hurricanesmapped

NORTH ATLANTIC · SEASON MAP

1998 Atlantic hurricane season

Every recorded track, mapped · 14 storms · 27 Jul 1998–1 Dec 1998

ACCUMULATED CYCLONE ENERGY181.2
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1998 Atlantic hurricane season: every recorded storm trackRecorded tracks of all 14 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 BengalAlex: 27 Jul–2 Aug, peak 45 kt, Tropical stormBonnie: 19 Aug–30 Aug, peak 100 kt, Category 3Charley: 21 Aug–24 Aug, peak 60 kt, Tropical stormDanielle: 24 Aug–3 Sep, peak 90 kt, Category 2Earl: 31 Aug–3 Sep, peak 85 kt, Category 2Frances: 8 Sep–13 Sep, peak 55 kt, Tropical stormGeorges: 15 Sep–1 Oct, peak 135 kt, Category 4Hermine: 17 Sep–20 Sep, peak 40 kt, Tropical stormIvan: 19 Sep–27 Sep, peak 80 kt, Category 1Jeanne: 21 Sep–30 Sep, peak 90 kt, Category 2Karl: 23 Sep–28 Sep, peak 90 kt, Category 2Lisa: 5 Oct–9 Oct, peak 65 kt, Category 1Mitch: 22 Oct–5 Nov, peak 155 kt, Category 5Nicole: 24 Nov–1 Dec, peak 75 kt, Category 1

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Whole season

DepressionTropical stormCat 1Cat 2Cat 3Cat 4Cat 5Post-tropical
Every storm of the 1998 Atlantic hurricane season. Column headers sort the list.
Alex–45Tropical storm10022,110
Bonnie–100Cat 39544,030
Charley–60Tropical storm1000550
Danielle–90Cat 29605,880
Earl–85Cat 29853,740
Frances–55Tropical storm990830
Georges–135Cat 49374,420
Hermine–40Tropical storm999550
Ivan–80Cat 19753,090
Jeanne–90Cat 29694,020
Karl–90Cat 29703,100
Lisa–65Cat 19952,710
Mitch–155Cat 59056,480
Nicole–75Cat 19792,840

14 storms with an IBTrACS 1998 hurricane season record. Tracks are the archived center positions, first observation 27 Jul 1998, last 1 Dec 1998.

Tropical storms14

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

Hurricanes10

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 stormMitch

155 kt · 178 mph / 287 km/h

Lowest pressure905 hPa

Mitch, 26 Oct 1998

Longest track record18.8 days

Mitch, full archive record

Storms without US-agency wind0

Mapped, but outside the counts above

QUICK ANSWERS

The 1998 season in brief

How many hurricanes were there in the 1998 Atlantic hurricane season?

The archive records 10 hurricanes (one-minute winds of 64 kt or more) among 14 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 1998 Atlantic hurricane season?

Mitch, with a peak one-minute sustained wind of 155 kt (Category 5) on 26 Oct 1998, 18:00 UTC and a minimum central pressure of 905 hPa.

How many Category 5 storms were there in 1998?

1 storm in the 1998 Atlantic hurricane season reached Category 5 on the Saffir–Simpson one-minute wind scale: Mitch.

When did the 1998 Atlantic hurricane season start and end?

The first tropical-stage observation is on 27 Jul 1998 and the last on 1 Dec 1998, from 14 tracked storms in the archive.

What was the first hurricane of the 1998 Atlantic hurricane season?

Bonnie, which reached hurricane strength (64 kt) on 22 Aug 1998, 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 1998 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