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Hurricane Georges (1998)

Hurricane Georges was a Category 4 hurricane at its peak, with 155 mph winds and a lowest pressure of 937 mb, per NOAA's National Hurricane Center. Modeled winds reached tropical-storm force (39 mph) at 23 of the cities we track; the strongest was New Orleans, LA, with a modeled peak gust of 115 mph.

Peak strength155 mph winds (1-minute)
Category 4
Cities with tropical-storm-force windsModeled, of the cities we track
23
LandfallsFirst September 21, 1998
7
Lowest pressure
937 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 Georges’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 21, 1998, Category 3 at 115 mph, in Antigua and Barbuda
  2. September 21, 1998, Category 3 at 115 mph, in Saint Kitts and Nevis
  3. September 21, 1998, Category 3 at 115 mph, in Puerto Rico
  4. September 22, 1998, Category 3 at 121 mph, in the Dominican Republic
  5. September 23, 1998, Category 1 at 75 mph, in Cuba
  6. September 25, 1998, Category 2 at 104 mph, about 114 miles from Naples, FL
  7. September 28, 1998, Category 2 at 104 mph, about 10 miles from Gulfport, MS

Modeled winds at cities (23)

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

CityPeak gustSustainedClosest passPeak
New Orleans, LA115 mph94 mph66 milesSep 28, 1998, 6:45 AM CDT
Daphne, AL115 mph93 mph23 milesSep 28, 1998, 6:45 AM CDT
Mobile, AL114 mph93 mph12 milesSep 28, 1998, 1:45 AM CDT
Slidell, LA113 mph92 mph51 milesSep 28, 1998, 6:45 AM CDT
Pensacola, FL111 mph90 mph28 milesSep 28, 1998, 4:15 AM EDT
Gulfport, MS104 mph85 mph10 milesSep 28, 1998, 1:00 AM CDT
Baton Rouge, LA101 mph82 mph127 milesSep 28, 1998, 6:30 AM CDT
Crestview, FL99 mph80 mph0 milesSep 28, 1998, 5:30 AM EDT
Jackson, MS94 mph77 mph138 milesSep 28, 1998, 6:30 AM CDT
Lafayette, LA84 mph68 mph183 milesSep 28, 1998, 6:30 AM CDT
Montgomery, AL79 mph64 mph112 milesSep 28, 1998, 6:30 AM CDT
Tuscaloosa, AL77 mph63 mph158 milesSep 28, 1998, 6:30 AM CDT
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What happened

Georges made landfall at Key West, Florida, at 1530 UTC (11:30 a.m. EDT) on September 25, 1998, a Category 2 hurricane with 90-knot (104 mph) winds.1 The highest gust measured in the Keys was 96 knots (110 mph), at Marathon.1 Storm surge of 4 to 6 feet was typical in the Keys. NOAA's Storm Events Database says the surge caused most of the damage there and destroyed docks, piers and seawalls.1,2 NHC counted 1,536 homes damaged in the Keys, 173 of them destroyed, many of them mobile homes. NOAA's Storm Events Database lists $250 million in property damage in the Lower Keys of Monroe County.1,3

Georges then made landfall near Biloxi, Mississippi, at 1130 UTC (6:30 a.m. CDT) on September 28, again with 90-knot (104 mph) winds.1 An anemometer one mile north of the beach in Biloxi measured a 102-knot (117 mph) gust.1 Surge reached 8.9 feet at Point Cadet in Biloxi and 11.9 feet at Fort Morgan, Alabama. An 8 to 11 foot surge in Jackson County, Mississippi, heavily damaged or destroyed 23 of 27 homes along the east beach of Bellefontaine.1,4 On Dauphin Island, Alabama, 80 houses were damaged and nearly 40 destroyed, and several motels from Gulf Shores to Destin had major damage.5 NOAA's Storm Events Database lists $370 million in property damage in Jackson County and $210 million in Harrison County.4,6

Georges dropped 38.46 inches of rain at Munson, Florida, and 10 to 20 inches over most of southern Mississippi, southern Alabama and the Florida Panhandle.1,5 River flooding reached hundreds of structures in Jackson County, and many homes along the Perdido and Styx rivers were destroyed or badly damaged.4,5 NHC reported one direct US death, in Mobile, and put US damage, including Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands, at $6.365 billion (revised in 2011).1

Sources

  1. 1. NOAA National Hurricane Center: Preliminary Report, Hurricane Georges, 15 September to 1 October 1998
  2. 2. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information: Storm Events Database: Storm Surge/Tide, Monroe County, Florida, September 25, 1998
  3. 3. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information: Storm Events Database: Hurricane, Monroe County (Lower Keys), Florida, September 25, 1998
  4. 4. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information: Storm Events Database: Hurricane, Jackson County, Mississippi, September 1998
  5. 5. NWS Mobile/Pensacola: Hurricane Georges, September 1998
  6. 6. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information: Storm Events Database: Hurricane, Harrison County, Mississippi, September 1998

Best track (71 positions)

TimeStatusWindPressurePosition
Sep 15, 12:00 UTCTropical depression35 mph1009 mb9.7°N, 25.1°W
Sep 15, 18:00 UTCTropical depression35 mph1009 mb9.8°N, 26.5°W
Sep 16, 00:00 UTCTropical depression35 mph1009 mb10.0°N, 28.1°W
Sep 16, 06:00 UTCTropical depression35 mph1009 mb10.3°N, 29.7°W
Sep 16, 12:00 UTCTropical storm40 mph1005 mb10.6°N, 31.3°W
Sep 16, 18:00 UTCTropical storm40 mph1003 mb11.0°N, 32.9°W
Sep 17, 00:00 UTCTropical storm52 mph1000 mb11.3°N, 34.6°W
Sep 17, 06:00 UTCTropical storm58 mph997 mb11.7°N, 36.3°W
Sep 17, 12:00 UTCTropical storm63 mph994 mb12.0°N, 38.1°W
Sep 17, 18:00 UTCCategory 1 hurricane75 mph987 mb12.3°N, 40.0°W
Sep 18, 00:00 UTCCategory 1 hurricane81 mph984 mb12.5°N, 42.0°W
Sep 18, 06:00 UTCCategory 1 hurricane92 mph977 mb12.8°N, 43.9°W
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