UPDATE 5 AM AST: Second time in 100-years two coincident Category 4′s in the Atlantic…together, Igor and Julia have the highest coincident intensities on record.
Two major hurricanes exist simultaneously in the North Atlantic, a rare occurrence. With the current intensities of Julia and Igor, this has only happened 3-times in the past 60-years: 1950 [Dog & Easy], 1958 [Helene & Ilsa], and 1999 [Floyd & Gert]. But Igor and Julia just are not major hurricanes, they are Category 4′s.
Unprecedented: in our North Atlantic historical records, the forecast intensities of Igor and Julia during the next 12-24 hours will be unprecedented for coincident storms. The only other time (we know of) coincident Category 4+ hurricanes occurred was in 1926 with Hurricane #4 and the Great Miami Hurricane (September 26 at 06:00 UTC).