hurricanesmapped

NORTH ATLANTIC · SEASON MAP

2018 Atlantic hurricane season

Every recorded track, mapped · 16 storms · 28 May 2018–31 Oct 2018

ACCUMULATED CYCLONE ENERGY132.6
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2018 Atlantic hurricane season: every recorded storm trackRecorded tracks of all 16 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 BengalAlberto: 28 May–31 May, peak 55 kt, Tropical stormBeryl: 4 Jul–8 Jul, peak 70 kt, Category 1Chris: 6 Jul–12 Jul, peak 90 kt, Category 2Debby: 8 Aug–9 Aug, peak 45 kt, Tropical stormErnesto: 16 Aug–17 Aug, peak 40 kt, Tropical stormFlorence: 31 Aug–17 Sep, peak 130 kt, Category 4Gordon: 3 Sep–6 Sep, peak 60 kt, Tropical stormIsaac: 7 Sep–15 Sep, peak 65 kt, Category 1Helene: 7 Sep–16 Sep, peak 95 kt, Category 2Joyce: 14 Sep–18 Sep, peak 45 kt, Tropical stormUnnamed: 21 Sep–22 Sep, peak 30 kt, Tropical depressionLeslie: 29 Sep–13 Oct, peak 80 kt, Category 1Kirk: 22 Sep–28 Sep, peak 55 kt, Tropical stormMichael: 7 Oct–11 Oct, peak 140 kt, Category 5Nadine: 9 Oct–12 Oct, peak 55 kt, Tropical stormOscar: 27 Oct–31 Oct, peak 95 kt, Category 2

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Whole season

DepressionTropical stormCat 1Cat 2Cat 3Cat 4Cat 5Post-tropical
Every storm of the 2018 Atlantic hurricane season. Column headers sort the list.
Alberto–55Tropical storm9901,810
Beryl–70Cat 19914,260
Chris–90Cat 29693,680
Debby–45Tropical storm9982,540
Ernesto–40Tropical storm10012,040
Florence–130Cat 49374,730
Gordon–60Tropical storm9961,160
Isaac–65Cat 19952,030
Helene–95Cat 29673,710
Joyce–45Tropical storm9951,980
Unnamed–30Tropical depression100790
Kirk–55Tropical storm9982,570
Leslie–80Cat 19685,700
Michael–140Cat 59194,610
Nadine–55Tropical storm995770
Oscar–95Cat 29663,820

16 storms with an IBTrACS 2018 hurricane season record. Tracks are the archived center positions, first observation 28 May 2018, last 31 Oct 2018.

Tropical storms15

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

Hurricanes8

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 stormMichael

140 kt · 161 mph / 259 km/h

Lowest pressure919 hPa

Michael, 10 Oct 2018

Longest track record22 days

Leslie, full archive record

Storms without US-agency wind0

Mapped, but outside the counts above

QUICK ANSWERS

The 2018 season in brief

How many hurricanes were there in the 2018 Atlantic hurricane season?

The archive records 8 hurricanes (one-minute winds of 64 kt or more) among 15 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 2018 Atlantic hurricane season?

Michael, with a peak one-minute sustained wind of 140 kt (Category 5) on 10 Oct 2018, 17:30 UTC and a minimum central pressure of 919 hPa.

How many Category 5 storms were there in 2018?

1 storm in the 2018 Atlantic hurricane season reached Category 5 on the Saffir–Simpson one-minute wind scale: Michael.

When did the 2018 Atlantic hurricane season start and end?

The first tropical-stage observation is on 28 May 2018 and the last on 31 Oct 2018, from 16 tracked storms in the archive.

What was the first hurricane of the 2018 Atlantic hurricane season?

Beryl, which reached hurricane strength (64 kt) on 6 Jul 2018, 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 2018 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