Hurricane Felix becomes rare top-ranked storm

Hurricane Felix has been upgraded to an extremely dangerous Category 5 storm – the highest level possible. With winds now up to 270km/h, Felix passed Aruba and the Netherlands Antilles, sparing them serious damage. But it is feared Jamaica and Mexico may not be so fortunate if Felix follows the same path of last month’s powerful Hurricane Dean, which killed 27 people.

Category 5 hurricanes have been rare in the Atlantic. Before the devastating 2005 hurricane season, only two years on record had seen more than one Category 5 storm – providing backing to research showing global warming may produce stronger tropical cyclones.

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