Last week, Super Typhoon Dolphin became the planet’s fifth Category 5 of 2026, putting this year ahead of the pace of the record year of 1997. That’s potentially good news for surfers, not so great for the more than a million people who had to evacuate cities in eastern China amid fears that torrential rain would cause flooding and landslides. 1997 record year produced 12 global Cat 5s — 10 Northwest Pacific super typhoons plus two off Mexico’s Northeast Pacific coast. However, in that record year, the first Cat 5 didn’t arrive until August. 2026 is running well ahead even of 1997’s own internal clock.…