Record low in the Atlantic was Hurricane Gilbert at 888 mb. Rita is now #5 all time at 904 mb, just behind Katrina.
Record low world-wide was 870 mb in Typhoon Tip, out in the Pacific.
}:-)4
The "Background Pressure" in the Pacific is lower (the normal pressure without a storm), and winds are caused by pressure differences, so an 870mb storm in the Pacific is really like an 885 mb storm in the Atlantic, typically.