Hurricane Emily (1987)
Hurricane Emily reached Category 3 in the North Atlantic between September 20, 1987 and September 26, 1987, with a lowest pressure of 958 mb, and made landfall.
Radar
Reflectivity now over Hurricane Emily. Open it to see storms, cones and warnings on the map.
Radar mosaic and map layers from NOAA MRMS. Boundaries from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet.
The storm
- Basin
- North Atlantic
- Dates
- September 20, 1987 to September 26, 1987
- Peak strength
- Category 3, 110 kt (127 mph)
- Lowest pressure
- 958 mb (28.29 inHg)
- Landfall
- Yes
- Accumulated cyclone energy
- 10.2
- Fastest the center moved
- 61 kt (70 mph)
- Identifier
- AL121987
Deaths and damage
No source this site reads publishes a machine-readable casualty or damage figure for a storm of this era. The National Hurricane Center’s season tables begin in 1995 and carry deaths and damage only from 2005 in the Atlantic and 2020 in both basins; the US Storm Events record begins in 1996.
Landfalls
| Time (UTC) | Where | Position | Wind | Pressure |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 23, 03:00 | Santa Cruz de Barahona, Barahona Province, Dominican Republic, 15 km away | 18.3N 71.0W | 95 kt (109 mph) | 965 mb |
| Sep 25, 11:45 | Coast unnamed here | 32.3N 64.7W | 75 kt (86 mph) | 974 mb |
Landfall points the US agencies flagged in the best track. The nearest town is named from the site’s gazetteer, not from the report.
Track
| Time (UTC) | Position | Wind | Pressure | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 20, 00:00 | 9.8N 51.3W | 25 kt | 1008 mb | Tropical depression |
| Sep 20, 06:00 | 10.4N 53.0W | 25 kt | 1007 mb | Tropical depression |
| Sep 20, 12:00 | 10.9N 54.7W | 30 kt | 1006 mb | Tropical depression |
| Sep 20, 18:00 | 11.4N 56.4W | 35 kt | 1005 mb | Tropical storm |
| Sep 21, 00:00 | 12.0N 58.0W | 40 kt | 1004 mb | Tropical storm |
| Sep 21, 06:00 | 12.4N 59.7W | 40 kt | 1004 mb | Tropical storm |
| Sep 21, 12:00 | 13.1N 61.3W | 45 kt | 1004 mb | Tropical storm |
| Sep 21, 18:00 | 13.7N 63.1W | 50 kt | 1002 mb | Tropical storm |
| Sep 22, 00:00 | 14.5N 64.7W | 60 kt | 992 mb | Tropical storm |
| Sep 22, 06:00 | 15.1N 66.3W | 80 kt | 978 mb | Hurricane |
| Sep 22, 12:00 | 15.9N 67.7W | 90 kt | 971 mb | Hurricane |
| Sep 22, 18:00 | 16.7N 69.1W | 110 kt | 958 mb | Hurricane |
| Sep 23, 00:00 | 17.8N 70.4W | 105 kt | 960 mb | Hurricane |
| Sep 23, 03:00 landfall | 18.3N 71.0W | 95 kt | 965 mb | Hurricane |
| Sep 23, 06:00 | 19.0N 71.5W | 70 kt | 984 mb | Hurricane |
| Sep 23, 12:00 | 20.0N 72.3W | 55 kt | 1004 mb | Tropical storm |
| Sep 23, 18:00 | 20.9N 72.8W | 40 kt | 1003 mb | Tropical storm |
| Sep 24, 00:00 | 22.0N 73.0W | 40 kt | 1000 mb | Tropical storm |
| Sep 24, 06:00 | 23.2N 73.0W | 45 kt | 1001 mb | Tropical storm |
| Sep 24, 12:00 | 24.4N 72.7W | 45 kt | 1002 mb | Tropical storm |
| Sep 24, 18:00 | 26.0N 72.0W | 45 kt | 1002 mb | Tropical storm |
| Sep 25, 00:00 | 28.0N 70.5W | 45 kt | 999 mb | Tropical storm |
| Sep 25, 06:00 | 30.2N 68.0W | 70 kt | 985 mb | Hurricane |
| Sep 25, 11:45 landfall | 32.3N 64.7W | 75 kt | 974 mb | Hurricane |
| Sep 25, 12:00 | 32.4N 64.6W | 80 kt | 974 mb | Hurricane |
| Sep 25, 18:00 | 35.0N 60.0W | 80 kt | 974 mb | Hurricane |
| Sep 26, 00:00 | 38.0N 55.0W | 75 kt | 976 mb | Hurricane |
| Sep 26, 06:00 | 41.2N 49.0W | 70 kt | 979 mb | Hurricane |
| Sep 26, 12:00 | 44.8N 42.5W | 65 kt | 983 mb | Hurricane |
| Sep 26, 18:00 | 49.0N 36.0W | 55 kt | 994 mb | Extratropical |
Other North Atlantic storms of 1987
- Unnamed tropical depressionNorth Atlantic · 1987
- Hurricane ArleneNorth Atlantic · 1987
- Unnamed tropical stormNorth Atlantic · 1987
- Unnamed tropical depressionNorth Atlantic · 1987
- Tropical Storm BretNorth Atlantic · 1987
- Unnamed tropical depressionNorth Atlantic · 1987
- Tropical Storm CindyNorth Atlantic · 1987
- Unnamed tropical depressionNorth Atlantic · 1987
- Unnamed tropical depressionNorth Atlantic · 1987
- Tropical Storm DennisNorth Atlantic · 1987
- Unnamed tropical depressionNorth Atlantic · 1987
- Hurricane FloydNorth Atlantic · 1987
- Unnamed tropical depressionNorth Atlantic · 1987
What this means
A best track is the record a warning agency settles on after the storm, not what it said at the time: position, maximum sustained wind and central pressure every six hours, revised against every observation that came in later. Category is the Saffir-Simpson scale, which runs from Category 1 at 64 kt to Category 5 at 137 kt and reads wind only, so it says nothing about surge or rain. Accumulated cyclone energy adds up the square of the wind through the storm's life, so it counts strength and duration together.
Sources
Storm history from NOAA NCEI’s International Best Track Archive for Climate Stewardship (IBTrACS), which merges the official best track of every warning agency. Live storms, cones, watches and warnings from the National Hurricane Center and the Central Pacific Hurricane Center. Archived radar from NOAA’s Level II archive.
The National Hurricane Center has published no tropical cyclone report for this storm.