Hurricane Earl (2016)

Track map, landfall & timeline · Atlantic · August 2–6, 2016

Peak wind

86 mph

139 km/h · Aug 4

Peak category

Cat 1

Saffir–Simpson

Lowest pressure

979 mb

Landfalls

Belize · Veracruz, Mexico

Lifetime

4.3 d

Aug 2 – Aug 6

Distance

1,359 mi

2,186 km

ACE

4.6

storm energy

Deaths

per Wikidata

TD TS Cat 1 2 3 4 5 · dashed = post-tropical / remnant low. During the replay the shaded rings show the storm’s wind field as analysed by NHC — 39+, 58+ and 74+ mph winds, quadrant by quadrant. Click any point or table row to jump there.

01 · The story

What happened with Earl

Hurricane Earl (2016) was a Category 1 hurricane of the 2016 Atlantic season. It formed on August 2, 2016, 116 mi S of May Pen, Jamaica, reached its peak of 86 mph (139 km/h) and a minimum pressure of 979 mb on August 4, 2016, and made landfall 3 times — first 27 mi ESE of Belize City, Belize on August 4, 2016 as a Category 1 hurricane (86 mph). Later landfalls: 10 mi SW of Belize City, Belize on August 4, 2016 as a Category 1 hurricane (86 mph); 16 mi SE of Veracruz, Veracruz, Mexico on August 6, 2016 as a tropical storm (58 mph). The storm lasted 4.3 days and travelled about 1,359 miles (2,186 km). According to Wikidata, it caused 65 deaths.

02 · Intensity

Wind and pressure, hour by hour

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

03 · Impact

Landfalls and cities in the path

Landfall (UTC)	Where	Strength	Pressure
August 4, 2016 · 04:00 UTC	27 mi ESE of Belize City, Belize	Cat 1 86 mph	979 mb
August 4, 2016 · 06:00 UTC	10 mi SW of Belize City, Belize	Cat 1 86 mph	979 mb
August 6, 2016 · 03:00 UTC	16 mi SE of Veracruz, Veracruz, Mexico	TS 58 mph	999 mb

Closest approach to major cities

City	Distance to center	When (UTC)	Storm strength then
Villahermosa, Tabasco, Mexico	29 mi	Aug 5 · 09:00 UTC	TS 43 mph
Coatzacoalcos, Veracruz, Mexico	35 mi	Aug 5 · 16:00 UTC	TS 54 mph
Veracruz, Veracruz, Mexico	13 mi	Aug 6 · 04:00 UTC	TS 56 mph
Xalapa de Enríquez, Veracruz, Mexico	37 mi	Aug 6 · 08:00 UTC	TS 44 mph
Puebla, Puebla, Mexico	46 mi	Aug 6 · 12:00 UTC	TD 29 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 20 positions

Date · UTC	Status	Wind	Pressure	Position	Nearest place
Aug 2 06:00	TS	46 mph	1004 mb	16.3°N 77.5°W	116 mi S of May Pen, Jamaica
Aug 2 12:00	TS	46 mph	1003 mb	16.3°N 79.2°W	147 mi SSW of Negril, Jamaica
Aug 2 18:00	TS	52 mph	1001 mb	16.3°N 80.8°W	open ocean
Aug 3 00:00	TS	63 mph	994 mb	16.4°N 82.2°W	158 mi ENE of Brus Laguna, Honduras
Aug 3 06:00	TS	63 mph	993 mb	16.0°N 83.1°W	94 mi E of Brus Laguna, Honduras
Aug 3 12:00	TS	69 mph	989 mb	16.3°N 84.3°W	40 mi NNE of Brus Laguna, Honduras
Aug 3 18:00	Cat 1	75 mph	988 mb	16.9°N 85.4°W	68 mi NNW of Iriona, Honduras
Aug 4 00:00	Cat 1	81 mph	984 mb	17.3°N 86.9°W	82 mi ESE of San Pedro, Belize
Aug 4 04:00	Cat 1 LANDFALL	86 mph	979 mb	17.4°N 87.8°W	27 mi ESE of Belize City, Belize
Aug 4 06:00	Cat 1 LANDFALL	86 mph	979 mb	17.4°N 88.3°W	10 mi SW of Belize City, Belize
Aug 4 12:00	TS	69 mph	989 mb	17.4°N 89.4°W	27 mi NW of San Ignacio, Belize
Aug 4 18:00	TS	46 mph	995 mb	17.6°N 90.3°W	53 mi NNW of San Benito, Guatemala
Aug 5 00:00	TS	40 mph	1000 mb	18.0°N 91.2°W	26 mi ENE of Balancán, Tabasco, Mexico
Aug 5 06:00	TS	40 mph	1001 mb	18.3°N 92.3°W	28 mi SE of Frontera, Tabasco, Mexico
Aug 5 12:00	TS	46 mph	1001 mb	18.5°N 93.5°W	20 mi WNW of Paraiso, Tabasco, Mexico
Aug 5 18:00	TS	58 mph	999 mb	18.7°N 94.7°W	33 mi NE of Catemaco, Veracruz, Mexico
Aug 6 00:00	TS	58 mph	999 mb	18.9°N 95.6°W	14 mi NE of Alvarado, Veracruz, Mexico
Aug 6 03:00	TS LANDFALL	58 mph	999 mb	19.0°N 96.0°W	16 mi SE of Veracruz, Veracruz, Mexico
Aug 6 06:00	TS	52 mph	1004 mb	19.0°N 96.5°W	near Soledad de Doblado, Veracruz, Mexico
Aug 6 12:00	TD	29 mph	1008 mb	19.0°N 97.5°W	near Ciudad Serdán, Puebla, Mexico

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

Questions

Frequently asked questions

When and where did Earl make landfall?

Earl made landfall 3 times: 27 mi ESE of Belize City, Belize on August 4, 2016 at 04:00 UTC, as a Category 1 hurricane with 86 mph winds; 10 mi SW of Belize City, Belize on August 4, 2016 at 06:00 UTC, as a Category 1 hurricane with 86 mph winds; 16 mi SE of Veracruz, Veracruz, Mexico on August 6, 2016 at 03:00 UTC, as a tropical storm with 58 mph winds.

What category was Earl?

At its peak on August 4, 2016, Earl was a Category 1 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 86 mph (139 km/h) and a central pressure of 979 mb. At its first landfall it was a Category 1 hurricane.

How long did Earl last?

4.3 days, from August 2, 2016 to August 6, 2016, including 18 hours at hurricane strength. It travelled about 1,359 miles.

How many people died in Earl?

Wikidata records 65 deaths for Hurricane Earl. Casualty figures for tropical cyclones vary between sources; see the linked encyclopedia article for context.

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 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 · this page 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 2016

Year	Storm	Peak	Landfall
2016	Hurricane Matthew Atlantic	Cat 5 167 mph	Haiti, Guantánamo Province, Cuba	→
2016	Hurricane Seymour Eastern Pacific	Cat 4 150 mph	—	→
2016	Hurricane Lester Eastern Pacific	Cat 4 144 mph	—	→
2016	Hurricane Nicole Atlantic	Cat 4 138 mph	—	→
2016	Hurricane Blas Eastern Pacific	Cat 4 138 mph	—	→
2016	Hurricane Georgette Eastern Pacific	Cat 4 132 mph	—	→
2016	Hurricane Madeline Eastern Pacific	Cat 4 132 mph	—	→
2016	Hurricane Gaston Atlantic	Cat 3 121 mph	—	→

See every 2016 storm on one map →

Background reading: Hurricane Earl on Wikipedia.

← Previous Atlantic stormTropical Storm Danielle (2016)Next Atlantic storm →Hurricane Gaston (2016)

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