hurricanesmapped

NORTH ATLANTIC · SEASON MAP

1988 Atlantic hurricane season

Every recorded track, mapped · 19 storms · 31 May 1988–24 Nov 1988

ACCUMULATED CYCLONE ENERGY105.6
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1988 Atlantic hurricane season: every recorded storm trackRecorded tracks of all 19 storms, colored by the wind category at each observation. Hover or focus a storm in the table to highlight its track.UNITED STATESCANADAMEXICOCUBABRAZILAFRICAEUROPECHINAJAPANINDIAGulf of MexicoAtlantic OceanPacific OceanArabian SeaBay of BengalUnnamed: 31 May–2 Jun, peak 25 kt, Tropical depressionAlberto: 5 Aug–8 Aug, peak 35 kt, Tropical stormBeryl: 8 Aug–10 Aug, peak 45 kt, Tropical stormUnnamed: 13 Aug–14 Aug, peak 30 kt, Tropical depressionUnnamed: 20 Aug–31 Aug, peak 30 kt, Tropical depressionUnnamed: 20 Aug–24 Aug, peak 30 kt, Tropical depressionChris: 21 Aug–29 Aug, peak 45 kt, Tropical stormDebby: 31 Aug–8 Sep, peak 65 kt, Category 1Ernesto: 3 Sep–5 Sep, peak 55 kt, Tropical stormUnnamed: 4 Sep–4 Sep, peak 30 kt, Tropical depressionUnnamed: 7 Sep–10 Sep, peak 50 kt, Tropical stormFlorence: 7 Sep–11 Sep, peak 70 kt, Category 1Gilbert: 8 Sep–19 Sep, peak 160 kt, Category 5Helene: 19 Sep–30 Sep, peak 125 kt, Category 4Unnamed: 27 Sep–29 Sep, peak 25 kt, Tropical depressionIsaac: 28 Sep–1 Oct, peak 40 kt, Tropical stormJoan:Miriam: 10 Oct–2 Nov, peak 125 kt, Category 4Unnamed: 19 Oct–21 Oct, peak 30 kt, Tropical depressionKeith: 17 Nov–24 Nov, peak 60 kt, Tropical storm

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Whole season

DepressionTropical stormCat 1Cat 2Cat 3Cat 4Cat 5Post-tropical
Every storm of the 1988 Atlantic hurricane season. Column headers sort the list.
Unnamed–25Tropical depression—390
Alberto–35Tropical storm10021,500
Beryl–45Tropical storm1001360
Unnamed–30Tropical depression—600
Unnamed–30Tropical depression—4,010
Unnamed–30Tropical depression—1,490
Chris–45Tropical storm10054,010
Debby–65Cat 19871,230
Ernesto–55Tropical storm9941,630
Unnamed–30Tropical depression—50
Unnamed–50Tropical storm994830
Florence–70Cat 1982910
Gilbert–160Cat 58884,340
Helene–125Cat 49383,680
Unnamed–25Tropical depression—540
Isaac–40Tropical storm1005950
Joan:Miriam–125Cat 49324,740
Unnamed–30Tropical depression—350
Keith–60Tropical storm9854,200

19 storms with an IBTrACS 1988 hurricane season record. Tracks are the archived center positions, first observation 31 May 1988, last 24 Nov 1988.

Tropical storms12

Tropical-stage US-agency wind of 34 kt or more

Hurricanes5

64 kt or more, one-minute sustained

Major (Category 3+)3

96 kt or more, Saffir–Simpson scale

Category 51

137 kt or more at any tropical-stage observation

Strongest stormGilbert

160 kt · 184 mph / 296 km/h

Lowest pressure888 hPa

Gilbert, 14 Sept 1988

Longest track record22.8 days

Joan:Miriam, full archive record

Storms without US-agency wind0

Mapped, but outside the counts above

QUICK ANSWERS

The 1988 season in brief

How many hurricanes were there in the 1988 Atlantic hurricane season?

The archive records 5 hurricanes (one-minute winds of 64 kt or more) among 12 tropical storms, with 3 major hurricanes reaching 96 kt. Counts use US-agency winds during the tropical stage.

What was the strongest storm of the 1988 Atlantic hurricane season?

Gilbert, with a peak one-minute sustained wind of 160 kt (Category 5) on 14 Sept 1988, 00:00 UTC and a minimum central pressure of 888 hPa.

How many Category 5 storms were there in 1988?

1 storm in the 1988 Atlantic hurricane season reached Category 5 on the Saffir–Simpson one-minute wind scale: Gilbert.

When did the 1988 Atlantic hurricane season start and end?

The first tropical-stage observation is on 31 May 1988 and the last on 24 Nov 1988, from 19 tracked storms in the archive.

What was the first hurricane of the 1988 Atlantic hurricane season?

Debby, which reached hurricane strength (64 kt) on 2 Sept 1988, 18:00 UTC.

METHODOLOGY

Data sources and limitations

The map and totals are generated from NOAA’s IBTrACS v04r01 archive. A storm belongs to this page when the archive lists it in the North Atlantic basin for the 1988 season, so a December storm whose track ends in January stays with its season. Storms that cross between basins appear on the page of their archive basin only.

Counts use US-agency one-minute winds during the tropical stage: 34 kt for a tropical storm, 64 kt for hurricane strength and 96 kt for major intensity, on the Saffir–Simpson scale in every basin. Local agencies classify storms differently, and official season summaries can differ from the archive. Accumulated cyclone energy sums squared winds at six-hourly synoptic times, counting observations in the calendar year. Storms with no US-agency wind are mapped but cannot enter the counts.

The map frame is the same for every North Atlantic season, so a track that leaves it is cut at the edge. Lines show each storm’s center, not its size, rainfall or flood extent. Coastlines use Natural Earth’s 1:10m land data.

Archive retrieved

NOAA IBTrACS archive · Field documentation

Sources & methodology