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The Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale currently runs from Category 1 through Category 5, and Category 5 is classified as 157-plus mph. But how far above 157 mph could the winds go while still being considered Category 5 wind speeds?
Last year, Hurricane Patricia reached maximum sustained winds of 215 mph in the eastern Pacific Ocean. It was the most intense tropical cyclone ever recorded in the Western Hemisphere, based on those 1-minute maximum sustained surface winds on Oct. 23, 2015.
The storm set records for maximum strength, rate of intensification and rate of weakening. It recorded the second-lowest minimum central surface pressure on record, bottoming out at 872 millibars, just shy of Typhoon Tip in 1979, which reached 870 millibars.
While not quite as strong as Patricia, Hurricane Wilma in the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico in October 2005 reached maximum sustained winds of 185 mph. The storm's central pressure dropped to 882 millibars, still a record low in the Atlantic Basin.
