With the 2018 Hurricane Season in its final 2 month stretch, officially beginning on May 15th and ending in November 30th, people may be wondering how this year’s Hurricane Lane, the first Category 5 hurricane since Hurricane Patricia in 2015, compares to the latter and other tropical weather disturbances around the world in the past.
Hurricanes and Typhoons are similar entities with their only differences coming from where they geographically originate (Hurricanes form in the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico while Typhoons originate in the Pacific). They are measured according to wind speed and barometric pressure, determinants of how powerful and destructive they can be, with great speed and low pressure (below 920 milliibars) as ominous signs of their wrath.
Here are 30 of the Most Powerful Tropical Weather Systems Ever Recorded in History, ranked according to wind speed.
