Hurricane Felix was an extremely powerful Category 5 Atlantic hurricane which was the southernmost-landfalling Category 5 storm on record, surpassing Hurricane Edith of 1971. It was the sixth named storm, second hurricane, and second Category 5 hurricane of the 2007 Atlantic hurricane season. Felix formed from a tropical wave on August 31, passing through the southern Windward Islands on September 1 before strengthening to attain hurricane status. On the next day, Felix rapidly strengthened into a major hurricane, and early on September 3 it was upgraded to Category 5 status; at 2100 UTC on the same day, the hurricane was downgraded to Category 4 status, but strengthened into a Category 5 hurricane for the second and final time by the morning of September 4.
On September 4, Felix made landfall just south of the border between Nicaragua and Honduras, causing at least 133 deaths and hundreds of millions of dollars in damages in Central America. Because of its devastating impact on Central America, especially on Nicaragua, its name was retired after the 2007 season.
Meteorological history
A tropical wave moved off the coast of Africa on August 24, tracking westward at approximately with no associated deep convection and a weak low-level inverted-V curvature. Initially difficult to locate on satellites, the wave axis tracked through a moist environment and developed an area of scattered thunderstorms. By August 25 visible satellite imagery indicated broad cyclonic turning just north of the Intertropical Convergence Zone. The wave continued to develop moderate to strong convection, and on August 27 a 1012 mbar (hPa; 29.88 inHg) low pressure area developed about 830 mi (1,340 km) west-southwest of Praia, Cape Verde. For the next several days the system failed to organize significantly; however, on August 30 the wave became better defined with more representation of the cyclonic turning into the low. Convection increased early the next day, and a Hurricane Hunters flight into the system reported the presence of a closed low-level circulation; accordingly, the National Hurricane Center initiated advisories on Tropical Depression Six at 2100 UTC on August 31 while it was located about east-southeast of the southern Windward Islands.
Upon becoming a tropical cyclone, the depression was located to the south of a strong ridge, resulting in a west-northwest motion. The system maintained curved rainbands with expanding outflow, and with light wind shear and warm water temperatures the environment favored further development. Its deep convection consolidated very near the center, and shortly after passing over the island of Grenada the depression intensified into Tropical Storm Felix early at around 0900 UTC on September 1. Felix quickly strengthened as it developed a small inner core of convection with tightly wound bands around the center, and by late on September 1 an eye feature was observed on satellite imagery. Based on reports from reconnaissance aircraft, the National Hurricane Center estimated that Felix attained hurricane status by early on September 2 while located about east-northeast of Bonaire.