Hurricane Elena (1985)

Track map, landfall & timeline · Atlantic · August 28 – September 4, 1985

Peak wind

127 mph

204 km/h · Sep 1

Peak category

Cat 3

Saffir–Simpson

Lowest pressure

953 mb

Landfalls

Mississippi

Lifetime

7.8 d

Aug 28 – Sep 4

Distance

2,396 mi

3,855 km

ACE

15.8

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 Elena

Hurricane Elena (1985) was a Category 3 hurricane of the 1985 Atlantic season. It formed on August 28, 1985, 32 mi SSE of Maisí, Guantánamo Province, Cuba, reached its peak of 127 mph (204 km/h) and a minimum pressure of 953 mb on September 1, 1985, and made landfall near West Gulfport, Mississippi on September 2, 1985 as a Category 3 hurricane (115 mph). It rapidly intensified by 40 mph in 24 hours (to 75 mph on August 29, 1985). The storm lasted 7.8 days and travelled about 2,396 miles (3,855 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 2, 1985 · 13:00 UTC	near West Gulfport, Mississippi	Cat 3 115 mph	959 mb

Closest approach to major cities

City	Distance to center	When (UTC)	Storm strength then
Santiago de Cuba, Santiago de Cuba Province, Cuba	43 mi	Aug 28 · 05:00 UTC	TD 35 mph
Holguín, Holguín Province, Cuba	direct hit	Aug 28 · 07:00 UTC	TD 35 mph
Camagüey, Camagüey, Cuba	24 mi	Aug 28 · 11:00 UTC	TD 35 mph
Havana, Havana, Cuba	23 mi	Aug 29 · 02:00 UTC	TS 59 mph
Mobile, Alabama	48 mi	Sep 2 · 10:00 UTC	Cat 3 117 mph
New Orleans, Louisiana	53 mi	Sep 2 · 15:00 UTC	Cat 2 97 mph
Baton Rouge, Louisiana	59 mi	Sep 2 · 19:00 UTC	TS 66 mph
Shreveport, Louisiana	35 mi	Sep 3 · 09:00 UTC	TD 32 mph
Springfield, Missouri	12 mi	Sep 4 · 07:00 UTC	TD 23 mph
St. Louis, Missouri	66 mi	Sep 4 · 18:00 UTC	TD 23 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 28 00:00	TD	35 mph	1012 mb	19.8°N 74.0°W	32 mi SSE of Maisí, Guantánamo Province, Cuba
Aug 28 06:00	TD	35 mph	1010 mb	20.8°N 76.0°W	18 mi ESE of Holguín, Holguín Province, Cuba
Aug 28 12:00	TD	35 mph	1008 mb	21.8°N 78.0°W	near Esmeralda, Camagüey, Cuba
Aug 28 18:00	TS	52 mph	1006 mb	22.6°N 80.0°W	near Cifuentes, Villa Clara Province, Cuba
Aug 29 00:00	TS	58 mph	1004 mb	23.2°N 81.8°W	near Santa Cruz del Norte, Mayabeque, Cuba
Aug 29 06:00	TS	63 mph	1000 mb	24.0°N 83.5°W	79 mi NNW of Bahía Honda, Artemisa, Cuba
Aug 29 12:00	Cat 1	75 mph	994 mb	25.0°N 85.0°W	180 mi NNW of Minas de Matahambre, Pinar del Río, Cuba
Aug 29 18:00	Cat 1	81 mph	990 mb	25.9°N 85.8°W	open ocean
Aug 30 00:00	Cat 1	86 mph	986 mb	26.6°N 86.6°W	open ocean
Aug 30 06:00	Cat 1	92 mph	980 mb	27.3°N 87.2°W	open ocean
Aug 30 12:00	Cat 2	104 mph	974 mb	27.9°N 87.3°W	164 mi S of Gulf Shores, Alabama
Aug 30 18:00	Cat 2	104 mph	978 mb	28.3°N 86.8°W	146 mi SSW of Panama City, Florida
Aug 31 00:00	Cat 2	104 mph	977 mb	28.4°N 86.0°W	123 mi S of Panama City, Florida
Aug 31 06:00	Cat 2	104 mph	976 mb	28.6°N 85.3°W	110 mi SSE of Panama City, Florida
Aug 31 12:00	Cat 2	104 mph	975 mb	28.8°N 84.4°W	113 mi S of Tallahassee, Florida
Aug 31 18:00	Cat 2	104 mph	974 mb	28.8°N 84.0°W	86 mi WNW of Bayonet Point, Florida
Sep 1 00:00	Cat 2	109 mph	971 mb	28.8°N 83.8°W	75 mi WNW of Bayonet Point, Florida
Sep 1 06:00	Cat 3	115 mph	965 mb	28.6°N 83.9°W	78 mi WNW of Palm Harbor, Florida
Sep 1 12:00	Cat 3	121 mph	961 mb	28.6°N 84.2°W	96 mi WNW of Clearwater, Florida
Sep 1 18:00	Cat 3	127 mph	954 mb	28.9°N 84.8°W	98 mi SSE of Callaway, Florida
Sep 2 00:00	Cat 3	127 mph	953 mb	29.4°N 85.9°W	54 mi SSW of Panama City, Florida
Sep 2 06:00	Cat 3	121 mph	957 mb	29.7°N 87.3°W	45 mi SSE of Gulf Shores, Alabama
Sep 2 12:00	Cat 3	115 mph	959 mb	30.2°N 88.8°W	14 mi SSE of Biloxi, Mississippi
Sep 2 13:00	Cat 3 LANDFALL	115 mph	959 mb	30.4°N 89.2°W	near West Gulfport, Mississippi
Sep 2 18:00	TS	69 mph	990 mb	31.0°N 90.4°W	17 mi S of McComb, Mississippi
Sep 3 00:00	TS	52 mph	1000 mb	31.9°N 91.8°W	33 mi NW of Natchez, Mississippi
Sep 3 06:00	TD	35 mph	1004 mb	32.4°N 92.8°W	13 mi SW of Ruston, Louisiana
Sep 3 12:00	TD	29 mph	1006 mb	33.2°N 93.7°W	25 mi SE of Texarkana, Texas
Sep 3 18:00	TD	29 mph	1008 mb	34.5°N 94.0°W	54 mi W of Hot Springs, Arkansas
Sep 4 00:00	TD	23 mph	1010 mb	35.9°N 93.9°W	18 mi SE of Fayetteville, Arkansas
Sep 4 06:00	TD	23 mph	1010 mb	37.0°N 93.2°W	near Ozark, Missouri
Sep 4 12:00	TD	23 mph	1010 mb	38.0°N 92.5°W	24 mi NNE of Lebanon, Missouri
Sep 4 18:00	TD	23 mph	1010 mb	38.8°N 91.4°W	26 mi WSW of Troy, Missouri

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

Questions

Frequently asked questions

When and where did Elena make landfall?

Elena made landfall once: near West Gulfport, Mississippi on September 2, 1985 at 13:00 UTC, as a Category 3 hurricane with 115 mph winds.

What category was Elena?

At its peak on September 1, 1985, Elena was a Category 3 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 127 mph (204 km/h) and a central pressure of 953 mb. At its first landfall it was a Category 3 hurricane.

How long did Elena last?

7.8 days, from August 28, 1985 to September 4, 1985, including 102 hours at hurricane strength (36 as a major hurricane). It travelled about 2,396 miles.

Where can I download the track data for Elena?

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 Elena

Year	Storm	Peak	Landfall
1965	Hurricane Elena Atlantic	Cat 2 109 mph	—	→
1979	Tropical Storm Elena Atlantic	TS 40 mph	—	→
1985	Hurricane Elena · this page Atlantic	Cat 3 127 mph	Mississippi

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

Strongest storms of 1985

Year	Storm	Peak	Landfall
1985	Hurricane Gloria Atlantic	Cat 4 144 mph	North Carolina, New York	→
1985	Hurricane Rick Eastern Pacific	Cat 4 144 mph	—	→
1985	Hurricane Ignacio Eastern Pacific	Cat 4 132 mph	—	→
1985	Hurricane Jimena Eastern Pacific	Cat 4 132 mph	—	→
1985	Hurricane Sandra Eastern Pacific	Cat 3 127 mph	—	→
1985	Hurricane Kate Atlantic	Cat 3 121 mph	Florida	→
1985	Hurricane Blanca Eastern Pacific	Cat 3 121 mph	—	→
1985	Hurricane Dolores Eastern Pacific	Cat 3 115 mph	—	→

See every 1985 storm on one map →

Background reading: Hurricane Elena on Wikipedia.

← Previous Atlantic stormHurricane Danny (1985)Next Atlantic storm →Hurricane Gloria (1985)

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