Hurricane History Map

1989 North Atlantic season

15 storms formed in the North Atlantic basin in 1989, from 15 June 1989 to 4 December 1989.

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Years1989
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 1989 season in numbers

The record holds 15 storms for the 1989 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 2 were major (category 3 or more).

  • 15storms
  • 11tropical storm strength or more
  • 7hurricane strength or more
  • 2major (category 3 to 5)
  • 135accumulated 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 1989

  • Hugo (1989)10 September 1989 to 25 September 1989, peak Category 5 (140 kt), 918 hPa
  • Gabrielle (1989)30 August 1989 to 13 September 1989, peak Category 4 (125 kt), 937 hPa
  • Dean (1989)31 July 1989 to 9 August 1989, peak Category 2 (90 kt), 968 hPa
  • Erin (1989)18 August 1989 to 27 August 1989, peak Category 2 (90 kt), 968 hPa
  • Felix (1989)26 August 1989 to 10 September 1989, peak Category 1 (75 kt), 979 hPa

All 15 storms of 1989

StormPeak
Unnamed storm Tropical depression
Allison Tropical storm
Barry Tropical storm
Chantal Category 1
Dean Category 2
Unnamed storm Tropical depression
Erin Category 2
Felix Category 1
Unnamed storm Tropical depression
Gabrielle Category 4
Hugo Category 5
Iris Tropical storm
Unnamed storm Tropical depression
Jerry Category 1
Karen Tropical storm

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Other basins in 1989

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