Hurricane Irma continues to raise the bar in the threshold of hurricane power. Firstly setting a new record for strongest Atlantic hurricane outside of the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico to a tie with Florida Keys 1935, Gilbert 1988 and Wilma 2005 for 2nd strongest in Atlantic based on 185 mph sustained winds. Allen 1980 has winds of 190 mph.

However… Irma has now set a new WORLD RECORD for having uninterrupted sustained winds of 185 mph for 33 hours. The previous record was 24 hours with Haiyan in 2013!

#Irma has now had winds of 185 mph for 33 hrs – no other TC around the globe has been this strong for so long in satellite era (since 1966). pic.twitter.com/RKorceW6nS

— Philip Klotzbach (@philklotzbach) September 7, 2017

Irma became the first Category 5 in the tropical Atlantic since Hugo 1989.

With a pressure of 914mb, Irma is the strongest Atlantic Hurricane outside of the western Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico and deepest throughout the Atlantic basin since Dean 2007 and 10th deepest since the beginning of the satellite era.

It also appears to have been the strongest ever landfall for the Leeward Islands with reports of the tiny island of Barbuda all but wiped out. Saint Martin was severely hit but Antigua largely spared.

Saint-Martin and Anguilla appear to have taken a direct hit by cat 5 Hurricane #Irma. #GOES16 pic.twitter.com/1CN1JL0GEC

— NASA SPoRT (@NASA_SPoRT) September 6, 2017

#Irma is the furthest east in Atlantic that we've had a 175 mph hurricane on record (57.7°W). Previous record: David-1979 (66.2°W). pic.twitter.com/GiHaLqgw1S

— Philip Klotzbach (@philklotzbach) September 5, 2017

#Irma is the strongest #hurricane in the Atlantic basin outside of the Caribbean Sea & Gulf of Mexico in NHC records https://t.co/tW4KeGdBFb pic.twitter.com/P8ebbQJR4k

— NHC Atlantic Ops (@NHC_Atlantic) September 5, 2017

Eyewall lightning from #GOES16 GLM has been persistent for the last 30 minutes or so in #Irma, signaling inner core intensity changes. pic.twitter.com/qOSHknDHr8

— Chris Schultz (@cschultzwx) September 5, 2017

Antigua and Barbuda are first in line to experience the wrath of Cat. 5 #Irma – the strongest storm to impact Leeward Islands on record. pic.twitter.com/y2QNcbDTmr

— Philip Klotzbach (@philklotzbach) September 5, 2017

#HurricaneIRMA
The Island of Barbuda has just seen winds drop from 178mph to flat calm in the space of minutes, as the eye wall crossed pic.twitter.com/4rtFGgRG5y

— Matt Taylor (@MetMattTaylor) September 6, 2017

Famed Maho Beach #SintMaarten (plane spotters paradise) is currently getting bulldozed by #HurricaneIrma. https://t.co/9ZClyZhujx

— MarkVoganWeather.com (@MarkVogan) September 6, 2017

The moon shined in the center of #HurricaneIrma last night as our #ReserveCitizenAirmen collected data that helps develop NHC predictions. pic.twitter.com/Mrz6TQaVey

— Hurricane Hunters (@53rdWRS) September 6, 2017

#Irma has now had max winds of 180+ mph for past 24 hrs – an Atlantic hurricane record. Old record was Allen w/ 18 hours of 180+ mph winds pic.twitter.com/Ehq4P9e7fk

— Philip Klotzbach (@philklotzbach) September 6, 2017

7:15 PM – Whoa. Dropsonde in NE eyewall 196 knot winds just 19mb above the surface, 167 knot winds in lowest reported level. #Irma pic.twitter.com/rB31sZf61B

— Alex Lamers (@AlexJLamers) September 5, 2017

Northern Leeward Islands experience strongest hurricane hit on record and a tie for strongest Atlantic landfall

#IRMA made landfall on #Barbuda w/ winds of 160 knots. This ties IRMA with 1935 Labor Day #Hurricane in FL for strongest Atlantic landfall. pic.twitter.com/DC88UW1ZyN

— Josh Morgerman (@iCyclone) September 6, 2017

Devastation from #Irma reported from Leeward Islands. >90% of structures on Barbuda destroyed. Multiple fatalitieshttps://t.co/83culSWktx pic.twitter.com/IrAyCUmIdN

— Philip Klotzbach (@philklotzbach) September 6, 2017

3:15AM: #HurricaneIrma moving away from #Barbuda. Next in line: Saint Barthelemy, Saint Martin, Sint Maarten & Anguilla. pic.twitter.com/e5Yb2tEFEE

— TTWeatherCenter (@TTWeatherCenter) September 6, 2017

#HURRICANE IRMA 06/09/17 #Marigot By Laurent Petit ce matin #StMartin ##SXM #IRMA pic.twitter.com/deDDVVu9iF

— Jérémy Edouard (@bienglace) September 6, 2017

Cool radar shot shows eye of Cat-5 #Hurricane #IRMA passing over Virgin Gorda & Tortola. Gonna be close for #PuertoRico. pic.twitter.com/MJohv82hlA

— Josh Morgerman (@iCyclone) September 6, 2017

Early images from inside calm of the eye on #Tortola. Devastating. #BVI #Irma pic.twitter.com/O1ncs7lP5t

— Brad Johnson (@whetherPROOF) September 6, 2017

Off the charts: The British Virgin Islands take the eye wall of #HurricaneIrma this afternoon. Video via Almira Arayata. pic.twitter.com/pVihIODM9W

— Mike Seidel (@mikeseidel) September 7, 2017

UPDATE: #Irma continues its near-miss of Puerto Rico, but has a new target in the Turks and Caicos Islands: https://t.co/z6wfaC5RTw pic.twitter.com/sE7EwuUzTy

— The Weather Channel (@weatherchannel) September 7, 2017

Tags: hurricane irma