ORLANDO, Fla. – At peak intensity, Hurricane Milton topped out with maximum sustained winds of 180 mph, putting it in the upper echelon of Atlantic hurricanes.
Maybe even more impressive was its central pressure. The storm bottomed out with a minimum pressure of 997millibars. The lower the pressure in a storm, the stronger it is.
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A minimum central pressure hasn’t dropped below 900 millibars since 2005. In fact, Milton is now the fifth-most intense hurricane on record in the Atlantic basin. Hurricane Wilma from 2005 remains the most intense with a minimum central pressure of 892 millibars. Intensity is measured with pressure.
Milton cracked the top 10 for strongest Atlantic hurricanes on record as well. The strength is measured in maximum sustained winds. With 180 mph maximum sustained winds, Milton is the ninth-strongest hurricane on record in the Atlantic.
The strongest hurricane on record in the Atlantic basin is Allen, with maximum sustained winds of 190 mph.
- Allen (1980) - 190mph
- Labor Day (1935) - 185mph
- Gilbert (1988) - 185mph
- Dorian (2019) - 185mph
- Wilma (2005) - 185mph
- Mitch (1998) - 180mph
- Rita (2005) - 180mph
- Irma (2017) - 180mph
- Milton (2024) - 180mph
- Cuba (1932) 175mph