Gilbert intensifying off the coast of the Yucatan Peninsula on September 13
Meteorological history
Formed
September 8, 1988
Dissipated
September 19, 1988
Category 5 major hurricane
1-minute sustained (SSHWS/NWS)
Highest winds
185 mph (295 km/h)
Lowest pressure
888 mbar (hPa); 26.22 inHg (Second-lowest recorded in the Atlantic Ocean)
Overall effects
Fatalities
318
Damage
$2.98 billion (1988 USD) (Costliest in Jamaican history)
Areas affected
Lesser Antilles, Puerto Rico, Venezuela, Haiti, Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Central America, Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico, Texas, South Central United States, Midwestern United States, Western Canada
IBTrACS / [1]
Part of the 1988 Atlantic hurricane season
Hurricane Gilbert was the second most intense tropical cyclone on record in the Atlantic basin in terms of barometric pressure, only behind Hurricane Wilma in 2005. An extremely powerful tropical cyclone that formed during the 1988 Atlantic hurricane season, Gilbert peaked as a Category 5 hurricane that brought widespread destruction to the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico, and is tied with 1969's Hurricane Camille as the second-most intense tropical cyclone to make landfall in the Atlantic Ocean. Gilbert was also one of the largest tropical cyclones ever observed in the Atlantic basin. At one point, its tropical storm-force winds measured 575 mi (925 km) in diameter. In addition, Gilbert was the most intense tropical cyclone in recorded history to strike Mexico.[2]
The seventh named storm, third hurricane and first major hurricane of the 1988 Atlantic hurricane season, Gilbert developed from a tropical wave on September 8 while located 400 mi (640 km) east of Barbados. Following intensification into a tropical storm the next day, Gilbert steadily strengthened as it tracked west-northwestward into the Caribbean Sea. On September 10, Gilbert attained hurricane intensity, and rapidly intensified into a Category 3 hurricane on September 11. After striking Jamaica the following day, rapid intensification occurred once again, and the storm became a Category 5 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson scale with peak 1-minute sustained winds of 185 mph (298 km/h), late on September 13. Gilbert then weakened slightly, and made landfall on the Yucatán Peninsula later that day while maintaining Category 5 intensity. After landfall, Gilbert weakened rapidly over the Yucatán Peninsula, and emerged into the Gulf of Mexico as a Category 2 storm on September 15. Gradual intensification occurred as Gilbert tracked across the Gulf of Mexico, and the storm made landfall as a Category 3 hurricane in mainland Mexico on September 16. The hurricane gradually weakened after landfall, and eventually dissipated on September 19 over the Midwestern United States. On the island of Cozumel, a pressure of 900 millibars was recorded when Hurricane Gilbert made landfall as a Category 5 hurricane with winds of 165 mph.
Gilbert wrought havoc in the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico for nearly nine days. In total, it killed 318 people and caused about $2.98 billion (1988 USD) in damages along its path. As a result of the extensive damage caused by Gilbert, the World Meteorological Organization retired the name in the spring of 1989; it was replaced with Gordon for the 1994 hurricane season.
^"1988- Hurricane Gilbert". Hurricane Science.org. Retrieved 3 October 2022.
^"Atlantic hurricane best track (HURDAT version 2)" (Database). United States National Hurricane Center. April 5, 2023. Retrieved June 27, 2024. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
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This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
