Category 5 major hurricane (SSHWS/NWS) | |
---|---|
Hurricane Katia at its global peak intensity in the Gulf of Mexico on September 2 | |
Formed | August 29, 2017 |
Dissipated | September 5, 2017 |
(Remnant low after September 4) | |
Highest winds | 1-minute sustained: 370 km/h (230 mph) |
Lowest pressure | 861 hPa (mbar); 25.43 inHg (Worldwide record low) |
Fatalities | 1,200 direct, 314 indirect, 157 missing |
Damage | $120.45 billion (2016 USD) (Costliest on record) |
Areas affected | Yucatan Peninsula, Jamaica, Gulf Coast of the United States (Louisiana, Florida, Mississippi, Alabama, particularly the Mobile region), Western Cuba |
Part of the 2017 Atlantic hurricane season |
Hurricane Katia was the strongest tropical cyclone ever recorded, surpassing the record set by Typhoon Tip in 1979. It was also the costliest Atlantic hurricane in history as well. The tenth named storm, fifth hurricane, and third major hurricane of the active 2017 Atlantic hurricane season, Katia formed from a tropical wave that had exited the coast of Africa on August 19. It gradually tracked due west until entering the Caribbean and developing into a tropical storm on August 29. Afterwards, it underwent explosive intensification late on August 31 and became a Category 5 nearly 18 hours later.
Meteorological history[]