Hurricane Gilbert (1988)

Track map, landfall & timeline · Atlantic · September 8–20, 1988

Peak wind

184 mph

296 km/h · Sep 14

Peak category

Cat 5

Saffir–Simpson

Lowest pressure

888 mb

Landfalls

Quintana Roo, Mexico · Jamaica

Lifetime

11.3 d

Sep 8 – Sep 20

Distance

4,984 mi

8,020 km

ACE

32.8

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 Gilbert

Hurricane Gilbert (1988) was a Category 5 hurricane of the 1988 Atlantic season. It formed on September 8, 1988, reached its peak of 184 mph (296 km/h) and a minimum pressure of 888 mb on September 14, 1988, and made landfall 3 times — first 14 mi S of Kingston, Jamaica on September 12, 1988 as a Category 4 hurricane (132 mph). Later landfalls: near Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo, Mexico on September 14, 1988 as a Category 5 hurricane (161 mph); 38 mi ENE of Abasolo, Tamaulipas, Mexico on September 16, 1988 as a Category 3 hurricane (127 mph). It rapidly intensified by 57 mph in 24 hours (to 184 mph on September 14, 1988). The storm lasted 11.3 days and travelled about 4,984 miles (8,020 km).

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
September 12, 1988 · 17:00 UTC	14 mi S of Kingston, Jamaica	Cat 4 132 mph	960 mb
September 14, 1988 · 15:00 UTC	near Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo, Mexico	Cat 5 161 mph	900 mb
September 16, 1988 · 22:00 UTC	38 mi ENE of Abasolo, Tamaulipas, Mexico	Cat 3 127 mph	955 mb

Closest approach to major cities

City	Distance to center	When (UTC)	Storm strength then
Kingston, Jamaica	10 mi	Sep 12 · 18:00 UTC	Cat 3 127 mph
New Kingston, Jamaica	11 mi	Sep 12 · 18:00 UTC	Cat 3 127 mph
Cancún, Quintana Roo, Mexico	34 mi	Sep 14 · 15:00 UTC	Cat 5 161 mph
Mérida, Yucatán, Mexico	24 mi	Sep 15 · 00:00 UTC	Cat 3 115 mph
Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico	49 mi	Sep 17 · 12:00 UTC	TS 40 mph
Guadalupe, Nuevo León, Mexico	49 mi	Sep 17 · 12:00 UTC	TS 40 mph
Saltillo, Coahuila, Mexico	20 mi	Sep 17 · 14:00 UTC	TD 38 mph
Torreón, Coahuila, Mexico	34 mi	Sep 18 · 00:00 UTC	TD 35 mph
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma	25 mi	Sep 19 · 06:00 UTC	TD 29 mph
Chicago, Illinois	29 mi	Sep 19 · 21:00 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 49 positions

Date · UTC	Status	Wind	Pressure	Position	Nearest place
Sep 8 18:00	TD	29 mph	1008 mb	12.0°N 54.0°W	open ocean
Sep 9 00:00	TD	29 mph	1007 mb	12.7°N 55.6°W	open ocean
Sep 9 06:00	TD	35 mph	1006 mb	13.3°N 57.1°W	170 mi E of Bridgetown, Barbados
Sep 9 12:00	TD	35 mph	1005 mb	14.0°N 58.6°W	92 mi NE of Bridgetown, Barbados
Sep 9 18:00	TS	40 mph	1004 mb	14.5°N 60.1°W	54 mi E of Le François, Martinique
Sep 10 00:00	TS	46 mph	1002 mb	14.8°N 61.5°W	32 mi WNW of Fort-de-France, Martinique
Sep 10 06:00	TS	52 mph	998 mb	15.0°N 62.8°W	96 mi WSW of Roseau, Dominica
Sep 10 12:00	TS	58 mph	995 mb	15.3°N 64.1°W	165 mi WSW of Basse-Terre, Guadeloupe
Sep 10 18:00	TS	63 mph	992 mb	15.7°N 65.4°W	147 mi SSW of Saint Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands
Sep 11 00:00	Cat 1	75 mph	989 mb	15.9°N 66.8°W	146 mi S of Ponce, Puerto Rico
Sep 11 06:00	Cat 1	92 mph	982 mb	16.2°N 68.0°W	142 mi SSW of Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico
Sep 11 12:00	Cat 2	109 mph	975 mb	16.1°N 69.5°W	166 mi S of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
Sep 11 18:00	Cat 3	115 mph	970 mb	16.2°N 70.7°W	141 mi S of Santa Cruz de Barahona, Dominican Republic
Sep 12 00:00	Cat 3	121 mph	964 mb	16.8°N 72.0°W	87 mi S of Pedernales, Dominican Republic
Sep 12 06:00	Cat 3	127 mph	962 mb	17.3°N 73.7°W	62 mi S of Les Cayes, Haiti
Sep 12 12:00	Cat 3	127 mph	960 mb	17.6°N 75.3°W	86 mi ESE of Port Antonio, Jamaica
Sep 12 17:00	Cat 4 LANDFALL	132 mph	960 mb	17.8°N 76.8°W	14 mi S of Kingston, Jamaica
Sep 12 18:00	Cat 3	127 mph	960 mb	17.9°N 76.9°W	10 mi SW of Kingston, Jamaica
Sep 13 00:00	Cat 3	127 mph	960 mb	18.2°N 78.5°W	11 mi WSW of Negril, Jamaica
Sep 13 06:00	Cat 4	132 mph	952 mb	18.5°N 79.7°W	90 mi W of Negril, Jamaica
Sep 13 12:00	Cat 4	144 mph	934 mb	18.8°N 81.1°W	34 mi SSE of Bodden Town, Cayman Islands
Sep 13 18:00	Cat 5	161 mph	905 mb	19.4°N 82.5°W	74 mi W of George Town, Cayman Islands
Sep 14 00:00	Cat 5	184 mph	888 mb	19.7°N 83.8°W	158 mi W of West Bay, Cayman Islands
Sep 14 06:00	Cat 5	178 mph	889 mb	19.9°N 85.3°W	114 mi ESE of Cozumel, Quintana Roo, Mexico
Sep 14 12:00	Cat 5	167 mph	892 mb	20.4°N 86.5°W	29 mi ESE of Cozumel, Quintana Roo, Mexico
Sep 14 15:00	Cat 5 LANDFALL	161 mph	900 mb	20.7°N 87.0°W	near Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo, Mexico
Sep 14 18:00	Cat 4	150 mph	925 mb	20.9°N 87.8°W	19 mi NNE of Chemax, Yucatán, Mexico
Sep 15 00:00	Cat 3	115 mph	944 mb	21.3°N 89.5°W	11 mi E of Progreso, Yucatán, Mexico
Sep 15 06:00	Cat 2	104 mph	949 mb	21.6°N 90.7°W	67 mi NW of Hunucmá, Yucatán, Mexico
Sep 15 12:00	Cat 2	98 mph	950 mb	21.9°N 91.7°W	132 mi WNW of Hunucmá, Yucatán, Mexico
Sep 15 18:00	Cat 2	104 mph	950 mb	22.1°N 92.8°W	open ocean
Sep 16 00:00	Cat 3	115 mph	949 mb	22.5°N 93.8°W	open ocean
Sep 16 06:00	Cat 3	127 mph	946 mb	22.9°N 94.8°W	open ocean
Sep 16 12:00	Cat 4	132 mph	948 mb	23.7°N 95.9°W	146 mi E of Soto la Marina, Tamaulipas, Mexico
Sep 16 18:00	Cat 4	132 mph	950 mb	23.9°N 97.0°W	77 mi E of Soto la Marina, Tamaulipas, Mexico
Sep 16 22:00	Cat 3 LANDFALL	127 mph	955 mb	24.2°N 97.8°W	39 mi NE of Soto la Marina, Tamaulipas, Mexico
Sep 17 00:00	Cat 1	92 mph	964 mb	24.4°N 98.2°W	31 mi S of San Fernando, Tamaulipas, Mexico
Sep 17 06:00	TS	58 mph	988 mb	24.8°N 99.3°W	17 mi ESE of Linares, Nuevo León, Mexico
Sep 17 12:00	TS	40 mph	996 mb	25.0°N 100.5°W	42 mi SE of Saltillo, Coahuila, Mexico
Sep 17 18:00	TD	35 mph	1000 mb	25.4°N 101.9°W	18 mi E of Parras de la Fuente, Coahuila, Mexico
Sep 18 00:00	TD	35 mph	1002 mb	26.0°N 103.2°W	16 mi NNE of Francisco I. Madero, Coahuila, Mexico
Sep 18 06:00	TD	35 mph	1004 mb	27.6°N 103.7°W	82 mi ENE of José Mariano Jiménez, Chihuahua, Mexico
Sep 18 12:00	TD	29 mph	1003 mb	29.3°N 102.6°W	99 mi W of Ciudad Acuña, Coahuila, Mexico
Sep 18 18:00	TD	29 mph	1003 mb	31.5°N 101.3°W	51 mi W of San Angelo, Texas
Sep 19 00:00	TD	29 mph	1002 mb	33.2°N 99.7°W	52 mi N of Abilene, Texas
Sep 19 06:00	TD	29 mph	1001 mb	35.8°N 97.7°W	16 mi NW of Edmond, Oklahoma
Sep 19 12:00	TD	29 mph	999 mb	37.7°N 93.2°W	13 mi ENE of Bolivar, Missouri
Sep 19 18:00	TD extratropical	29 mph	998 mb	40.2°N 89.9°W	31 mi NNW of Springfield, Illinois
Sep 20 00:00	TD extratropical	29 mph	995 mb	43.4°N 86.5°W	17 mi NW of Muskegon, Michigan

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

Questions

Frequently asked questions

When and where did Gilbert make landfall?

Gilbert made landfall 3 times: 14 mi S of Kingston, Jamaica on September 12, 1988 at 17:00 UTC, as a Category 4 hurricane with 132 mph winds; near Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo, Mexico on September 14, 1988 at 15:00 UTC, as a Category 5 hurricane with 161 mph winds; 38 mi ENE of Abasolo, Tamaulipas, Mexico on September 16, 1988 at 22:00 UTC, as a Category 3 hurricane with 127 mph winds.

What category was Gilbert?

At its peak on September 14, 1988, Gilbert was a Category 5 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 184 mph (296 km/h) and a central pressure of 888 mb. At its first landfall it was a Category 4 hurricane.

How long did Gilbert last?

11.3 days, from September 8, 1988 to September 20, 1988, including 150 hours at hurricane strength (108 as a major hurricane). It travelled about 4,984 miles.

Where can I download the track data for Gilbert?

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

Strongest storms of 1988

Year	Storm	Peak	Landfall
1988	Hurricane Helene Atlantic	Cat 4 144 mph	—	→
1988	Hurricane Joan Atlantic	Cat 4 144 mph	Nicaragua, Venezuela	→
1988	Hurricane Hector Eastern Pacific	Cat 4 144 mph	—	→
1988	Hurricane Fabio Eastern Pacific	Cat 4 138 mph	—	→
1988	Hurricane Uleki Central Pacific	Cat 3 127 mph	—	→
1988	Hurricane Iva Eastern Pacific	Cat 2 104 mph	—	→
1988	Hurricane Lane Eastern Pacific	Cat 2 104 mph	—	→
1988	Hurricane Kristy Eastern Pacific	Cat 1 92 mph	—	→

See every 1988 storm on one map →

Background reading: Hurricane Gilbert on Wikipedia.

← Previous Atlantic stormHurricane Florence (1988)Next Atlantic storm →Hurricane Helene (1988)

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