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Hurricane Jerry (1989)

Hurricane Jerry was a Category 1 hurricane at its peak, with 86 mph winds and a lowest pressure of 982 mb, per NOAA's National Hurricane Center. Modeled winds reached tropical-storm force (39 mph) at 7 of the cities we track; the strongest was League City, TX, with a modeled peak gust of 83 mph.

Peak strength86 mph winds (1-minute)
Category 1
Cities with tropical-storm-force windsModeled, of the cities we track
7
LandfallsFirst October 16, 1989
1
Lowest pressure
982 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 Jerry’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. October 16, 1989, Category 1 at 86 mph, about 21 miles from League City, TX

Modeled winds at cities (7)

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

CityPeak gustSustainedClosest passPeak
League City, TX83 mph68 mph8 milesOct 15, 1989, 6:45 PM CDT
Pasadena, TX79 mph64 mph11 milesOct 15, 1989, 6:45 PM CDT
Pearland, TX78 mph63 mph21 milesOct 15, 1989, 6:45 PM CDT
Houston, TX69 mph56 mph26 milesOct 15, 1989, 6:45 PM CDT
Sugar Land, TX68 mph55 mph40 milesOct 15, 1989, 6:45 PM CDT
Beaumont, TX56 mph46 mph47 milesOct 15, 1989, 6:45 PM CDT
Conroe, TX51 mph41 mph34 milesOct 15, 1989, 6:45 PM CDT

What happened

Jerry formed in the Bay of Campeche on October 12, 1989, and came ashore on Galveston Island near Jamaica Beach, Texas, at about 0030 UTC on October 16 (7:30 p.m. CDT on October 15) as a Category 1 hurricane.1,2 NHC's best track puts landfall at 75 knots (86 mph) with a 983 mb central pressure.3 Jerry weakened to a tropical storm by 0600 UTC as it moved north over eastern Texas.2

Scholes Field on Galveston Island measured sustained winds of 65 knots (75 mph) with gusts to 87 knots (100 mph) as the eyewall crossed the airport.2 Tides reached 7.0 feet above mean sea level at Baytown, 6.0 feet at the Galveston Flagship pier and 5.3 feet at Anahuac.2,4 Six tornadoes were reported over eastern Texas, though NHC could not say whether they were tornadoes or severe downbursts.2 Three people died when their car went off the Galveston seawall.4

Sources

  1. 1. NOAA National Hurricane Center: Preliminary Report, Hurricane Jerry, 12-16 October 1989 (scanned page 1)
  2. 2. NOAA National Hurricane Center: Preliminary Report, Hurricane Jerry, 12-16 October 1989 (scanned page 2)
  3. 3. NOAA National Hurricane Center: Atlantic hurricane database (HURDAT2), 1851 to 2025
  4. 4. NOAA National Hurricane Center: Preliminary Report, Hurricane Jerry, 12-16 October 1989 (scanned page 3)

Best track (20 positions)

TimeStatusWindPressurePosition
Oct 12, 12:00 UTCTropical depression29 mph1009 mb19.4°N, 92.4°W
Oct 12, 18:00 UTCTropical depression35 mph1006 mb19.8°N, 92.7°W
Oct 13, 00:00 UTCTropical storm40 mph1004 mb20.4°N, 93.0°W
Oct 13, 06:00 UTCTropical storm46 mph1001 mb21.0°N, 93.2°W
Oct 13, 12:00 UTCTropical storm52 mph997 mb21.7°N, 93.3°W
Oct 13, 18:00 UTCTropical storm58 mph995 mb22.6°N, 93.4°W
Oct 14, 00:00 UTCTropical storm63 mph991 mb23.5°N, 93.5°W
Oct 14, 06:00 UTCTropical storm63 mph992 mb24.2°N, 93.3°W
Oct 14, 12:00 UTCTropical storm63 mph992 mb24.6°N, 93.1°W
Oct 14, 18:00 UTCTropical storm63 mph994 mb25.0°N, 92.8°W
Oct 15, 00:00 UTCTropical storm63 mph994 mb25.8°N, 93.1°W
Oct 15, 06:00 UTCTropical storm63 mph994 mb26.5°N, 93.4°W
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