ORLANDO, Fla.- – In Atlantic basin history, Lorenzo became the farthest east Category 5 hurricane on record.
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Briefly Saturday night, Lorenzo intensified to Category 5 status, packing winds of 160 mph.
It is extremely rare for hurricanes to become as powerful as Lorenzo in this part of the world. In the Atlantic basin, most category 5 hurricanes develop in the Caribbean where the water is typically much warmer than that of the central Atlantic.
The purple hurricane symbols mark where storms were recorded with Category 5 intensity. The large, red hurricane icon marks Hurricane Lorenzo, much further east than any other Category 5 storm.
Lorenzo is the second Category 5 hurricane of the 2019 season. Dorian, of course, was the other. Lorenzo could be the strongest hurricane ever for the Azores as it moves closer by the middle of the week.