Hurricane Elena
Hurricane Elena was a category 3 major hurricane that caused heavy damage along the Gulf Coast of the United States in August and September of the 1985 Atlantic hurricane season.
| Category 3 major hurricane (SSHWS/NWS) | |
| File:Elena 1985-09-01 2100Z.png Hurricane Elena in the Gulf of Mexico on September 1, 1985 | |
| Formed | August 28, 1985 |
|---|---|
| Dissipated | September 4, 1985 |
| Highest winds | 1-minute sustained: 125 mph (205 km/h) |
| Lowest pressure | 953 mbar (hPa); 28.14 inHg |
| Fatalities | 0 direct, 4 indirect |
| Damage | $1.25 billion (1985 USD) |
| Areas affected | Cuba, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Mississippi Valley region |
| Part of the 1985 Atlantic hurricane season | |
Elena's unusual path through the Gulf of Mexico, which included a loop, caused many people to evacuate from the coastline.
Meteorological history
Before Hurricane Elena, there was a tropical wave that moved off the coast of Africa on August 23. It remained weak due to its fast westward motion and Saharan Air Layer around the circulation. As it moved through the Greater Antilles, it slowed and a tropical depression formed on August 28 between Cuba and Haiti. It paralleled the northern cost of Cuba, and became Tropical Storm Elena that night. Conditions were good for the storm to develop in the Gulf of Mexico, and Elena became a hurricane on the 29th.
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Tropical cyclones of the 1985 Atlantic hurricane season | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Hurricane Elena Media
- Hurricane Elena STS-51-I 1985-09-01.jpg
Hurricane Elena in the Gulf of Mexico on September 1 as seen from Space Shuttle Discovery
- Elena 1985-08-31 1630Z.png
Hurricane Elena intensifying off the Florida coast on August 31
- Elena 1985 rainfall.gif
Elena's storm total rainfall in the United States
- Hurricane Elena Florida road damage.jpg
Numerous coastal roads, such as this one along the Gulf Coast of Florida, were damaged by the hurricane's storm surge.
- Hurricane Elena Florida beach house damaged.jpg
A beachfront structure destroyed by the hurricane in Florida
- Hurricane Elena 1985 Florida boats debris.jpg
The storm washed maritime debris, such as small vessels and parts of docks, over land.
- Elena 1985-09-02 1230Z.png
Elena shortly before making landfall in Mississippi on September 2
- Elena 1985-08-28 1630Z.png
Tropical Storm Elena over Cuba on August 28
- Hurricane Elena Florida house damage.jpg
House destroyed by Hurricane Elena in Florida