Hurricane Mason (2024)

Hurricane Mason was the most intense tropical cyclone to exist in the Atlantic Ocean on record, surpassing Hurricane Wilma of 2005. Mason existed as a part of a record shattering 2024 Atlantic hurricane season in which was the 13th Named Storm, 8th Hurricane, 4th Major and 2nd Category 5. Mason formed from a Tropical Depression to the East of the Windward Islands on August 21. A while later on August 24, Mason became a Hurricane shortly after entering the Caribbean Sea. A fluctuation between Categories 1 and 2 status would then lead to an explosive intensification period, lasting from August 28 to August 30 before leveling off as a Category 5 Hurricane of 185 mph (295 km/h). Intensification continued gradually until September 2 when the extremely intense hurricane reached a peak intensity of 215 mph (345 km/h) and 876 mbar (25:87 inHg). Mason began an extremely slow weakening trend, making landfall in Nicaragua at 205 mph (330 km/h), a record high on September 3.

Weakening continued as the storm accelerated to the Northwest throughout the remainder of it's life despite maintaining Category 5 intensity throughout August 30 to September 5. In the process, Mason made a 170 mph (270 km/h) landfall in Southern Florida on September 4. Continuing to the Northwest, Mason would make 3 more landfalls; Scraping North Carolina as a Category 4, Hitting Connecticut as a Category 2 and Slamming Nova Scotia as a Tropical Storm. All of those occurring within September 6 through 10. The same day as it made landfall in Nova Scotia, it would be classified as Extratropical.

Mason would make 5 landfalls, each devastating in their own right. Devastation was widespread with over $100 billion in damages across Nicaragua, the US East Coast and Atlantic Canada. In addition, well over 3,000 people lost their lives to Mason. Nicaragua would be safe from Major Hurricane strikes for the remainder of the year, despite the United States would suffer two more thereafter from Hurricanes Oscar and Zeta.