From zero to Cat. 5 in record time

I just submitted another "update" to my Pajamas Media post, noting Felix's weakening to a Category 4 as of 2:00 PM, but also quoting Dr. Jeff Masters providing some historical perspective on its weekend intensification to Cat. 5 status: "Felix now holds the record for shortest time for an Atlantic storm to intensify to Category 5 strength. Felix required just 51 hours to reach Category 5 strength after it started as a tropical depression. That is a truly remarkable intensification rate, considering most tropical cyclones take 3-5 days to organize into a Category 1 hurricane."

Read the whole thing from Dr. Masters -- and read my whole post here.

Comments

[Carl]

This is a great point; Felix is also a record-breaker in that it's the only time the first two hurricanes in a season hit cat 5.

[Moondawg]

FYI, the US State Department just issued a travel advisory on Felix:

http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/pa/pa_felix.html