page_title: 1998 Atlantic hurricane season
hierarchical_section_title: 1998 Atlantic hurricane season
caption_attribution_description: English: This map shows the tracks of all tropical cyclones in the 1998 Atlantic hurricane season. The points show the location of each storm at 6-hour intervals. The colour represents the storm's maximum sustained wind speeds as classified in the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale (see below), and the shape of the data points represent the type of the storm. Saffir–Simpson scale Tropical depression≤38 mph≤62 km/h Category 3111–129 mph178–208 km/h Tropical storm39–73 mph63–118 km/h Category 4130–156 mph209–251 km/h Category 174–95 mph119–153 km/h Category 5≥157 mph≥252 km/h Category 296–110 mph154–177 km/h Unknown Storm type Tropical cyclone Subtropical cyclone Extratropical cyclone / Remnant low / Tropical disturbance / Monsoon depression
context_page_description: The 1998 Atlantic hurricane season was one of the most disastrous Atlantic hurricane seasons on record, featuring the highest number of storm-related fatalities in over 218 years and one of the costliest ever at the time. The season had above average activity, due to the dissipation of the El Niño event and transitioned to La Niña conditions. It officially began on June 1 and ended on November 30, dates which conventionally delimit the period during which most tropical cyclones form in the Atlantic Ocean. The first tropical cyclone, Tropical Storm Alex, developed on July 27, and the season's final storm, Hurricane Nicole, became extratropical on December 1.
  Several storms made landfall or directly affected land. Hurricane Bonnie made landfall in southeastern North Carolina as a Category 2 hurricane in late August, killing five people and causing about $1 billion in damage. Hurricane Earl caused $79 million in damage and three deaths after making landfall in Florida as a Category 1 hurricane.
  The most notable storms were Hurricane Georges and Hurricane Mitch. Georges devastated Saint Kitts and Nevis, Puerto-Rico and the Dominican Republic as a major Category 3 storm.
context_section_description: The 1998 Atlantic hurricane season was one of the most disastrous Atlantic hurricane seasons on record, featuring the highest number of storm-related fatalities in over 218 years and one of the costliest ever at the time. The season had above average activity, due to the dissipation of the El Niño event and transitioned to La Niña conditions. It officially began on June 1 and ended on November 30, dates which conventionally delimit the period during which most tropical cyclones form in the Atlantic Ocean. The first tropical cyclone, Tropical Storm Alex, developed on July 27, and the season's final storm, Hurricane Nicole, became extratropical on December 1. 
  Several storms made landfall or directly affected land. Hurricane Bonnie made landfall in southeastern North Carolina as a Category 2 hurricane in late August, killing five people and causing about $1 billion in damage. Hurricane Earl caused $79 million in damage and three deaths after making landfall in Florida as a Category 1 hurricane.
  The most notable storms were Hurricane Georges and Hurricane Mitch. Georges devastated Saint Kitts and Nevis, Puerto-Rico and the Dominican Republic as a major Category 3 storm. Mitch, the strongest storm of the season, was later tied with 2007's Hurricane Dean for the eighth most intense Atlantic hurricane ever recorded.
  Georges peaked as an intense Category 4 hurricane that moved through many of the Caribbean Islands before making landfall near Biloxi, Mississippi, causing significant damage and at least 600 confirmed deaths while Mitch was a very powerful and destructive late-season Category 5 hurricane that affected much of Central America before making landfall in Florida as a tropical storm. The significant amount of rainfall that Mitch produced across Central America caused significant damage and killed at least 11,000 people, making the system the second deadliest hurricane in recorded history, behind only the Great Hurricane of 1780.
  Hurricanes Georges and Mitch caused $13.87 billion in damage and $6.08 billion (1998 USD) in damage, respectively and the 1998 Atlantic hurricane season was the first season to feature a Category 5 hurricane on the Saffir–Simpson hurricane wind scale as well as the second costliest season ever, after the 1992 season.
caption: Season summary map
exif: {}