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Hurricane Mitch (1998)

Hurricane Mitch was a Category 5 hurricane at its peak, with 178 mph winds and a lowest pressure of 905 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 Naples, FL, with a modeled peak gust of 54 mph.

Peak strength178 mph winds (1-minute)
Category 5
Cities with tropical-storm-force windsModeled, of the cities we track
1
LandfallsFirst October 29, 1998
3
Lowest pressure
905 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 Mitch’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 29, 1998, Category 1 at 81 mph, in Honduras
  2. November 4, 1998, tropical storm at 40 mph, in Mexico
  3. November 5, 1998, tropical storm at 63 mph, about 7 miles from Naples, FL

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
Naples, FL54 mph44 mph7 milesNov 5, 1998, 4:45 AM EST

Best track (78 positions)

TimeStatusWindPressurePosition
Oct 22, 00:00 UTCTropical depression35 mph1002 mb11.6°N, 76.1°W
Oct 22, 06:00 UTCTropical depression35 mph1002 mb11.9°N, 77.1°W
Oct 22, 12:00 UTCTropical depression35 mph1002 mb12.0°N, 77.9°W
Oct 22, 18:00 UTCTropical storm40 mph1001 mb11.6°N, 77.9°W
Oct 23, 00:00 UTCTropical storm46 mph1000 mb11.8°N, 77.6°W
Oct 23, 06:00 UTCTropical storm52 mph999 mb12.2°N, 77.6°W
Oct 23, 12:00 UTCTropical storm52 mph999 mb12.5°N, 77.8°W
Oct 23, 18:00 UTCTropical storm58 mph998 mb12.9°N, 78.0°W
Oct 24, 00:00 UTCTropical storm63 mph997 mb13.4°N, 77.9°W
Oct 24, 06:00 UTCCategory 1 hurricane75 mph990 mb13.9°N, 77.8°W
Oct 24, 12:00 UTCCategory 1 hurricane86 mph985 mb14.5°N, 77.9°W
Oct 24, 18:00 UTCCategory 2 hurricane104 mph980 mb15.0°N, 78.1°W
Show all 78