6a). This made Irma the strongest hurricane ever observed in the open Atlantic Ocean, and one of only 5 hurricanes with measured winds of 185 MPH or higher in the entire Atlantic basin.

Hurricane Irma peak 3-sec gust footprints in kml format (through 15UT 11th Sept 2017) Credit - Tropical Storm Risk/UCL Hurricane Irma's gust footprint for 3-sec maximum gusts through to 9UT 7th September 2017. Hurricane Irma's forecast gust swathe out to 120hrs lead for 3-sec maximum gusts (issued 9UT 7th September). The highest sustained wind speed recorded for Irma was 185 m.p.h., making it the hurricane with the second strongest winds ever recorded, according to The Telegraph.

This makes it the joint second most powerful Atlantic hurricane on record behind Hurricane … It hit the Caribbean on … The storm became a rare category-5 hurricane on September 5th, with maximum sustained winds of 185 MPH. While its power has now lessened, Hurricane Irma's highest recorded wind speed was 185mph. As a category 5 hurricane, Irma made landfall on Barbuda around 0545 UTC 6 September with maximum winds of 155 kt and a minimum pressure of 914 mb(Fig. Irma has been making headlines as the most powerful Atlantic storm in a decade with wind speeds of up to 295km/h (185mph).