Hurricane Floyd (1987)
Hurricane Floyd reached Category 1 in the North Atlantic between October 9, 1987 and October 14, 1987, with a lowest pressure of 993 mb, and made landfall.
Radar
Reflectivity now over Hurricane Floyd. 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
- October 9, 1987 to October 14, 1987
- Peak strength
- Category 1, 65 kt (75 mph)
- Lowest pressure
- 993 mb (29.32 inHg)
- Landfall
- Yes
- Accumulated cyclone energy
- 3.3
- Fastest the center moved
- 19 kt (22 mph)
- Identifier
- AL131987
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.
Landfall
| Time (UTC) | Where | Position | Wind | Pressure |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 12, 21:00 | Key Largo, FL, 6 km away | 25.1N 80.5W | 65 kt (75 mph) | 993 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.
Rainfall
The Weather Prediction Center attributes 75 rain gauge totals over the contiguous United States to this storm. The wettest reached 10.07 inches (256 mm).
| Station | Total | Position |
|---|---|---|
| Fort Pierce | 10.07 in (256 mm) | 27.47N 80.35W |
| La Belle | 7.33 in (186 mm) | 26.75N 81.43W |
| Stuart 1 N | 7.29 in (185 mm) | 27.22N 80.25W |
| Homestead Exp Stn | 7.16 in (182 mm) | 25.50N 80.50W |
| Vero Beach 4 W | 6.87 in (174 mm) | 27.63N 80.45W |
| Archibold Biologic Stn | 5.88 in (149 mm) | 27.18N 81.35W |
| Canal Point USDA | 5.54 in (141 mm) | 26.87N 80.62W |
| Moore Haven Lock 1 | 5.54 in (141 mm) | 26.83N 81.08W |
| Tavernier | 5.31 in (135 mm) | 25.00N 80.52W |
| Naples | 5.30 in (135 mm) | 26.17N 81.78W |
| Loxahatchee | 5.25 in (133 mm) | 26.68N 80.27W |
| Vero Beach Muni AP | 5.23 in (133 mm) | 27.65N 80.42W |
WPC’s storm rainfall file, 1900 to 2020, compiled by David Roth.
Track
| Time (UTC) | Position | Wind | Pressure | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 9, 06:00 | 15.0N 82.6W | 25 kt | 1004 mb | Tropical depression |
| Oct 9, 12:00 | 14.5N 82.5W | 25 kt | 1003 mb | Tropical depression |
| Oct 9, 18:00 | 14.1N 82.1W | 25 kt | 1001 mb | Tropical depression |
| Oct 10, 00:00 | 14.4N 81.8W | 25 kt | 999 mb | Tropical depression |
| Oct 10, 06:00 | 15.3N 82.2W | 30 kt | 999 mb | Tropical depression |
| Oct 10, 12:00 | 16.0N 82.2W | 35 kt | 999 mb | Tropical storm |
| Oct 10, 18:00 | 16.8N 83.5W | 35 kt | 999 mb | Tropical storm |
| Oct 11, 00:00 | 17.6N 83.9W | 40 kt | 999 mb | Tropical storm |
| Oct 11, 06:00 | 18.4N 84.2W | 40 kt | 998 mb | Tropical storm |
| Oct 11, 12:00 | 19.4N 84.5W | 45 kt | 997 mb | Tropical storm |
| Oct 11, 18:00 | 20.5N 84.5W | 50 kt | 996 mb | Tropical storm |
| Oct 12, 00:00 | 21.7N 84.3W | 55 kt | 995 mb | Tropical storm |
| Oct 12, 06:00 | 23.0N 84.0W | 60 kt | 994 mb | Tropical storm |
| Oct 12, 12:00 | 24.0N 82.9W | 65 kt | 993 mb | Hurricane |
| Oct 12, 18:00 | 24.7N 81.5W | 65 kt | 993 mb | Hurricane |
| Oct 12, 21:00 landfall | 25.1N 80.5W | 65 kt | 993 mb | Hurricane |
| Oct 13, 00:00 | 25.3N 79.9W | 60 kt | 993 mb | Tropical storm |
| Oct 13, 06:00 | 26.0N 78.3W | 50 kt | 994 mb | Tropical storm |
| Oct 13, 12:00 | 27.0N 76.9W | 45 kt | 996 mb | Tropical storm |
| Oct 13, 18:00 | 28.1N 75.4W | 40 kt | 997 mb | Extratropical |
| Oct 14, 00:00 | 29.5N 74.0W | 40 kt | 998 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 EmilyNorth 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.