Hurricane Mitch (1998)

Track map, landfall & timeline · Atlantic · October 22 – November 9, 1998

Peak wind

178 mph

287 km/h · Oct 26

Peak category

Cat 5

Saffir–Simpson

Lowest pressure

905 mb

Landfalls

Honduras · Florida

Lifetime

18.8 d

Oct 22 – Nov 9

Distance

7,423 mi

11,943 km

ACE

35.9

storm energy

Deaths

19,325

per Wikidata

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 Mitch

Hurricane Mitch (1998) was a Category 5 hurricane of the 1998 Atlantic season. It formed on October 22, 1998, 93 mi NNW of Cartagena, Colombia, reached its peak of 178 mph (287 km/h) and a minimum pressure of 905 mb on October 26, 1998, and made landfall 3 times — first near Santa Rosa de Aguán, Honduras on October 29, 1998 as a Category 1 hurricane (81 mph). Later landfalls: 18 mi N of Campeche, Campeche, Mexico on November 4, 1998 as a tropical storm (40 mph); near Naples, Florida on November 5, 1998 as a tropical storm (63 mph). It rapidly intensified by 52 mph in 24 hours (to 115 mph on October 25, 1998). The storm lasted 18.8 days and travelled about 7,423 miles (11,943 km). According to Wikidata, it caused 19,325 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
October 29, 1998 · 12:00 UTC	near Santa Rosa de Aguán, Honduras	Cat 1 81 mph	987 mb
November 4, 1998 · 02:00 UTC	18 mi N of Campeche, Campeche, Mexico	TS 40 mph	998 mb
November 5, 1998 · 11:00 UTC	near Naples, Florida	TS 63 mph	989 mb

Closest approach to major cities

City	Distance to center	When (UTC)	Storm strength then
Tegucigalpa, Honduras	37 mi	Oct 31 · 03:00 UTC	TS 49 mph
San Pedro Sula, Honduras	70 mi	Oct 31 · 08:00 UTC	TS 44 mph
San Salvador, El Salvador	62 mi	Oct 31 · 17:00 UTC	TD 35 mph
Guatemala City, Guatemala	direct hit	Nov 1 · 04:00 UTC	TD 31 mph
Villa Nueva, Guatemala	10 mi	Nov 1 · 04:00 UTC	TD 31 mph
Mixco, Guatemala	direct hit	Nov 1 · 05:00 UTC	TD 30 mph
Tapachula, Chiapas, Mexico	34 mi	Nov 1 · 16:00 UTC	TD 29 mph
Tuxtla, Chiapas, Mexico	11 mi	Nov 2 · 04:00 UTC	TD 23 mph
Villahermosa, Tabasco, Mexico	31 mi	Nov 2 · 12:00 UTC	TD 23 mph
Mérida, Yucatán, Mexico	12 mi	Nov 4 · 06:00 UTC	TD 35 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 78 positions

Date · UTC	Status	Wind	Pressure	Position	Nearest place
Oct 22 00:00	TD	35 mph	1002 mb	11.6°N 76.1°W	93 mi NNW of Cartagena, Colombia
Oct 22 06:00	TD	35 mph	1002 mb	11.9°N 77.1°W	150 mi NW of Cartagena, Colombia
Oct 22 12:00	TD	35 mph	1002 mb	12.0°N 77.9°W	open ocean
Oct 22 18:00	TS	40 mph	1001 mb	11.6°N 77.9°W	183 mi WNW of Cartagena, Colombia
Oct 23 00:00	TS	46 mph	1000 mb	11.8°N 77.6°W	173 mi NW of Cartagena, Colombia
Oct 23 06:00	TS	52 mph	999 mb	12.2°N 77.6°W	open ocean
Oct 23 12:00	TS	52 mph	999 mb	12.5°N 77.8°W	open ocean
Oct 23 18:00	TS	58 mph	998 mb	12.9°N 78.0°W	open ocean
Oct 24 00:00	TS	63 mph	997 mb	13.4°N 77.9°W	open ocean
Oct 24 06:00	Cat 1	75 mph	990 mb	13.9°N 77.8°W	open ocean
Oct 24 12:00	Cat 1	86 mph	985 mb	14.5°N 77.9°W	open ocean
Oct 24 18:00	Cat 2	104 mph	980 mb	15.0°N 78.1°W	open ocean
Oct 25 00:00	Cat 3	115 mph	965 mb	15.5°N 78.4°W	185 mi SSW of Mandeville, Jamaica
Oct 25 06:00	Cat 3	121 mph	951 mb	16.0°N 78.9°W	161 mi SSW of Negril, Jamaica
Oct 25 12:00	Cat 4	132 mph	945 mb	16.2°N 79.6°W	165 mi SSW of Negril, Jamaica
Oct 25 18:00	Cat 4	144 mph	926 mb	16.4°N 80.3°W	182 mi SW of Negril, Jamaica
Oct 26 00:00	Cat 4	150 mph	923 mb	16.4°N 81.0°W	open ocean
Oct 26 06:00	Cat 4	155 mph	922 mb	16.4°N 81.8°W	184 mi ENE of Brus Laguna, Honduras
Oct 26 12:00	Cat 5	167 mph	914 mb	16.6°N 82.6°W	138 mi ENE of Brus Laguna, Honduras
Oct 26 18:00	Cat 5	178 mph	905 mb	16.9°N 83.1°W	121 mi NE of Brus Laguna, Honduras
Oct 27 00:00	Cat 5	178 mph	910 mb	17.2°N 83.8°W	110 mi NNE of Brus Laguna, Honduras
Oct 27 06:00	Cat 5	173 mph	917 mb	17.3°N 84.4°W	103 mi NNE of Iriona, Honduras
Oct 27 12:00	Cat 5	173 mph	922 mb	17.1°N 85.0°W	78 mi N of Iriona, Honduras
Oct 27 18:00	Cat 5	167 mph	928 mb	16.9°N 85.4°W	68 mi NNW of Iriona, Honduras
Oct 28 00:00	Cat 5	161 mph	933 mb	16.6°N 85.6°W	51 mi N of Limón, Honduras
Oct 28 06:00	Cat 4	150 mph	938 mb	16.3°N 85.6°W	31 mi NNW of Limón, Honduras
Oct 28 12:00	Cat 4	132 mph	948 mb	16.3°N 85.6°W	31 mi NNW of Limón, Honduras
Oct 28 18:00	Cat 2	109 mph	959 mb	16.3°N 85.7°W	33 mi NNW of Limón, Honduras
Oct 29 00:00	Cat 2	98 mph	970 mb	16.2°N 85.8°W	30 mi NW of Limón, Honduras
Oct 29 06:00	Cat 1	86 mph	979 mb	16.1°N 85.8°W	26 mi NW of Limón, Honduras
Oct 29 12:00	Cat 1 LANDFALL	81 mph	987 mb	15.9°N 85.7°W	13 mi W of Limón, Honduras
Oct 29 18:00	TS	69 mph	994 mb	15.8°N 85.6°W	near Limón, Honduras
Oct 30 00:00	TS	63 mph	995 mb	15.6°N 85.7°W	21 mi ESE of Tocoa, Honduras
Oct 30 06:00	TS	58 mph	996 mb	15.4°N 85.9°W	21 mi SSE of Tocoa, Honduras
Oct 30 12:00	TS	52 mph	997 mb	15.2°N 86.1°W	12 mi N of Gualaco, Honduras
Oct 30 18:00	TS	52 mph	998 mb	14.9°N 86.5°W	near Manto, Honduras
Oct 31 00:00	TS	52 mph	999 mb	14.7°N 87.0°W	11 mi W of Guayape, Honduras
Oct 31 06:00	TS	46 mph	1000 mb	14.5°N 87.7°W	near Comayagua, Honduras
Oct 31 12:00	TS	40 mph	1000 mb	14.5°N 88.5°W	near La Iguala, Honduras
Oct 31 18:00	TD	35 mph	1001 mb	14.6°N 89.2°W	10 mi ENE of Esquipulas, Guatemala
Nov 1 00:00	TD	35 mph	1002 mb	14.6°N 90.0°W	near Jalapa, Guatemala
Nov 1 06:00	TD	29 mph	1003 mb	14.7°N 90.8°W	near Chimaltenango, Guatemala
Nov 1 12:00	TD	29 mph	1005 mb	14.9°N 91.5°W	near Quetzaltenango, Guatemala
Nov 1 18:00	TD	29 mph	1005 mb	15.5°N 92.2°W	10 mi NNE of Motozintla, Chiapas, Mexico
Nov 2 00:00	TD low/wave	23 mph	1005 mb	16.3°N 92.7°W	9 mi WSW of Venustiano Carranza, Chiapas, Mexico
Nov 2 06:00	TD low/wave	23 mph	1005 mb	17.1°N 93.1°W	24 mi N of Tuxtla, Chiapas, Mexico
Nov 2 12:00	TD low/wave	23 mph	1005 mb	17.9°N 93.4°W	near Cárdenas, Tabasco, Mexico
Nov 2 18:00	TD low/wave	23 mph	1005 mb	18.7°N 93.7°W	38 mi WNW of Paraiso, Tabasco, Mexico
Nov 3 00:00	TD low/wave	23 mph	1003 mb	19.2°N 93.4°W	57 mi NNW of Paraiso, Tabasco, Mexico
Nov 3 06:00	TD low/wave	23 mph	1003 mb	19.3°N 92.7°W	52 mi N of Frontera, Tabasco, Mexico
Nov 3 12:00	TD low/wave	29 mph	1002 mb	19.4°N 92.1°W	55 mi NNW of Ciudad del Carmen, Campeche, Mexico
Nov 3 18:00	TS	46 mph	997 mb	19.6°N 91.4°W	48 mi WNW of Champotón, Campeche, Mexico
Nov 4 00:00	TS	40 mph	997 mb	20.0°N 90.6°W	12 mi NNW of Campeche, Campeche, Mexico
Nov 4 02:00	TS LANDFALL	40 mph	998 mb	20.1°N 90.5°W	18 mi N of Campeche, Campeche, Mexico
Nov 4 06:00	TD	35 mph	998 mb	20.8°N 89.6°W	12 mi S of Mérida, Yucatán, Mexico
Nov 4 12:00	TS	46 mph	998 mb	21.8°N 88.2°W	46 mi N of Tizimín, Yucatán, Mexico
Nov 4 18:00	TS	46 mph	993 mb	23.3°N 86.5°W	149 mi N of Cancún, Quintana Roo, Mexico
Nov 5 00:00	TS	52 mph	993 mb	24.8°N 84.8°W	162 mi NNW of Minas de Matahambre, Pinar del Río, Cuba
Nov 5 06:00	TS	58 mph	990 mb	25.6°N 83.1°W	89 mi WSW of Naples, Florida
Nov 5 11:00	TS LANDFALL	63 mph	989 mb	26.2°N 81.9°W	near Naples, Florida
Nov 5 12:00	TS	63 mph	987 mb	26.6°N 81.3°W	14 mi NNE of Immokalee, Florida
Nov 5 18:00	TS extratropical	58 mph	992 mb	27.5°N 78.3°W	71 mi NNE of Lucaya, Bahamas
Nov 6 00:00	TS extratropical	58 mph	993 mb	30.0°N 75.0°W	open ocean
Nov 6 06:00	TS extratropical	58 mph	992 mb	32.5°N 72.0°W	open ocean
Nov 6 12:00	TS extratropical	58 mph	990 mb	35.0°N 68.0°W	open ocean
Nov 6 18:00	TS extratropical	58 mph	989 mb	37.0°N 63.0°W	open ocean
Nov 7 00:00	TS extratropical	58 mph	990 mb	39.0°N 58.0°W	open ocean
Nov 7 06:00	TS extratropical	58 mph	992 mb	41.0°N 53.0°W	open ocean
Nov 7 12:00	TS extratropical	58 mph	986 mb	42.5°N 47.5°W	open ocean
Nov 7 18:00	TS extratropical	69 mph	972 mb	44.5°N 42.0°W	open ocean
Nov 8 00:00	TS extratropical	69 mph	974 mb	46.5°N 36.5°W	open ocean
Nov 8 06:00	TS extratropical	69 mph	972 mb	48.5°N 31.0°W	open ocean
Nov 8 12:00	TS extratropical	69 mph	962 mb	50.0°N 25.0°W	open ocean
Nov 8 18:00	TS extratropical	69 mph	956 mb	53.5°N 20.5°W	open ocean
Nov 9 00:00	TS extratropical	69 mph	956 mb	55.5°N 14.5°W	open ocean
Nov 9 06:00	TS extratropical	69 mph	956 mb	58.0°N 10.5°W	151 mi W of Isle of Lewis, United Kingdom
Nov 9 12:00	TS extratropical	69 mph	956 mb	61.0°N 10.0°W	127 mi WSW of Tórshavn, Faroe Islands
Nov 9 18:00	TS extratropical	63 mph	960 mb	63.5°N 5.0°W	117 mi NNE of Tórshavn, Faroe Islands

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

Questions

Frequently asked questions

When and where did Mitch make landfall?

Mitch made landfall 3 times: near Santa Rosa de Aguán, Honduras on October 29, 1998 at 12:00 UTC, as a Category 1 hurricane with 81 mph winds; 18 mi N of Campeche, Campeche, Mexico on November 4, 1998 at 02:00 UTC, as a tropical storm with 40 mph winds; near Naples, Florida on November 5, 1998 at 11:00 UTC, as a tropical storm with 63 mph winds.

What category was Mitch?

At its peak on October 26, 1998, Mitch was a Category 5 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 178 mph (287 km/h) and a central pressure of 905 mb. At its first landfall it was a Category 1 hurricane.

How long did Mitch last?

18.8 days, from October 22, 1998 to November 9, 1998, including 132 hours at hurricane strength (90 as a major hurricane). It travelled about 7,423 miles.

How many people died in Mitch?

Wikidata records 19,325 deaths for Hurricane Mitch. Casualty figures for tropical cyclones vary between sources; see the linked encyclopedia article for context.

Where can I download the track data for Mitch?

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 1998

Year	Storm	Peak	Landfall
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	—	→
1998	Hurricane Lester Eastern Pacific	Cat 3 115 mph	—	→

See every 1998 storm on one map →

Background reading: Hurricane Mitch on Wikipedia.

← Previous Atlantic stormHurricane Lisa (1998)Next Atlantic storm →Hurricane Nicole (1998)

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