By Wednesday morning, Hurricane Humberto had become a dissipated system after it spun out into the Atlantic for a little more than five days, but its paired track with Hurricane Imelda is history-making.
As Category 1 hurricanes Tuesday, the two storms came within 476 miles of each other, which sets the all-time record for the two closest hurricanes in the Atlantic Ocean here in the satellite era, according to hurricane specialist and meteorologist Michael Lowry. (RELATED: Landslide Sends SUV Flying Off Mountain Road As Typhoon Bualoi Strikes Vietnam)
Lowry said that the phenomenon is rare in the Atlantic and more of an occurrence in the Pacific where it’s bigger and more plentiful.
Weather satellites originally started being used widespread in 1966, and since then, there’s only been nine duos of Atlantic named storms that can be compared in proximity to Humberto and Imelda, according to Lowry who wrote this information in his hurricane newsletter, Eye on the Tropics. The list features recent 2023 storms Rina and Philippe, which were only 488 miles apart.
For modern satellite era it’s 2025’s humberto and imelda that take the closest hurricanes. Thanks Jillian Bohanek for the graphic. https://t.co/ZTkaiUMseq pic.twitter.com/wshZe2AHWN
— Jim Cantore (@JimCantore) October 1, 2025
However, none of the pairs in comparison were hurricanes unlike Humberto and Imelda.
The close proximity of the storms are truly record-breaking, topping the last record that was set in the satellite era by Hurricane Emmy and Frances with a margin of over 200 miles. That record was set in 1976.
Since hurricane record keeping started in 1951, there’s only one hurricane pairing that tops Humberto and Imelda, however, storm data before the satellite era isn’t as reliable, per Lowry. That pairing took place in 1853 when two unnamed storms came just 428 miles from each other.
Other notable comparisons are Hurricane Easy and Fox in 1951, which were only 467 miles apart, per collected data from Lowry. In 1967, Hurricane Chloe and Doria came just 757 miles from each other. 2012 and 1998 saw exact numbers, with Hurricane Leslie and Michael, as well as Hurricane Jean and Karl, being only 800 miles apart.