1988 Atlantic hurricane season

1988 Atlantic hurricane season
1988 Atlantic hurricane season
	Season summary map
Seasonal boundaries
First system formed	May 31, 1988
Last system dissipated	November 24, 1988
Strongest storm
Name	Gilbert ; (Most intense hurricane in the Atlantic basin at the time)
• Maximum winds	185 mph (295 km/h); (1-minute sustained)
• Lowest pressure	888 mbar (hPa; 26.22 inHg)
Seasonal statistics
Total depressions	19
Total storms	12
Hurricanes	5
Major hurricanes; (Cat. 3+)	3
Total fatalities	601–719 total
Total damage	$4.99 billion (1988 USD)
Related articles
	Timeline of the 1988 Atlantic hurricane season; 1988 Pacific hurricane season; 1988 Pacific typhoon season; 1988 North Indian Ocean cyclone season;
	Atlantic hurricane seasons; 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990

The 1988 Atlantic hurricane season was a near average season that proved costly and deadly, with 15 tropical cyclones directly affecting land. The season officially began on June 1, 1988, and lasted until November 30, 1988, although activity began on May 30 when a tropical depression developed in the Caribbean. The June through November dates conventionally delimit the period of each year when most tropical cyclones form in the Atlantic basin. The first cyclone to attain tropical storm status was Alberto on August 8, nearly a month later than usual.^[1] The final storm of the year, Tropical Storm Keith, became extratropical on November 24. The season produced 19 tropical depressions of which 12 attained tropical storm status. One tropical storm was operationally classified as a tropical depression but was reclassified in post-analysis. Five tropical cyclones reached hurricane status of which three became major hurricanes reaching Category 3 on the Saffir–Simpson scale.

There were two notable cyclones of the season, the first one being Hurricane Gilbert, which at the time was the strongest Atlantic hurricane on record. The hurricane tracked through the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico and caused devastation in Mexico and many island nations, particularly Jamaica. Its passage caused $2.98 billion in damage (1988 USD)^{[nb 1]} and more than 300 deaths, mostly in Mexico. The second one was Hurricane Joan, which struck Nicaragua as a Category 4 hurricane and caused about US$1.87 billion in damage and more than 200 deaths. The hurricane crossed into the eastern Pacific Ocean and was reclassified as Tropical Storm Miriam. Hurricane Debby also successfully crossed over, becoming Tropical Depression Seventeen-E, making the 1988 season the first on record in which more than one tropical cyclone has crossed between the Atlantic and Pacific basins intact.^[2]

^ National Hurricane Center (2006). "Tropical Cyclone Climatology". Archived from the original on December 13, 2007. Retrieved November 24, 2007.
^ Henson, Bob (October 10, 2022). "As Julia fades, floods plague Central America". New Haven, Connecticut: Yale Climate Connections. Retrieved October 10, 2022.

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[TCclimate-1] National Hurricane Center (2006). "Tropical Cyclone Climatology". Archived from the original on December 13, 2007. Retrieved November 24, 2007.

[3] Henson, Bob (October 10, 2022). "As Julia fades, floods plague Central America". New Haven, Connecticut: Yale Climate Connections. Retrieved October 10, 2022.

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