Hurricane Gilbert

Hurricane Gilbert was one of the deadliest, costliest, and most powerful hurricanes since records began in the mid-19th century. It wreaked major havoc in the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico in nearly nine days during the 1988 Atlantic hurricane season.

Gilbert formed on 8 September 1988 as the twelfth tropical depression of the season near the Leeward Islands. Due to warm Caribbean waters (81 °F/27 °C), Gilbert reached tropical storm strength by 9 September, becoming the seventh named storm of the season. It rapidly strengthened further into a "major hurricane" (stage 3 and above) on September 10. This is also when the Atlantic hurricane season usually peaks. Due to its west-northwest track, Gilbert first made landfall in Jamaica. The eye of the storm crossed Jamaica completely on 12 September, with winds of 240 km/h. This put the storm here at Level 4 on the Saffir-Simpson hurricane wind scale. It was the first hurricane since 1951 to make a direct hit on Jamaica.

After Gilbert reached open sea again, he strengthened tremendously. It reached level 5 before passing over the island of Grand Cayman. Gilbert's extreme intensification continued until wind peaks of 295 km/h occurred. This is the third highest ever recorded. Only Hurricane Camille and Hurricane Allen reached higher wind speeds. Gilbert also reached a minimum core pressure of 888 (hectopascals), the second lowest after Hurricane Wilma in the Western Hemisphere since records began.

Gilbert made landfall on Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula for the second time as a Category 5 hurricane. This made it the first Category 5 storm to make direct landfall since Hurricane Camille in 1969. It was also still a Level 3 when it made landfall for the third time near La Pesca, Tamaulipas in Mexico. Gilbert spawned 29 tornadoes on September 18 in Texas and caused flooding in the Midwestern United States. It finally lost its strength in Texas on September 19. In Houston, NASA had to postpone the first launch of a space shuttle since the Challenger disaster. The launch of Discovery (flight STS-26) then took place on 29 September 1988.

Gilbert claimed 318 lives: 202 in Mexico, 45 in Jamaica, 30 in Haiti, 12 in Guatemala, 5 in Venezuela and the Dominican Republic, 3 in the United States, and 2 in Costa Rica and Nicaragua. Exact figures on the damage caused are not available, but the total damage in the affected countries is estimated at around US$ 5 billion (in 1988 figures).

The name Gilbert was removed from the list of tropical cyclone names by the World Meteorological Organization in the spring of 1989 and replaced by Gordon in 1994.

See also

• List of Atlantic Category 5 hurricanes

1. ↑ National Hurricane Center: Atlantic hurricane best track (Hurdat) (English) Hurricane Research Division. Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administrations Office of Oceanic & Atmospheric Research. April 2018. retrieved May 9, 2018.