Hurricane History Map

1985 North Atlantic season

14 storms formed in the North Atlantic basin in 1985, from 15 July 1985 to 9 December 1985.

Tap or scroll to load the interactive map

Years1985
Ocean basin

Choosing a minimum category hides storms with no wind speed in the record. To see which storms have passed near you, search a town or ZIP code, or tap the map.

Key
  • Tropical depression Winds below 34 knots (39 mph)
  • Tropical storm 34 to 63 knots (39 to 73 mph)
  • Category 1 64 to 82 knots (74 to 95 mph)
  • Category 2 83 to 95 knots (96 to 110 mph)
  • Category 3 96 to 112 knots (111 to 129 mph), major
  • Category 4 113 to 136 knots (130 to 156 mph), major
  • Category 5 137 knots (157 mph) or more, major
  • Unknown intensity No wind speed in the record
  • Post-tropical Storm has become post-tropical (dashed line)

How to read the lines. Each line is the track of one storm, drawn through its six-hourly positions and coloured by its intensity at each point (the Saffir-Simpson scale), so a line changes colour as the storm strengthens or weakens. Tap a line for its details, or tap anywhere else to see which storms have passed nearby. Weaker storms appear as you zoom in. Hurricanes, typhoons and cyclones are the same kind of storm with different names in different oceans.

The 1985 season in numbers

The record holds 14 storms for the 1985 North Atlantic season, of which 11 had names.11 reached tropical storm strength (34 knots or more), 7 reached hurricane strength (category 1 or more) and 3 were major (category 3 or more).

  • 14storms
  • 11tropical storm strength or more
  • 7hurricane strength or more
  • 3major (category 3 to 5)
  • 88accumulated cyclone energy

Accumulated cyclone energy adds up the squared wind speed of every position of 34 knots or more, divided by 10,000. It is approximate here because the winds are 1-minute equivalents, and it is mostly useful for comparing seasons of one basin.

Strongest storms of 1985

  • Gloria (1985)16 September 1985 to 2 October 1985, peak Category 4 (125 kt), 920 hPa
  • Elena (1985)28 August 1985 to 4 September 1985, peak Category 3 (110 kt), 953 hPa
  • Kate (1985)15 November 1985 to 23 November 1985, peak Category 3 (105 kt), 954 hPa
  • Danny (1985)12 August 1985 to 20 August 1985, peak Category 1 (80 kt), 988 hPa
  • Claudette (1985)9 August 1985 to 17 August 1985, peak Category 1 (75 kt), 980 hPa

All 14 storms of 1985

StormPeak
Ana Tropical storm
Bob Category 1
Claudette Category 1
Danny Category 1
Elena Category 3
Unnamed storm Tropical depression
Unnamed storm Tropical depression
Fabian Tropical storm
Gloria Category 4
Henri Tropical storm
Isabel Tropical storm
Juan Category 1
Kate Category 3
Unnamed storm Tropical depression

← 1984 · 1986 → · All seasons

Other basins in 1985

Embed this map

Copy this code into your web page. It is free to use. Please keep the link under the map, as it is how people find where the map comes from.