Hurricane Earl (1998)

Track map, landfall & timeline · Atlantic · August 31 – September 8, 1998

Peak wind

98 mph

157 km/h · Sep 2

Peak category

Cat 2

Saffir–Simpson

Lowest pressure

964 mb

Landfalls

Florida

Lifetime

8.0 d

Aug 31 – Sep 8

Distance

4,301 mi

6,920 km

ACE

3.9

storm energy

TD TS Cat 1 2 3 4 5 · dashed = post-tropical / remnant low. Click any point or table row to jump there.

01 · The story

What happened with Earl

Hurricane Earl (1998) was a Category 2 hurricane of the 1998 Atlantic season. It formed on August 31, 1998, 222 mi N of Paraiso, Tabasco, Mexico, reached its peak of 98 mph (157 km/h) and a minimum pressure of 964 mb on September 2, 1998, and made landfall near Panama City, Florida on September 3, 1998 as a Category 1 hurricane (81 mph). It rapidly intensified by 40 mph in 24 hours (to 98 mph on September 2, 1998). The storm lasted 8.0 days and travelled about 4,301 miles (6,920 km).

02 · Intensity

Wind and pressure, hour by hour

Maximum sustained wind (mph) — hover or drag to scrub the map

03 · Impact

Landfall and cities in the path

Landfall (UTC)	Where	Strength	Pressure
September 3, 1998 · 06:00 UTC	near Panama City, Florida	Cat 1 81 mph	987 mb

Closest approach to major cities

City	Distance to center	When (UTC)	Storm strength then
Tallahassee, Florida	36 mi	Sep 3 · 10:00 UTC	TS 61 mph
Fayetteville, North Carolina	24 mi	Sep 4 · 07:00 UTC	TS 58 mph
Raleigh, North Carolina	50 mi	Sep 4 · 09:00 UTC	TS 58 mph
West Raleigh, North Carolina	51 mi	Sep 4 · 09:00 UTC	TS 58 mph
Durham, North Carolina	71 mi	Sep 4 · 09:00 UTC	TS 58 mph
Cary, North Carolina	56 mi	Sep 4 · 09:00 UTC	TS 58 mph
Norfolk, Virginia	46 mi	Sep 4 · 15:00 UTC	TS 58 mph
Chesapeake, Virginia	44 mi	Sep 4 · 15:00 UTC	TS 58 mph
Newport News, Virginia	57 mi	Sep 4 · 15:00 UTC	TS 58 mph
Virginia Beach, Virginia	41 mi	Sep 4 · 16:00 UTC	TS 58 mph

Distance from the city to the storm’s center, interpolated hourly between official fixes. Damaging winds, surge and rain reach far beyond the center.

04 · Timeline

Every official fix 33 positions

Date · UTC	Status	Wind	Pressure	Position	Nearest place
Aug 31 12:00	TD	35 mph	1005 mb	21.6°N 93.5°W	open ocean
Aug 31 18:00	TS	40 mph	1002 mb	22.4°N 93.8°W	open ocean
Sep 1 00:00	TS	40 mph	1002 mb	23.2°N 93.7°W	open ocean
Sep 1 06:00	TS	46 mph	1001 mb	24.1°N 93.4°W	open ocean
Sep 1 12:00	TS	52 mph	999 mb	25.0°N 93.1°W	open ocean
Sep 1 18:00	TS	58 mph	998 mb	25.8°N 92.5°W	open ocean
Sep 2 00:00	TS	58 mph	998 mb	26.8°N 91.5°W	open ocean
Sep 2 06:00	TS	58 mph	996 mb	27.6°N 90.4°W	139 mi S of Houma, Louisiana
Sep 2 12:00	Cat 1	81 mph	994 mb	28.2°N 89.0°W	138 mi SSE of New Orleans, Louisiana
Sep 2 18:00	Cat 2	98 mph	988 mb	28.7°N 87.9°W	108 mi S of Gulf Shores, Alabama
Sep 3 00:00	Cat 1	92 mph	985 mb	29.4°N 86.8°W	69 mi S of Navarre, Florida
Sep 3 06:00	Cat 1 LANDFALL	81 mph	987 mb	30.1°N 85.7°W	near Panama City, Florida
Sep 3 12:00	TS	52 mph	990 mb	31.3°N 84.0°W	15 mi WNW of Moultrie, Georgia
Sep 3 18:00	TS extratropical	46 mph	994 mb	32.4°N 82.4°W	13 mi N of Vidalia, Georgia
Sep 4 00:00	TS extratropical	46 mph	994 mb	33.2°N 80.5°W	23 mi NW of Summerville, South Carolina
Sep 4 06:00	TS extratropical	58 mph	995 mb	34.5°N 79.0°W	near Lumberton, North Carolina
Sep 4 12:00	TS extratropical	58 mph	998 mb	35.9°N 77.2°W	22 mi NNE of Greenville, North Carolina
Sep 4 18:00	TS extratropical	58 mph	1000 mb	36.5°N 75.0°W	59 mi ESE of Virginia Beach, Virginia
Sep 5 00:00	TS extratropical	58 mph	1000 mb	38.0°N 71.0°W	open ocean
Sep 5 06:00	TS extratropical	58 mph	998 mb	40.0°N 65.5°W	open ocean
Sep 5 12:00	TS extratropical	58 mph	990 mb	42.5°N 61.0°W	open ocean
Sep 5 18:00	TS extratropical	58 mph	986 mb	45.0°N 56.0°W	open ocean
Sep 6 00:00	TS extratropical	58 mph	979 mb	47.0°N 54.0°W	58 mi SW of Conception Bay South, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada
Sep 6 06:00	TS extratropical	58 mph	968 mb	48.0°N 53.0°W	33 mi NNW of St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada
Sep 6 12:00	TS extratropical	63 mph	964 mb	49.0°N 52.0°W	104 mi NNE of St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada
Sep 6 18:00	TS extratropical	63 mph	966 mb	49.5°N 50.0°W	182 mi NE of St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada
Sep 7 00:00	TS extratropical	63 mph	968 mb	50.0°N 48.0°W	open ocean
Sep 7 06:00	TS extratropical	58 mph	970 mb	50.5°N 45.0°W	open ocean
Sep 7 12:00	TS extratropical	52 mph	978 mb	51.0°N 41.0°W	open ocean
Sep 7 18:00	TS extratropical	52 mph	978 mb	51.0°N 37.0°W	open ocean
Sep 8 00:00	TS extratropical	46 mph	982 mb	51.0°N 32.0°W	open ocean
Sep 8 06:00	TS extratropical	46 mph	982 mb	51.5°N 28.5°W	open ocean
Sep 8 12:00	TS extratropical	40 mph	983 mb	52.0°N 25.0°W	open ocean

⬇ Download track data (CSV) · public-domain NOAA best track

Questions

Frequently asked questions

When and where did Earl make landfall?

Earl made landfall once: near Panama City, Florida on September 3, 1998 at 06:00 UTC, as a Category 1 hurricane with 81 mph winds.

What category was Earl?

At its peak on September 2, 1998, Earl was a Category 2 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 98 mph (157 km/h) and a central pressure of 964 mb. At its first landfall it was a Category 1 hurricane.

How long did Earl last?

8.0 days, from August 31, 1998 to September 8, 1998, including 24 hours at hurricane strength. It travelled about 4,301 miles.

Where can I download the track data for Earl?

The 6-hourly positions, winds, pressure and wind radii are available as CSV on this page (track.csv) — they come from the NOAA National Hurricane Center's HURDAT2 database and are in the public domain.

Related storms

Keep exploring

Every storm named Earl

Year	Storm	Peak	Landfall
1980	Hurricane Earl Atlantic	Cat 1 75 mph	—	→
1986	Hurricane Earl Atlantic	Cat 2 104 mph	—	→
1992	Tropical Storm Earl Atlantic	TS 63 mph	—
1998	Hurricane Earl · this page Atlantic	Cat 2 98 mph	Florida
2004	Tropical Storm Earl Atlantic	TS 52 mph	—	→
2010	Hurricane Earl Atlantic	Cat 4 144 mph	Nova Scotia, Canada, Prince Edward Island, Canada	→
2016	Hurricane Earl Atlantic	Cat 1 86 mph	Belize, Veracruz, Mexico	→
2022	Hurricane Earl Atlantic	Cat 2 109 mph	—	→

Names are recycled every six years unless a storm is so deadly or costly that the name is retired.

Strongest storms of 1998

Year	Storm	Peak	Landfall
1998	Hurricane Mitch Atlantic	Cat 5 178 mph	Honduras, Florida	→
1998	Hurricane Georges Atlantic	Cat 4 155 mph	Dominican Republic, Antigua and Barbuda	→
1998	Hurricane Howard Eastern Pacific	Cat 4 150 mph	—	→
1998	Hurricane Blas Eastern Pacific	Cat 4 138 mph	—	→
1998	Hurricane Estelle Eastern Pacific	Cat 4 132 mph	—	→
1998	Hurricane Bonnie Atlantic	Cat 3 115 mph	North Carolina	→
1998	Hurricane Darby Eastern Pacific	Cat 3 115 mph	—	→
1998	Hurricane Georgette Eastern Pacific	Cat 3 115 mph	—	→

See every 1998 storm on one map →

Background reading: Hurricane Earl on Wikipedia.

← Previous Atlantic stormHurricane Danielle (1998)Next Atlantic storm →Tropical Storm Frances (1998)

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