however, never knowing.
