Tropical Storm Isaac (1988)
Tropical Storm Isaac peaked at 40 kt in the North Atlantic between September 28, 1988 and October 1, 1988, with a lowest pressure of 1005 mb.
Radar
Reflectivity now over Tropical Storm Isaac. 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 28, 1988 to October 1, 1988
- Peak strength
- Tropical Storm, 40 kt (46 mph)
- Lowest pressure
- 1005 mb (29.68 inHg)
- Landfall
- No; closest approach 145 km (90 mi)
- Accumulated cyclone energy
- 0.4
- Fastest the center moved
- 18 kt (21 mph)
- Identifier
- AL101988
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 28, 18:00 | 9.0N 45.5W | 25 kt | 1009 mb | Tropical depression |
| Sep 29, 00:00 | 9.1N 47.0W | 25 kt | 1008 mb | Tropical depression |
| Sep 29, 06:00 | 9.3N 48.7W | 25 kt | 1007 mb | Tropical depression |
| Sep 29, 12:00 | 9.5N 50.0W | 25 kt | 1007 mb | Tropical depression |
| Sep 29, 18:00 | 9.6N 51.3W | 30 kt | 1006 mb | Tropical depression |
| Sep 30, 00:00 | 9.8N 52.2W | 30 kt | 1006 mb | Tropical depression |
| Sep 30, 06:00 | 10.2N 53.1W | 30 kt | 1006 mb | Tropical depression |
| Sep 30, 12:00 | 10.8N 54.5W | 30 kt | 1005 mb | Tropical depression |
| Sep 30, 18:00 | 11.4N 56.0W | 35 kt | 1005 mb | Tropical storm |
| Oct 1, 00:00 | 11.8N 57.7W | 40 kt | 1005 mb | Tropical storm |
| Oct 1, 06:00 | 12.0N 59.5W | 35 kt | 1005 mb | Tropical storm |
| Oct 1, 12:00 | 12.0N 61.2W | 30 kt | 1006 mb | Tropical depression |
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
- Tropical Storm ErnestoNorth 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
- 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.