Track map & timeline · Atlantic · September 19–30, 1988
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
Hurricane Helene (1988) was a Category 4 hurricane of the 1988 Atlantic season. It formed on September 19, 1988, reached its peak of 144 mph (232 km/h) and a minimum pressure of 938 mb on September 23, 1988, and never made landfall. It rapidly intensified by 35 mph in 24 hours (to 81 mph on September 21, 1988). The storm lasted 10.8 days and travelled about 4,229 miles (6,805 km).
02 · Intensity
03 · Timeline
| Date · UTC | Status | Wind | Pressure | Position | Nearest place |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 19 18:00 | TD | 35 mph | 1009 mb | 13.4°N 31.6°W | open ocean |
| Sep 20 00:00 | TD | 35 mph | 1008 mb | 13.3°N 32.7°W | open ocean |
| Sep 20 06:00 | TS | 40 mph | 1008 mb | 13.2°N 33.8°W | open ocean |
| Sep 20 12:00 | TS | 46 mph | 1004 mb | 13.0°N 34.8°W | open ocean |
| Sep 20 18:00 | TS | 52 mph | 1002 mb | 12.4°N 35.7°W | open ocean |
| Sep 21 00:00 | TS | 58 mph | 998 mb | 12.2°N 36.7°W | open ocean |
| Sep 21 06:00 | TS | 69 mph | 993 mb | 12.0°N 37.7°W | open ocean |
| Sep 21 12:00 | Cat 1 | 81 mph | 998 mb | 12.1°N 38.8°W | open ocean |
| Sep 21 18:00 | Cat 1 | 86 mph | 983 mb | 12.4°N 39.9°W | open ocean |
| Sep 22 00:00 | Cat 1 | 92 mph | 978 mb | 12.7°N 40.6°W | open ocean |
| Sep 22 06:00 | Cat 2 | 104 mph | 972 mb | 13.0°N 41.5°W | open ocean |
| Sep 22 12:00 | Cat 2 | 109 mph | 965 mb | 13.2°N 42.3°W | open ocean |
| Sep 22 18:00 | Cat 3 | 115 mph | 959 mb | 13.5°N 43.1°W | open ocean |
| Sep 23 00:00 | Cat 3 | 127 mph | 953 mb | 13.9°N 44.0°W | open ocean |
| Sep 23 06:00 | Cat 4 | 132 mph | 945 mb | 14.1°N 44.9°W | open ocean |
| Sep 23 12:00 | Cat 4 | 138 mph | 939 mb | 14.7°N 45.5°W | open ocean |
| Sep 23 18:00 | Cat 4 | 144 mph | 938 mb | 15.3°N 46.1°W | open ocean |
| Sep 24 00:00 | Cat 4 | 138 mph | 940 mb | 15.9°N 46.9°W | open ocean |
| Sep 24 06:00 | Cat 4 | 138 mph | 944 mb | 16.6°N 47.5°W | open ocean |
| Sep 24 12:00 | Cat 4 | 132 mph | 948 mb | 17.4°N 48.0°W | open ocean |
| Sep 24 18:00 | Cat 3 | 127 mph | 954 mb | 18.1°N 48.5°W | open ocean |
| Sep 25 00:00 | Cat 3 | 115 mph | 959 mb | 18.7°N 48.9°W | open ocean |
| Sep 25 06:00 | Cat 3 | 115 mph | 963 mb | 19.4°N 49.0°W | open ocean |
| Sep 25 12:00 | Cat 2 | 109 mph | 966 mb | 20.0°N 49.1°W | open ocean |
| Sep 25 18:00 | Cat 2 | 104 mph | 968 mb | 20.9°N 49.3°W | open ocean |
| Sep 26 00:00 | Cat 2 | 98 mph | 971 mb | 22.2°N 49.5°W | open ocean |
| Sep 26 06:00 | Cat 2 | 98 mph | 973 mb | 23.4°N 49.7°W | open ocean |
| Sep 26 12:00 | Cat 1 | 92 mph | 975 mb | 24.5°N 49.9°W | open ocean |
| Sep 26 18:00 | Cat 1 | 92 mph | 976 mb | 25.8°N 50.3°W | open ocean |
| Sep 27 00:00 | Cat 1 | 86 mph | 977 mb | 27.1°N 51.1°W | open ocean |
| Sep 27 06:00 | Cat 1 | 86 mph | 979 mb | 28.2°N 51.9°W | open ocean |
| Sep 27 12:00 | Cat 1 | 86 mph | 979 mb | 29.8°N 52.0°W | open ocean |
| Sep 27 18:00 | Cat 1 | 86 mph | 979 mb | 30.9°N 51.9°W | open ocean |
| Sep 28 00:00 | Cat 1 | 86 mph | 979 mb | 31.9°N 51.5°W | open ocean |
| Sep 28 06:00 | Cat 1 | 92 mph | 977 mb | 32.8°N 51.0°W | open ocean |
| Sep 28 12:00 | Cat 1 | 92 mph | 975 mb | 33.5°N 50.3°W | open ocean |
| Sep 28 18:00 | Cat 2 | 98 mph | 972 mb | 34.7°N 49.5°W | open ocean |
| Sep 29 00:00 | Cat 2 | 104 mph | 970 mb | 36.1°N 48.5°W | open ocean |
| Sep 29 06:00 | Cat 2 | 104 mph | 970 mb | 38.0°N 46.5°W | open ocean |
| Sep 29 12:00 | Cat 2 | 98 mph | 973 mb | 40.2°N 44.4°W | open ocean |
| Sep 29 18:00 | Cat 1 | 86 mph | 979 mb | 42.9°N 42.0°W | open ocean |
| Sep 30 00:00 | Cat 1 | 75 mph | 985 mb | 46.2°N 38.8°W | open ocean |
| Sep 30 06:00 | Cat 1 | 75 mph | 990 mb | 50.2°N 34.5°W | open ocean |
| Sep 30 12:00 | TS extratropical | 69 mph | 992 mb | 55.0°N 30.0°W | open ocean |
⬇ Download track data (CSV) · public-domain NOAA best track
Questions
No — the NOAA best-track record shows no landfall for Helene.
At its peak on September 23, 1988, Helene was a Category 4 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 144 mph (232 km/h) and a central pressure of 938 mb.
10.8 days, from September 19, 1988 to September 30, 1988, including 216 hours at hurricane strength (66 as a major hurricane). It travelled about 4,229 miles.
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.
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