THE POWER OF 50,000 JUMBO JETS

Hurricane Irma’s power is equivalent to 7 trillion watts - about twice the energy of all bombs used in the Second World War.

It takes 140 megawatts of power to keep a Boeing 747 in the air. Irma could therefore power around 50,000 of them.

Irma is so strong it is registering on earthquake seismographs.

Irma has gusted at 225mph, and sustained wind speeds of 185mph. A Category-5 storm has speeds of 157mph and above.

Forecasters in the US called Irma a ‘Category 5 +++’ because it is so strong.

Only three other Category-5 hurricanes have hit the US: Andrew in 1992, Camille in 1969 and an unnamed storm in 1935.

Hurricanes get power by using warm, moist air as fuel. That is why they form only over warm ocean waters near the equator.

Storms that form north of the equator spin anti-clockwise. Storms south of the equator spin clockwise.