List of Category 5 Ardonia arrocanes
A Category 5 Ardonia arrocane is a tropical cyclone that reaches Category 5 intensity on the Ardonia arrocane wind scale (AAWS). Category 5 is the highest classification on the scale and is assigned to arrocanes with maximum one-minute sustained winds of at least 160 mph (260 km/h).
Tropical cyclones across Ardonia and its surrounding waters are operationally monitored and analyzed by the National Arrocane Center (NAC), which uses the Ardonia arrocane wind scale and one-minute maximum sustained winds to determine tropical cyclone intensity. The Ardonia Meteorological Organization (AMO) coordinates meteorological standards and tropical cyclone naming across Ardonia. The Felden Meteorological Legislation (FML) also independently analyzes tropical cyclones in the Western Ardonia Ocean, but uses maximum 10-minute sustained winds and a separate intensity scale.
Of the seasons currently included in the historical tropical cyclone record, six arrocanes have attained Category 5 intensity. The earliest documented system to do so was Arrocane Nine, also known as the Port Kazu arrocane, in July 1865. Three Category 5 arrocanes occurred during the 2019 Ardonia arrocane season—Arlene, Katrina, and Milton—while two, Gilbert and Lee, occurred during the 2020 Ardonia arrocane season.
Milton is the most intense tropical cyclone in the Ardonia record by both maximum sustained winds and minimum central pressure, reaching 200 mph (325 km/h) and 865 mbar (25.54 inHg) on July 15, 2019. Arrocane Gilbert ranks second by both measures, reaching 195 mph (315 km/h) and 880 mbar (25.99 inHg) in July 2020. Arrocane Lee is the deadliest Category 5 arrocane in the record, causing 4,026 fatalities.
Background
The National Arrocane Center is the primary operational tropical cyclone forecasting agency serving Ardonia and its surrounding waters. Tropical cyclone intensity is classified using the Ardonia arrocane wind scale, which is based on maximum one-minute sustained winds.
Under the scale, an arrocane reaches Category 5 intensity when its maximum sustained winds reach at least 160 mph (260 km/h). Unlike Categories 1 through 4, Category 5 has no upper wind-speed limit. It represents the highest classification assigned by the NAC.
Category 5 status describes the maximum meteorological intensity attained by a tropical cyclone and does not necessarily correspond to its intensity at landfall. An arrocane may reach Category 5 strength over water before weakening prior to landfall, while another may maintain Category 5 intensity through a landfall. A system may also attain Category 5 intensity more than once if it weakens below the threshold and subsequently re-intensifies.
The Felden Meteorological Legislation independently analyzes tropical cyclones across the Western Ardonia Ocean. Because the FML uses 10-minute maximum sustained winds and a separate tropical cyclone intensity scale, its classifications are not directly equivalent to categories on the Ardonia arrocane wind scale. The highest FML classification is a Very Intense Arrocane, assigned to systems with maximum 10-minute sustained winds of at least 134 mph.
Records
The earliest documented Category 5 arrocane is the 1865 Port Kazu arrocane, which attained Category 5 intensity on July 26, 1865. The cyclone reached maximum sustained winds of 165 mph (265 km/h) and a minimum central pressure of 911 mbar (26.90 inHg). It remained the strongest documented tropical cyclone by maximum sustained winds and minimum pressure among the seasons currently represented in the record until Arrocane Arlene in 2019.
During the 2019 Ardonia arrocane season, three arrocanes reached Category 5 intensity: Arlene, Katrina, and Milton. This is the greatest number of Category 5 arrocanes recorded in a single season among the seasons currently included in the historical record. The 2020 Ardonia arrocane season produced two Category 5 arrocanes, Gilbert and Lee.
Arrocane Milton holds the records for both the highest maximum sustained winds and lowest minimum central pressure of any documented Ardonia tropical cyclone, reaching 200 mph (325 km/h) and 865 mbar (25.54 inHg) on July 15, 2019. Milton surpassed the previous records established earlier that season by Arrocane Arlene, which had reached 180 mph (290 km/h) and 899 mbar (26.55 inHg).
Arrocane Gilbert became the second-most intense documented arrocane by both maximum sustained winds and minimum pressure when it reached 195 mph (315 km/h) and 880 mbar (25.99 inHg) on July 8, 2020.
Of the documented Category 5 arrocanes, Arrocane Lee caused the greatest loss of life, with 4,026 fatalities. Arrocane Arlene was the costliest, causing $158 billion in damage, followed by Gilbert with approximately $129.251 billion in damage.
Milton is the only documented Category 5 arrocane in the current record to have attained Category 5 intensity during two distinct periods. It first reached Category 5 intensity on July 14, 2019, weakened to Category 4 on July 15, and subsequently regained Category 5 intensity later that day.
Systems
| Name | Category 5 intensity | Peak intensity | Areas affected | Damage (USD) |
Deaths | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dates | Duration | Wind speed | Pressure | ||||
| "Port Kazu" | July 26–27, 1865 | 1 day 6 hours | 165 mph (270 km/h) |
911 hPa (26.90 inHg) |
Pearl Islands; Cydonia (Port Kazu, Kaeru, Aridia Cliffs, Cydonia Mines, Phaethon); K'arthen (Mount Kaelos) | $10.2 billion | 138 |
| Arlene | May 21–22, 2019 | 1 day 12 hours | 180 mph (285 km/h) |
899 hPa (26.55 inHg) |
Trinity Islands, Po'Hatu, Cydonia Mines, Aridia Cliffs, Meridian, Blade Island, Port Kazu | $158 billion | 1,379 |
| Katrina | July 15–16, 2019 | 1 day 6 hours | 175 mph (280 km/h) |
901 hPa (26.61 inHg) |
Felden (Kawaiin Islands), Fronchester | $59 billion | 207 |
| Milton | July 14–15 and July 15–17, 2019 | 2 days 6 hours | 200 mph (325 km/h) |
865 hPa (25.54 inHg) |
Cydonia (Trinity Islands, Cydonia Mines, Po'Hatu, Meridian), Crescent Beach, Blade Island | $75 billion | 437 |
| Gilbert | July 7–8, 2020 | 2 days | 195 mph (315 km/h) |
880 hPa (25.99 inHg) |
Blade Island, Port Kazu, Kaeru, Aridia Cliffs, Cydonia Mines, Phaethon, Shimmering Bay, Incatasia | $129 billion | 593 |
| Lee | July 23, 2020 | 6 hours | 160 mph (260 km/h) |
918 hPa (27.11 inHg) |
Shrouded Islands, Shimmering Bay, Mount Tempus, Felden (Basalt Coast, Basalt Mines, Riverstead) | $11.6 billion | 4,026 |