Hurricane History Map

1987 North Atlantic season

14 storms formed in the North Atlantic basin in 1987, from 24 May 1987 to 4 November 1987.

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Years1987
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 1987 season in numbers

The record holds 14 storms for the 1987 North Atlantic season, of which 6 had names.7 reached tropical storm strength (34 knots or more), 3 reached hurricane strength (category 1 or more) and 1 were major (category 3 or more).

  • 14storms
  • 7tropical storm strength or more
  • 3hurricane strength or more
  • 1major (category 3 to 5)
  • 34accumulated 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 1987

  • Emily (1987)20 September 1987 to 26 September 1987, peak Category 3 (110 kt), 958 hPa
  • Arlene (1987)8 August 1987 to 28 August 1987, peak Category 1 (65 kt), 987 hPa
  • Floyd (1987)9 October 1987 to 14 October 1987, peak Category 1 (65 kt), 993 hPa
  • Bret (1987)18 August 1987 to 24 August 1987, peak Tropical storm (45 kt), 1,000 hPa
  • Cindy (1987)5 September 1987 to 10 September 1987, peak Tropical storm (45 kt), 1,000 hPa

All 14 storms of 1987

StormPeak
Unnamed storm Tropical depression
Arlene Category 1
Unnamed storm Tropical storm
Unnamed storm Tropical depression
Bret Tropical storm
Unnamed storm Tropical depression
Cindy Tropical storm
Unnamed storm Tropical depression
Unnamed storm Tropical depression
Dennis Tropical storm
Unnamed storm Tropical depression
Emily Category 3
Floyd Category 1
Unnamed storm Tropical depression

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Other basins in 1987

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