Hurricane Finley (Lucarius)

Hurricane Finley was a very early Category 5 major hurricane in the month of July and the earliest known to achieve Category 5 intensity. The seventh system, sixth named storm and third hurricane to form in the season; Finley formed from a vigorous tropical wave on July 4 while a short distance east of the Caribbean Sea. It attained tropical storm status the next day and consequently received the name Finley shortly before entering the Southeastern Caribbean Sea later that day. Gradual intensification would occur as it began a more northwestward track. Finley would finally reach major hurricane status as it passed a short distance south of Jamaica on July 8. The storm would begin a rapid intensification phase at this point, as a result of very favorable conditions in the Western Caribbean Sea. This would continue until it reached a peak intensity of 160 mph (260 km/h) with a pressure of 924 mbar, equivalent to the first of a record high five Category 5 hurricanes to exist in the Atlantic that year. Finley would also make landfall on the Mexican State of Yucatan in doing so. This land interaction would trigger a short lived but extensive weakening phase dropping it from 160 mph (260 km/h) to 85 mph (145 km/h) from the time it made landfall to the point in which it had emerged over the Gulf of Mexico. However, the storm began re-intensification almost immediately following it's re-emergence and would do so up until it's second and final landfall at Category 3 status on July 12. Rapid weakening would follow, leading to it's eventual degeneration into a remnant early the following day.