Hurricane History Map

1988 North Atlantic season

19 storms formed in the North Atlantic basin in 1988, from 31 May 1988 to 26 November 1988.

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Years1988
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 1988 season in numbers

The record holds 19 storms for the 1988 North Atlantic season, of which 11 had names.12 reached tropical storm strength (34 knots or more), 5 reached hurricane strength (category 1 or more) and 3 were major (category 3 or more).

  • 19storms
  • 12tropical storm strength or more
  • 5hurricane strength or more
  • 3major (category 3 to 5)
  • 106accumulated 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 1988

  • Gilbert (1988)8 September 1988 to 20 September 1988, peak Category 5 (160 kt), 888 hPa
  • Helene (1988)19 September 1988 to 30 September 1988, peak Category 4 (125 kt), 938 hPa
  • Joan:miriam (1988)10 October 1988 to 2 November 1988, peak Category 4 (125 kt), 932 hPa
  • Florence (1988)7 September 1988 to 11 September 1988, peak Category 1 (70 kt), 983 hPa
  • Debby (1988)31 August 1988 to 8 September 1988, peak Category 1 (65 kt), 987 hPa

All 19 storms of 1988

StormPeak
Unnamed storm Tropical depression
Alberto Tropical storm
Beryl Tropical storm
Unnamed storm Tropical depression
Unnamed storm Tropical depression
Unnamed storm Tropical depression
Chris Tropical storm
Debby Category 1
Ernesto Tropical storm
Unnamed storm Tropical depression
Unnamed storm Tropical storm
Florence Category 1
Gilbert Category 5
Helene Category 4
Unnamed storm Tropical depression
Isaac Tropical storm
Joan:miriam Category 4
Unnamed storm Tropical depression
Keith Tropical storm

← 1987 · 1989 → · All seasons

Other basins in 1988

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