List of Category 5 Atlantic hurricanes in the context of "Hurricane Maria"

The 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a record-breaking, devastating and deadly Atlantic hurricane season. It is the second-costliest hurricane season, just behind the 2017 season. It featured 28 tropical and subtropical storms, which was the most recorded in a hurricane season until the 2020 season. The United States National Hurricane Center named 27 storms, exhausting the annual pre-designated list, requiring the use of six Greek letter names, and adding an additional unnamed subtropical storm during a post-season re-analysis. A record 15 storms attained hurricane status, with maximum sustained winds of at least 74 miles per hour (119 km/h). Of those, a record seven became major hurricanes, rated Category 3 or higher on the Saffir–Simpson scale. Four storms of this season became Category 5 hurricanes, the most of any season on record.

The four Category 5 hurricanes during the season were: Emily, Katrina, Rita, and Wilma. In July, Emily reached peak intensity in the Caribbean Sea, becoming the first Category 5 hurricane of the season, later weakening and striking Mexico twice. It was the first Category 5 hurricane recorded in the month of July and was the earliest-forming Category 5 hurricane on record, until Hurricane Beryl surpassed the record in July 2024. In August, Katrina reached peak winds in the Gulf of Mexico but weakened by the time it struck the U.S. states of Louisiana and Mississippi. The most devastating effects of the season were felt on the Gulf Coast of the United States, where Katrina's storm surge crippled New Orleans, Louisiana, for weeks and devastated the Mississippi coastline. Katrina became the costliest U.S. hurricane, leaving $125 billion in damage and 1,392 deaths. Rita followed in September, reaching peak intensity in the Gulf of Mexico before weakening and hitting near the border of Texas and Louisiana. The season's strongest hurricane, Wilma, became the most intense Atlantic hurricane on record, as measured by barometric pressure. Lasting for ten days in October, Wilma moved over Cozumel, the Yucatán Peninsula, and Florida, causing over $22 billion in damage and 52 deaths.

The 2017 Atlantic hurricane season was a devastating and extremely active Atlantic hurricane season that became the costliest tropical cyclone season on record worldwide, with a damage total of at least $294.92 billion (USD). It was the second consecutive above–average season dating back to 2016. The season featured 17 named storms, 10 hurricanes, and 6 major hurricanes. Most of the season's damage was due to hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria. Another notable hurricane, Nate, was the worst natural disaster in Costa Rican history. These four storm names were retired following the season due to the number of deaths and amount of damage they caused. Collectively, the tropical cyclones were responsible for at least 3,364 deaths. The season also had one of the highest accumulated cyclone energy (ACE) on record, with an index of 225 units. A record three hurricanes generated an ACE of over 40: Irma, Jose, and Maria. This season featured two Category 5 hurricanes, and the only season other than 2007 with two hurricanes making landfall at that intensity. The season's ten hurricanes occurred one after the other, the greatest number of consecutive hurricanes in the satellite era, and tied for the highest number of consecutive hurricanes ever observed in the Atlantic basin.

The season officially began on June 1 and ended on November 30. These dates historically describe the period of year when most tropical cyclones form in the Atlantic basin and are adopted by convention. However, as shown by Tropical Storm Arlene in April, the formation of tropical cyclones was possible at other times of the year. In late August, Hurricane Harvey struck Texas and became the first major hurricane to make landfall in the United States since Wilma in 2005, ending a record 12-year span in which no hurricanes made landfall at the intensity of a major hurricane throughout the United States and was the strongest since Charley in 2004. With damages estimated at $125 billion, the storm sequentially tied Hurricane Katrina for the costliest tropical cyclone on record and broke the record for most rainfall dropped by a tropical cyclone in the United States, with extreme flooding in the Houston area. In early September, Hurricane Irma became the first Category 5 hurricane to impact the northern Leeward Islands on record, later making landfall in the Florida Keys as a Category 4 hurricane. In terms of sustained winds, Irma, at the time, became the strongest hurricane ever recorded in the Atlantic basin outside of the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean, with maximum sustained winds of 180 mph (285 km/h); it was later surpassed in 2019 by Hurricane Dorian. In mid September, Hurricane Maria became the first Category 5 hurricane in history to strike the island of Dominica. It later made landfall in Puerto Rico as a high-end Category 4 hurricane with catastrophic effect. Most of the deaths from this season occurred from Maria. In early October, Hurricane Nate became the fastest-moving tropical cyclone in the Gulf of Mexico on record and the third hurricane to strike the contiguous United States in 2017. Slightly over a week later, Hurricane Ophelia became the easternmost major hurricane in the Atlantic basin on record, and later impacted most of northern Europe as an extratropical cyclone. The season concluded with Tropical Storm Rina, which became extratropical on November 9.

Within the North Atlantic Ocean, a Category 3 hurricane is a tropical cyclone, that has 1-minute sustained wind speeds of between 96–112 knots (110–129 mph; 178–207 km/h; 49–58 m/s). Since the beginning of the Atlantic hurricane database in 1851, 162 tropical cyclones peaked at Category 3 strength on the Saffir–Simpson scale in the Atlantic basin, which covers the waters of the Atlantic Ocean north of the equator, the Caribbean Sea, and the Gulf of Mexico. This list does not include hurricanes that intensified further to a Category 4 or 5, the latter being the highest ranking on the scale.

Collectively, Category 3 Atlantic hurricanes caused nearly $100 billion in damage. Most of the damage total was caused by Hurricane Sandy in 2012, which left $68.7 billion in damage when it struck New Jersey as a post-tropical cyclone, and which was briefly a major hurricane near Cuba.

Hurricane Irma was an extremely powerful and devastating tropical cyclone that caused extensive damage and loss of life across the Antilles and Eastern United States in September 2017. Irma was the first Category 5 hurricane to strike the Leeward Islands on record, though it was followed by Hurricane Maria, which struck the region at Category 5 intensity as well two weeks later. At the time, Irma was considered the most powerful hurricane on record in the open Atlantic region, outside of the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico, until it was surpassed by Hurricane Dorian two years later. It was also the third-strongest Atlantic hurricane at landfall ever recorded, just behind the 1935 Labor Day hurricane, Hurricane Melissa, and Dorian.

The ninth named storm, fourth hurricane, second major hurricane, and first Category 5 hurricane of the extremely active 2017 Atlantic hurricane season, Irma developed from a tropical wave near the Cape Verde Islands on August 30. Favorable conditions allowed Irma to rapidly intensify into a Category 3 hurricane on the Saffir–Simpson wind scale by late on August 31. The storm's intensity fluctuated between Categories 2 and 3 for the next several days, due to a series of eyewall replacement cycles. On September 4, Irma resumed intensifying, becoming a Category 5 hurricane by early on the next day. Early on September 6, Irma peaked with 1-minute sustained winds of 180 mph (290 km/h) and a minimum pressure of 914 hPa (27.0 inHg). Irma was the second-most intense tropical cyclone worldwide in 2017 in terms of barometric pressure, and the strongest worldwide in 2017 in terms of wind speed. Another eyewall replacement cycle caused Irma to weaken back to a Category 4 hurricane, but the storm re-attained Category 5 status before making landfall in Cuba. Although Irma briefly weakened to a Category 2 storm while making landfall on Cuba, the system re-intensified to Category 4 status as it crossed the warm waters of the Straits of Florida, before making landfall on Cudjoe Key on September 10. Irma then weakened to Category 3 status, prior to another landfall in Florida on Marco Island later that day. The system degraded into a remnant low over Alabama and ultimately dissipated on September 13 over Missouri.

Hurricane Emily was the first July Atlantic hurricane to reach Category 5 status on the Saffir-Simpson scale. It remained the only to have done so until Beryl of 2024. The fifth named storm, third hurricane, second major hurricane, and first Category 5 hurricane of the record-breaking 2005 Atlantic hurricane season, Emily formed on July 11 from a tropical wave east of the Lesser Antilles. Three days later, it made landfall on Grenada as a minimal hurricane, just ten months after Hurricane Ivan devastated the region. Emily attained maximum sustained winds of 260 km/h (160 mph) on July 16 while passing southwest of Jamaica, which at the time made it the strongest Atlantic hurricane before the month of August. Slight weakening occurred before Emily made landfall along Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula on July 18 as a Category 4 hurricane. Quickly crossing the peninsula, Emily emerged over the Gulf of Mexico as a minimal hurricane. It reorganized and reached Category 3 intensity before making its final landfall in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas on July 20. It rapidly weakened and dissipated over land on July 21, although thunderstorms reached as far inland as New Mexico. In 2024, Emily was surpassed by Hurricane Beryl as the strongest Atlantic hurricane before August, as measured by maximum sustained winds.

Emily was a powerful early-season tropical cyclone that caused significant damage across the Lesser Antilles, the Caribbean, and Mexico. While moving through the Lesser Antilles, the hurricane produced strong winds and heavy rainfall that caused flooding and landslides across several islands. In Grenada, a man died when a landslide destroyed his house. The hurricane damaged or destroyed 2,641 homes in the country, leaving 167 families homeless. Emily's damage on Grenada totaled EC$121.14 million (US$44.87 million). Later, the hurricane dropped 392 mm (15.43 in) of rainfall on Jamaica, which added to the destruction caused by Hurricane Dennis a week earlier. Damage from the two hurricanes totaled J$5.98 billion (US$96 million) in Jamaica. Also in the country, five people died related to a vehicle accident and floods. In nearby Haiti, flooding from Emily caused ten fatalities. Emily's impacts occurred as far south as Honduras, where one person drowned due to river flooding from the storm.

The 2004 Atlantic hurricane season was a very deadly, destructive, and extremely active Atlantic hurricane season, with over 3,200 deaths and more than $61 billion (2004 USD, $95.77 billion 2022 USD) in damage. More than half of the 16 tropical cyclones brushed or struck the United States. Due to the development of a Modoki El Niño – a rare type of El Niño in which unfavorable conditions are produced over the Eastern Pacific instead of the Atlantic basin due to warmer sea surface temperatures farther west along the equatorial Pacific – activity was above average. The season officially began on June 1 and ended on November 30, though the season's last storm, Otto, dissipated on December 3, extending the season beyond its traditional boundaries. The first storm, Alex, developed offshore of the Southeastern United States on July 31, one of the latest dates on record to see the formation of the first system in an Atlantic hurricane season. It brushed the Carolinas and the Mid-Atlantic, causing one death and $7.5 million (2004 USD) in damage. Several other storms caused only minor impacts, if any. The season was the first to exceed 200 units in accumulated cyclone energy (ACE) since 1995, mostly from Hurricane Ivan, which produced the highest ACE out of any storm this season. Ivan generated the second-highest ACE in the Atlantic, only behind the 1899 San Ciriaco Hurricane.

There are four notable storms: Hurricane Charley, that made landfall in Florida as a Category 4 hurricane on the Saffir–Simpson hurricane wind scale (SSHWS), causing $16 billion in damage in the United States alone. Later in August, Hurricane Frances struck the Bahamas and Florida, causing at least 49 deaths and $10.1 billion in damage. The costliest and most intense storm was Hurricane Ivan. It was a Category 5 hurricane that devastated multiple countries adjacent to the Caribbean, before entering the Gulf of Mexico and causing catastrophic damage on the Gulf Coast of the United States, especially in the states of Alabama and Florida. Throughout the countries it passed through, Ivan caused 129 fatalities and over $26.1 billion in damage. The deadliest storm was Hurricane Jeanne, which caused torrential rainfall in the mountainous areas of Haiti, resulting in mudslides and severe flooding that caused at least 3,000 fatalities. Jeanne also struck Florida, inflicting extensive destruction. Overall, the storm caused at least $7.94 billion in damage and 3,042 deaths, ranking it as one of the deadliest Atlantic hurricanes in history.

Hurricane Janet was the most powerful tropical cyclone of the 1955 Atlantic hurricane season and one of the strongest Atlantic hurricanes on record. Janet was also the first named storm to cause 1,000 deaths and the first Category 5 storm name to be retired. The eleventh tropical storm, ninth hurricane, and fourth major hurricane of the year, Janet formed from a tropical wave east of the Lesser Antilles on September 21. Moving westward across the Caribbean Sea, Janet fluctuated in intensity, but generally strengthened before reaching its peak intensity as a Category 5 hurricane with winds of 175 mph (282 km/h). The intense hurricane later made landfall at that intensity near Chetumal, Mexico on September 28. After weakening over the Yucatán Peninsula, it moved into the Bay of Campeche, where it slightly strengthened before making its final landfall near Veracruz on September 29. Janet quickly weakened over Mexico's mountainous terrain before dissipating on September 30.

In its developmental stages, Janet caused $7.8 million in damage to the Lesser Antilles and 189 deaths in the Grenadines and Barbados. While Janet was in the central Caribbean Sea, a reconnaissance aircraft flew into the storm and was lost with all hands. This remains the only such loss which has occurred in association with an Atlantic hurricane. A Category 5 upon landfall on the Yucatán Peninsula, Janet caused severe devastation in areas of Quintana Roo and British Honduras. Only five buildings in Chetumal, Mexico remained intact after the storm, and an estimated 500 deaths occurred in the Mexican state of Quintana Roo. At Janet's second landfall near Veracruz, significant river flooding ensued, worsening effects caused by Hurricanes Gladys and Hilda earlier in the month. The floods left thousands of people stranded and killed at least 326 people in the Tampico area, leading to the largest Mexican relief operation ever executed by the United States.