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Hurricane Gilbert (1988)

Hurricane Gilbert was a Category 5 hurricane at its peak, with 184 mph winds and a lowest pressure of 888 mb, per NOAA's National Hurricane Center. Modeled winds reached tropical-storm force (39 mph) at one of the cities we track; the strongest was Brownsville, TX, with a modeled peak gust of 50 mph.

Peak strength184 mph winds (1-minute)
Category 5
Cities with tropical-storm-force windsModeled, of the cities we track
1
LandfallsFirst September 12, 1988
3
Lowest pressure
888 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 Gilbert’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

  1. September 12, 1988, Category 4 at 132 mph, in Jamaica
  2. September 14, 1988, Category 5 at 161 mph, in Mexico
  3. September 16, 1988, Category 3 at 127 mph, in Mexico

Modeled winds at cities (1)

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

CityPeak gustSustainedClosest passPeak
Brownsville, TX50 mph41 mph119 milesSep 16, 1988, 5:00 PM CDT

Best track (49 positions)

TimeStatusWindPressurePosition
Sep 8, 18:00 UTCTropical depression29 mph1008 mb12.0°N, 54.0°W
Sep 9, 00:00 UTCTropical depression29 mph1007 mb12.7°N, 55.6°W
Sep 9, 06:00 UTCTropical depression35 mph1006 mb13.3°N, 57.1°W
Sep 9, 12:00 UTCTropical depression35 mph1005 mb14.0°N, 58.6°W
Sep 9, 18:00 UTCTropical storm40 mph1004 mb14.5°N, 60.1°W
Sep 10, 00:00 UTCTropical storm46 mph1002 mb14.8°N, 61.5°W
Sep 10, 06:00 UTCTropical storm52 mph998 mb15.0°N, 62.8°W
Sep 10, 12:00 UTCTropical storm58 mph995 mb15.3°N, 64.1°W
Sep 10, 18:00 UTCTropical storm63 mph992 mb15.7°N, 65.4°W
Sep 11, 00:00 UTCCategory 1 hurricane75 mph989 mb15.9°N, 66.8°W
Sep 11, 06:00 UTCCategory 1 hurricane92 mph982 mb16.2°N, 68.0°W
Sep 11, 12:00 UTCCategory 2 hurricane109 mph975 mb16.1°N, 69.5°W
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