Tropical Storm Ernesto (1988)
Tropical Storm Ernesto peaked at 55 kt in the North Atlantic between September 3, 1988 and September 5, 1988, with a lowest pressure of 994 mb.
Radar
Reflectivity now over Tropical Storm Ernesto. 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 3, 1988 to September 5, 1988
- Peak strength
- Tropical Storm, 55 kt (63 mph)
- Lowest pressure
- 994 mb (29.35 inHg)
- Landfall
- No; closest approach 1229 km (764 mi)
- Accumulated cyclone energy
- 1.3
- Fastest the center moved
- 50 kt (58 mph)
- Identifier
- AL051988
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.
Track
| Time (UTC) | Position | Wind | Pressure | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 3, 00:00 | 32.5N 60.5W | 25 kt | 1016 mb | Tropical depression |
| Sep 3, 06:00 | 33.1N 59.2W | 25 kt | 1012 mb | Tropical depression |
| Sep 3, 12:00 | 34.3N 56.5W | 30 kt | 1008 mb | Tropical depression |
| Sep 3, 18:00 | 35.2N 53.1W | 35 kt | 1004 mb | Tropical storm |
| Sep 4, 00:00 | 35.9N 49.5W | 40 kt | 1001 mb | Tropical storm |
| Sep 4, 06:00 | 36.6N 44.4W | 45 kt | 999 mb | Tropical storm |
| Sep 4, 12:00 | 38.0N 39.5W | 50 kt | 997 mb | Tropical storm |
| Sep 4, 18:00 | 40.2N 35.0W | 50 kt | 996 mb | Tropical storm |
| Sep 5, 00:00 | 43.1N 29.7W | 55 kt | 994 mb | Tropical storm |
Other North Atlantic storms of 1988
- Unnamed tropical depressionNorth Atlantic · 1988
- Tropical Storm AlbertoNorth Atlantic · 1988
- Tropical Storm BerylNorth Atlantic · 1988
- Unnamed tropical depressionNorth Atlantic · 1988
- Unnamed tropical depressionNorth Atlantic · 1988
- Unnamed tropical depressionNorth Atlantic · 1988
- Tropical Storm ChrisNorth Atlantic · 1988
- Hurricane DebbyNorth Atlantic · 1988
- Unnamed tropical depressionNorth Atlantic · 1988
- Unnamed tropical stormNorth Atlantic · 1988
- Hurricane FlorenceNorth Atlantic · 1988
- Hurricane GilbertNorth Atlantic · 1988
- Hurricane HeleneNorth Atlantic · 1988
- Unnamed tropical depressionNorth Atlantic · 1988
- Tropical Storm IsaacNorth Atlantic · 1988
- Hurricane Joan:MiriamNorth Atlantic · 1988
- Unnamed tropical depressionNorth Atlantic · 1988
- Hurricane KeithNorth Atlantic · 1988
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.