Weather & Science

These Are the Category-5 Hurricanes That Have Hit the US Mainland

  • Storms caused a record of devastation that still stands
  • While powerful other storms still caused more damage

Residents survey debris after Hurricane Michael hit in Mexico Beach, Florida, on Oct. 12, 2018.

Photographer: Zack Wittman/Bloomberg
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Only four hurricanes have ever hit the mainland US with winds stronger than Ian’s and all were deadly Category 5 storms -- the most powerful on the Saffir-Simpson scale.

Those terrors were the Labor Day hurricane of 1935 that tore through Miami; Camille that struck the Gulf Coast near Mississippi in 1969; Andrew in 1992; and Michael in 2018. Andrew and Michael -- which both hit Florida -- are in the top 10 most expensive US storms.