1988 Atlantic hurricane season

The 1988 Atlantic hurricane season officially began on June 1, 1988 and ended on November 30, 1988. However tropical cyclone can form outside these dates for example, Tropical Depression One formed on May 30. This season was active with 19 depressions. This season was damaging and it featured the strongest storm known at the time, Hurricane Gilbert.

1988 Atlantic hurricane season
Season summary map
First storm formed May 30, 1988
Last storm dissipated November 24, 1988
Strongest storm Gilbert – 888 mbar (hPa) (26.23 inHg), 185 mph (295 km/h)
Total depressions 19
Total storms 12
Hurricanes 5
Major hurricanes (Cat. 3+) 3
Total fatalities 550
Total damage $7 billion (1988 USD)
Atlantic hurricane seasons
1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990

Storms

  • Tropical Depression One
  • Tropical Storm Alberto
  • Tropical Storm Beryl
  • Tropical Depression Four
  • Tropical Depression Five
  • Tropical Depression Six
  • Tropical Storm Chris
  • Hurricane Debby
  • Tropical Storm Ernesto
  • Tropical Depression Ten
  • Hurricane Florence
  • Hurricane Gilbert
  • Unnamed Tropical Storm
  • Hurricane Helene
  • Tropical Depression Fifteen
  • Tropical Storm Isaac
  • Hurricane Joan
  • Tropical Depression Eighteen
  • Tropical Storm Keith

Storm names

This list is the name that were set aside for the 1988 Atlantic hurricane season. The name lists repeat every six year and the only way the names are changed is if a name is retired. This list is the same as the list in 1982 because no names were retired in 1982.

  • Alberto
  • Beryl
  • Chris
  • Debby
  • Ernesto
  • Florence
  • Gilbert
  • Helene
  • Isaac
  • Joan
  • Keith
  • Leslie (unused)
  • Michael (unused)
  • Nadine (unused)
  • Oscar (unused)
  • Patty (unused)
  • Rafael (unused)
  • Sandy (unused)
  • Tony (unused)
  • Valerie (unused)
  • William (unused)

Retired names

In the spring of 1989 Gilbert and Joan were replaced by Gorden and Joyce in 1994, however it 1994 Joyce was not used because of 1994's low activity.

Tropical cyclones of the 1988 Atlantic hurricane season

Saffir–Simpson Hurricane Scale
TD TS C1 C2 C3 C4 C5