hurricanesmapped

NORTH ATLANTIC · SEASON MAP

1989 Atlantic hurricane season

Every recorded track, mapped · 15 storms · 15 Jun 1989–4 Dec 1989

ACCUMULATED CYCLONE ENERGY134.8
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1989 Atlantic hurricane season: every recorded storm trackRecorded tracks of all 15 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: 15 Jun–17 Jun, peak 25 kt, Tropical depressionAllison: 24 Jun–27 Jun, peak 45 kt, Tropical stormBarry: 9 Jul–14 Jul, peak 45 kt, Tropical stormChantal: 30 Jul–3 Aug, peak 70 kt, Category 1Dean: 31 Jul–8 Aug, peak 90 kt, Category 2Unnamed: 8 Aug–17 Aug, peak 30 kt, Tropical depressionErin: 18 Aug–27 Aug, peak 90 kt, Category 2Felix: 26 Aug–9 Sep, peak 75 kt, Category 1Unnamed: 27 Aug–28 Aug, peak 25 kt, Tropical depressionGabrielle: 30 Aug–13 Sep, peak 125 kt, Category 4Hugo: 10 Sep–22 Sep, peak 140 kt, Category 5Iris: 16 Sep–21 Sep, peak 60 kt, Tropical stormUnnamed: 2 Oct–5 Oct, peak 30 kt, Tropical depressionJerry: 12 Oct–16 Oct, peak 75 kt, Category 1Karen: 28 Nov–4 Dec, peak 50 kt, Tropical storm

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Whole season

DepressionTropical stormCat 1Cat 2Cat 3Cat 4Cat 5Post-tropical
Every storm of the 1989 Atlantic hurricane season. Column headers sort the list.
Unnamed–25Tropical depression—130
Allison–45Tropical storm999690
Barry–45Tropical storm10051,410
Chantal–70Cat 1984870
Dean–90Cat 29683,690
Unnamed–30Tropical depression—2,510
Erin–90Cat 29683,220
Felix–75Cat 19793,360
Unnamed–25Tropical depression—310
Gabrielle–125Cat 49354,040
Hugo–140Cat 59186,100
Iris–60Tropical storm10011,630
Unnamed–30Tropical depression—930
Jerry–75Cat 1982920
Karen–50Tropical storm1000710

15 storms with an IBTrACS 1989 hurricane season record. Tracks are the archived center positions, first observation 15 Jun 1989, last 4 Dec 1989.

Tropical storms11

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

Hurricanes7

64 kt or more, one-minute sustained

Major (Category 3+)2

96 kt or more, Saffir–Simpson scale

Category 51

137 kt or more at any tropical-stage observation

Strongest stormHugo

140 kt · 161 mph / 259 km/h

Lowest pressure918 hPa

Hugo, 15 Sept 1989

Longest track record15.5 days

Felix, full archive record

Storms without US-agency wind0

Mapped, but outside the counts above

QUICK ANSWERS

The 1989 season in brief

How many hurricanes were there in the 1989 Atlantic hurricane season?

The archive records 7 hurricanes (one-minute winds of 64 kt or more) among 11 tropical storms, with 2 major hurricanes reaching 96 kt. Counts use US-agency winds during the tropical stage.

What was the strongest storm of the 1989 Atlantic hurricane season?

Hugo, with a peak one-minute sustained wind of 140 kt (Category 5) on 15 Sept 1989, 18:00 UTC and a minimum central pressure of 918 hPa.

How many Category 5 storms were there in 1989?

1 storm in the 1989 Atlantic hurricane season reached Category 5 on the Saffir–Simpson one-minute wind scale: Hugo.

When did the 1989 Atlantic hurricane season start and end?

The first tropical-stage observation is on 15 Jun 1989 and the last on 4 Dec 1989, from 15 tracked storms in the archive.

What was the first hurricane of the 1989 Atlantic hurricane season?

Chantal, which reached hurricane strength (64 kt) on 1 Aug 1989, 00:00 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 1989 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