What is the strongest hurricane ever? How Hurricane Milton compares to powerful storms
Hurricane Milton is barreling toward the western coast of Florida. The storm, which is on track to hit the Florida peninsula Wednesday night, presents an "extremely life-threatening situation" to those on the state's western coast, the National Hurricane Center has repeatedly warned.
While the storm is expected to weaken before it makes landfall Wednesday night, experts like NHC specialist John Cangialosi warn that “Milton has the potential to be one of the most destructive hurricanes on record for west-central Florida."
Milton also arrives just weeks after Hurricane Helene wrecked havoc across southeastern U.S.. Helene has been linked to more than 200 deaths after the monster storm made landfall along Florida's Big Bend on Sept. 26 as a Category 4 storm with 140 mph winds.
Milton's projected impact has tied it with other infamous hurricanes like Andrew and Katrina on the strongest Atlantic Hurricanes of all time. Here are some other comparable storms.
Hurricane Allen
Year: 1980
Location: Made landfall on South Padre Island, Texas
Peak Wind Speed: 190 mph
Deaths: 269
What happened: Allen is considered to be the only hurricane in the history of the Atlantic basin to reach 190 mph of sustained winds. The winds of the storm were so powerful that until Hurricane Patricia in 2015, Allen’s peak wind speed was the highest sustained winds in the Western Hemisphere.
Hurricane Wilma
Year: 2005
Location: Made landfall in Cape Romano, Florida
Peak Wind Speed: 185 mph
Deaths: 52
What happened: Another powerful hurricane, Wilma is considered to be the most intense cyclone in the history of the Atlantic basin and the second-most intense in the Western hemisphere in terms of barometric pressure. The same year as another infamous hurricane, Katrina, it was part of the devastating 2005 hurricane season.
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Hurricane Andrew
Year: 1992
Location: Elliot Key, Florida, about nine miles east of Homestead
Peak Wind Speed: 175 mph
Deaths: 65
What happened: The Category 5 hurricane is considered one of the most destructive hurricanes to hit Florida. Andrew was the costliest hurricane in Florida’s history until Hurricane Irma passed it 25 years later, according to the National Hurricane Center, Irma caused around $77 billion dollars in damages.
Hurricane Katrina
Year: 2005
Location: Three landfalls, one in Keating Beach, Florida and two others near Buras, Louisiana and near the Louisiana-Mississippi border
Peak Wind Speed: 175 mph
Deaths: 1,392
What happened: Ranked as the deadliest storm since 1950, Katrina is tied with Hurricane Harvey as the costliest Atlantic hurricane on record, according to the National Hurricane Center. The largest reason for deaths connected to Katrina was the failure of the levees around New Orleans which caused catastrophic flooding in the area.
Contributing: Eric Lagatta, USA TODAY
Fernando Cervantes Jr. is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach him at [email protected] and follow him on X @fern_cerv_.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Strongest hurricanes to hit US list could soon include Milton