hurricanesmapped

NORTH ATLANTIC · SEASON MAP

2008 Atlantic hurricane season

Every recorded track, mapped · 17 storms · 31 May 2008–9 Nov 2008

ACCUMULATED CYCLONE ENERGY145.7
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2008 Atlantic hurricane season: every recorded storm trackRecorded tracks of all 17 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 BengalArthur: 31 May–1 Jun, peak 40 kt, Tropical stormBertha: 3 Jul–20 Jul, peak 110 kt, Category 3Cristobal: 19 Jul–23 Jul, peak 55 kt, Tropical stormDolly: 20 Jul–25 Jul, peak 85 kt, Category 2Edouard: 3 Aug–6 Aug, peak 55 kt, Tropical stormFay: 15 Aug–27 Aug, peak 60 kt, Tropical stormGustav: 25 Aug–4 Sep, peak 135 kt, Category 4Hanna: 28 Aug–7 Sep, peak 75 kt, Category 1Ike: 1 Sep–14 Sep, peak 125 kt, Category 4Josephine: 2 Sep–6 Sep, peak 55 kt, Tropical stormKyle: 25 Sep–29 Sep, peak 75 kt, Category 1Laura: 30 Sep–1 Oct, peak 50 kt, Tropical stormMarco: 6 Oct–7 Oct, peak 55 kt, Tropical stormNana: 12 Oct–14 Oct, peak 35 kt, Tropical stormOmar: 13 Oct–18 Oct, peak 115 kt, Category 4Unnamed: 14 Oct–15 Oct, peak 25 kt, Tropical depressionPaloma: 5 Nov–9 Nov, peak 125 kt, Category 4

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Whole season

DepressionTropical stormCat 1Cat 2Cat 3Cat 4Cat 5Post-tropical
Every storm of the 2008 Atlantic hurricane season. Column headers sort the list.
Arthur–40Tropical storm1004230
Bertha–110Cat 39525,390
Cristobal–55Tropical storm9981,300
Dolly–85Cat 29631,640
Edouard–55Tropical storm996680
Fay–60Tropical storm9862,370
Gustav–135Cat 49412,880
Hanna–75Cat 19773,610
Ike–125Cat 49355,080
Josephine–55Tropical storm9941,920
Kyle–75Cat 19841,820
Laura–50Tropical storm9942,590
Marco–55Tropical storm998310
Nana–35Tropical storm1004800
Omar–115Cat 49582,180
Unnamed–25Tropical depression1004190
Paloma–125Cat 49441,510

17 storms with an IBTrACS 2008 hurricane season record. Tracks are the archived center positions, first observation 31 May 2008, last 9 Nov 2008.

Tropical storms16

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

Hurricanes8

64 kt or more, one-minute sustained

Major (Category 3+)5

96 kt or more, Saffir–Simpson scale

Category 50

137 kt or more at any tropical-stage observation

Strongest stormGustav

135 kt · 155 mph / 250 km/h

Lowest pressure935 hPa

Ike, 4 Sept 2008

Longest track record18 days

Bertha, full archive record

Storms without US-agency wind0

Mapped, but outside the counts above

QUICK ANSWERS

The 2008 season in brief

How many hurricanes were there in the 2008 Atlantic hurricane season?

The archive records 8 hurricanes (one-minute winds of 64 kt or more) among 16 tropical storms, with 5 major hurricanes reaching 96 kt. Counts use US-agency winds during the tropical stage.

What was the strongest storm of the 2008 Atlantic hurricane season?

Gustav, with a peak one-minute sustained wind of 135 kt (Category 4) on 30 Aug 2008, 22:00 UTC and a minimum central pressure of 941 hPa.

How many Category 5 storms were there in 2008?

None. No storm in the 2008 Atlantic hurricane season reached Category 5 on the Saffir–Simpson one-minute wind scale in the archive.

When did the 2008 Atlantic hurricane season start and end?

The first tropical-stage observation is on 31 May 2008 and the last on 9 Nov 2008, from 17 tracked storms in the archive.

What was the first hurricane of the 2008 Atlantic hurricane season?

Bertha, which reached hurricane strength (64 kt) on 7 Jul 2008, 06:00 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 2008 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