Hurricane Julia explodes to Cat 4

Yesterday, in the span of only an hour or two, Julia jumped from a Category 1 hurricane with winds of around 85 MPH to a Category 4 hurricane with winds over 130 MPH. Julia remained at Cat 4 strength for much of today and is just now dropping in strength to a Cat 3. Currently, Julia has windspeeds of 125 MPH (and gusts of 155 MPH) and dropping. Hurricane Igor is remaining steady with windspeeds of 135 MPH (with gusts as high as 160 MPH).

Having two major hurricanes side by side in the Atlantic in very rare, especially two storms of such massive intensity. The last time this occurred was in 1926.

Hurricane Igor, Julia Made History Wednesday(AccuWeather)

At 5 a.m. Wednesday, Hurricane Julia was upgraded to a Category 4 storm, while her brother, Hurricane Igor, maintained his Category 4 status.

In doing so, Julia also became the strongest hurricane on record so far east.

Although the storm was downgraded to a Category 3 at 5 p.m., this 12-hour period marks only the second time in recorded history that two Category 4 hurricanes were active at the same time in the Atlantic.

The other time this occurred was in September 1926. As modern storm naming was not in practice back then, Hurricane Four began on Sept. 2, and this slow-moving storm lasted about 22 days total. This storm remained at sea and did not make landfall in the United States.

During this time, Hurricane Six developed in the Atlantic and strengthened into a Category 4 storm. The storm remained at Category 4 as it made landfall on Sept. 18, hitting Miami directly.

Video: Igor, Julia and Karl All Making Waves(The Associated Press)