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On This Day in 2005: Hurricane Emily Makes Landfall
July 19, 2021 at 11:45 PM EDT
By WeatherBug's Intern Meteorologist, Christopher Smith
On this day 16 years ago, Hurricane Emily made landfall just south of the U.S./Mexico border. Emily was the earliest Category 5 hurricane on record in the Atlantic Basin.
Early in the morning on July 20, 2005, Hurricane Emily made landfall near San Fernando, Mexico, roughly 75 miles south-southwest of Brownsville, Texas. Emily was a Category 3 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Scale at the time of the July 20th landfall, packing sustained winds of about 125 mph.
While Emily was a major hurricane at landfall, the storm was even stronger just a few days prior. As a matter of fact, Hurricane Emily reached Category 5 strength on July 17th, packing sustained winds of a whopping 160 mph and a pressure of 929 millibars, or 27.43 inches of mercury.
In total, Emily caused the deaths of six people and caused widespread damage from Grenada to the northeastern Yucatan Peninsula and northern Mexico.
Emily was the earliest Category 5 hurricane to ever form in the Atlantic Basin and is the only known July Category 5 hurricane.
The month of August possesses a longer list of Category 5 hurricanes as activity in the Atlantic Basin tends to ramp up rapidly.
The 2005 Atlantic Hurricane Season is one of the most memorable, possessing storms such as Katrina, Rita and Wilma, all of which caused massive amounts of damage to the U.S.
Source: nhc.noaa.gov
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Story Image: The Terra satellite captures imagery of Category 4 Hurricane Emily south of Jamaica on July 16, 2005 (Wikimedia Commons/NASA/Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response team).
Early in the morning on July 20, 2005, Hurricane Emily made landfall near San Fernando, Mexico, roughly 75 miles south-southwest of Brownsville, Texas. Emily was a Category 3 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Scale at the time of the July 20th landfall, packing sustained winds of about 125 mph.
While Emily was a major hurricane at landfall, the storm was even stronger just a few days prior. As a matter of fact, Hurricane Emily reached Category 5 strength on July 17th, packing sustained winds of a whopping 160 mph and a pressure of 929 millibars, or 27.43 inches of mercury.
In total, Emily caused the deaths of six people and caused widespread damage from Grenada to the northeastern Yucatan Peninsula and northern Mexico.
Emily was the earliest Category 5 hurricane to ever form in the Atlantic Basin and is the only known July Category 5 hurricane.
The month of August possesses a longer list of Category 5 hurricanes as activity in the Atlantic Basin tends to ramp up rapidly.
The 2005 Atlantic Hurricane Season is one of the most memorable, possessing storms such as Katrina, Rita and Wilma, all of which caused massive amounts of damage to the U.S.
Source: nhc.noaa.gov
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Story Image: The Terra satellite captures imagery of Category 4 Hurricane Emily south of Jamaica on July 16, 2005 (Wikimedia Commons/NASA/Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response team).