Hurricane Kate (1985)

Name: Hurricane Kate (1985): track and modeled winds
Creator: NOAA/NWS National Hurricane Center

Hurricane Kate was a Category 3 hurricane at its peak, with 121 mph winds and a lowest pressure of 954 mb, per NOAA's National Hurricane Center. Modeled winds reached tropical-storm force (39 mph) at 5 of the cities we track; the strongest was Tallahassee, FL, with a modeled peak gust of 89 mph.

Peak strength121 mph winds (1-minute): Category 3
Cities with tropical-storm-force windsModeled, of the cities we track: 5
LandfallsFirst November 21, 1985: 1
Lowest pressure: 954 mb

Track, wind field and cities

Select a piece of the track or a city for details.

Depression or weaker
Tropical storm
Hurricane, Category 1 or 2
Major hurricane, Category 3 to 5
Landfall
City (larger ring, stronger modeled gust)
Modeled wind field, 39 to 111 mph sustained (darker, stronger; orange 111 mph+)

Source: NOAA/NWS National Hurricane Center best track (HURDAT2). City winds and the wind field are modeled.

The shaded areas are where our model puts Hurricane Kate’s sustained winds over open land at 39 mph or more (tropical-storm force), 58, 74 (hurricane force) and 111 mph (major hurricane force) at some point along its track. Modeled, not measured. How we model hurricane winds

Landfalls

November 21, 1985, Category 2 at 98 mph, about 75 miles from Tallahassee, FL

Modeled winds at cities (5)

Estimated peak winds for open, flat ground at each city’s center. Not measurements. How we model hurricane winds

City	Peak gust	Sustained	Closest pass	Peak
Tallahassee, FL	89 mph	73 mph	22 miles	Nov 21, 1985, 8:15 PM EST
Savannah, GA	57 mph	47 mph	38 miles	Nov 22, 1985, 6:30 AM EST
Hilton Head Island, SC	55 mph	45 mph	42 miles	Nov 22, 1985, 8:00 AM EST
Charleston, SC	53 mph	43 mph	28 miles	Nov 22, 1985, 10:00 AM EST
Pensacola, FL	48 mph	39 mph	104 miles	Nov 21, 1985, 12:45 PM EST

What happened

Kate came ashore at Mexico Beach, Florida, at about 5:30 p.m. EST on November 21, 1985, as a Category 2 hurricane with 85-knot (98 mph) winds and a 967 mb central pressure.^1,2 It tracked northeast just west of Tallahassee and weakened to a tropical storm over south-central Georgia early on November 22.²

Storm surge reached 11 feet at Cape San Blas, 6 feet at Cedar Island and Keaton Beach, and 5 feet at Turkey Point.^2,3 Measured peak gusts included 100 mph at Cape San Blas, 85 mph at Apalachicola, 78 mph at Panama City, 68 mph at Tallahassee and 67 mph at Albany, Georgia.^3,4 NHC's preliminary report says Tallahassee had little structural damage but many downed trees and widespread power outages.² NHC's 1985 annual data report lists $300 million in U.S. damage and 5 deaths for Kate.⁵

Sources

1. NOAA National Hurricane Center: Atlantic hurricane database (HURDAT2), 1851 to 2025
2. NOAA National Hurricane Center: Preliminary Report, Hurricane Kate, 15 to 23 November 1985 (page 3)
3. NOAA National Hurricane Center: Preliminary Report, Hurricane Kate: selected coastal, data buoy and offshore observations
4. NOAA National Hurricane Center: Preliminary Report, Hurricane Kate: Table 3, selected meteorological and hydrological statistics
5. NOAA National Hurricane Center: Annual Data and Verification Tabulation, Atlantic Tropical Cyclones 1985 (NOAA Technical Memorandum NWS NHC 29)

Best track (34 positions)

Time	Status	Wind	Pressure	Position
Nov 15, 18:00 UTC	Tropical storm	40 mph	999 mb	21.1°N, 63.8°W
Nov 16, 00:00 UTC	Tropical storm	52 mph	998 mb	21.6°N, 63.9°W
Nov 16, 06:00 UTC	Tropical storm	58 mph	996 mb	21.7°N, 64.2°W
Nov 16, 12:00 UTC	Tropical storm	63 mph	993 mb	21.5°N, 64.8°W
Nov 16, 18:00 UTC	Category 1 hurricane	81 mph	987 mb	21.1°N, 65.3°W
Nov 17, 00:00 UTC	Category 1 hurricane	86 mph	981 mb	20.7°N, 66.0°W
Nov 17, 06:00 UTC	Category 1 hurricane	86 mph	984 mb	20.4°N, 66.4°W
Nov 17, 12:00 UTC	Category 1 hurricane	86 mph	982 mb	20.7°N, 67.3°W
Nov 17, 18:00 UTC	Category 1 hurricane	92 mph	977 mb	21.1°N, 68.8°W
Nov 18, 00:00 UTC	Category 1 hurricane	92 mph	976 mb	21.4°N, 70.0°W
Nov 18, 06:00 UTC	Category 1 hurricane	92 mph	975 mb	21.6°N, 71.8°W
Nov 18, 12:00 UTC	Category 1 hurricane	92 mph	975 mb	21.6°N, 73.3°W
Nov 18, 18:00 UTC	Category 2 hurricane	98 mph	972 mb	21.9°N, 75.1°W
Nov 19, 00:00 UTC	Category 2 hurricane	109 mph	967 mb	22.1°N, 76.8°W
Nov 19, 06:00 UTC	Category 2 hurricane	109 mph	968 mb	22.1°N, 78.4°W
Nov 19, 12:00 UTC	Category 2 hurricane	104 mph	971 mb	22.7°N, 80.2°W
Nov 19, 18:00 UTC	Category 1 hurricane	92 mph	976 mb	23.2°N, 81.9°W
Nov 20, 00:00 UTC	Category 2 hurricane	98 mph	972 mb	23.9°N, 83.5°W
Nov 20, 06:00 UTC	Category 2 hurricane	109 mph	968 mb	24.6°N, 84.5°W
Nov 20, 12:00 UTC	Category 3 hurricane	121 mph	956 mb	25.2°N, 85.3°W
Nov 20, 18:00 UTC	Category 3 hurricane	121 mph	955 mb	26.0°N, 86.0°W
Nov 21, 00:00 UTC	Category 3 hurricane	121 mph	954 mb	26.8°N, 86.5°W
Nov 21, 06:00 UTC	Category 3 hurricane	115 mph	961 mb	27.5°N, 86.6°W
Nov 21, 12:00 UTC	Category 2 hurricane	109 mph	965 mb	28.3°N, 86.5°W
Nov 21, 18:00 UTC	Category 2 hurricane	98 mph	967 mb	29.2°N, 86.1°W
Nov 21, 22:30 UTC (landfall)	Category 2 hurricane	98 mph	967 mb	30.0°N, 85.4°W
Nov 22, 00:00 UTC	Category 1 hurricane	92 mph	975 mb	30.2°N, 85.1°W
Nov 22, 06:00 UTC	Category 1 hurricane	75 mph	983 mb	31.5°N, 83.5°W
Nov 22, 12:00 UTC	Tropical storm	58 mph	990 mb	32.5°N, 81.5°W
Nov 22, 18:00 UTC	Tropical storm	52 mph	996 mb	33.7°N, 79.2°W
Nov 23, 00:00 UTC	Tropical storm	46 mph	1003 mb	34.7°N, 76.2°W
Nov 23, 06:00 UTC	Tropical storm	40 mph	1005 mb	34.4°N, 73.5°W
Nov 23, 12:00 UTC	Tropical storm	40 mph	1006 mb	34.0°N, 72.0°W
Nov 23, 18:00 UTC	Post-tropical	40 mph	1006 mb	33.5°N, 70.5°W

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