Here are the key records that Dean either broke or otherwise affects:
1. With a minimum central pressure of 906 millibars, Dean was the ninth most intense hurricane ever observed in the Atlantic basin (for comparison Hurricane Katrina’s minimum pressure was 902 millibars).
2. That 906 millibar pressure reading was at landfall, making Dean the third most intense landfalling hurricane known in the Atlantic region and the first Category 5 storm at landfall since 1992’s Hurricane Andrew.
3. When measured by minimum pressure, six of the ten most intense Atlantic hurricanes–Wilma, Rita, Katrina, Mitch, Dean, and Ivan–have occurred in the past ten years.
| Most intense Atlantic hurricanes Intensity is measured solely by central pressure |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Hurricane | Season | Min. pressure |
| 1 | Wilma | 2005 | 882 mbar (hPa) |
| 2 | Gilbert | 1988 | 888 mbar (hPa) |
| 3 | "Labor Day" | 1935 | 892 mbar (hPa) |
| 4 | Rita | 2005 | 895 mbar (hPa) |
| 5 | Allen | 1980 | 899 mbar (hPa) |
| 6 | Katrina | 2005 | 902 mbar (hPa) |
| 7 | Camille | 1969 | 905 mbar (hPa) |
| Mitch | 1998 | 905 mbar (hPa) | |
| 9 | Dean | 2007 | 906 mbar (hPa) |
| 10 | Ivan | 2004 | 910 mbar (hPa) |
| Source: U.S. Department of Commerce | |||
Read also: Hurricane Dean: 1 Of 10 Most Intense Atlantic Hurricanes Ever Measured