Hurricane Keith (1988)
Hurricane Keith reached Category 1 in the North Atlantic between November 17, 1988 and November 26, 1988, with a lowest pressure of 945 mb, and made landfall.
Radar
Reflectivity now over Hurricane Keith. 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
- November 17, 1988 to November 26, 1988
- Peak strength
- Category 1, 65 kt (75 mph)
- Lowest pressure
- 945 mb (27.91 inHg)
- Landfall
- Yes
- Accumulated cyclone energy
- 5.0
- Fastest the center moved
- 56 kt (64 mph)
- Identifier
- AL121988
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 21, 08:00 | Cancún, Quintana Roo, Mexico, 6 km away | 21.2N 86.8W | 60 kt (69 mph) | 993 mb |
| Nov 23, 07:00 | Siesta Key, FL, 6 km away | 27.3N 82.6W | 55 kt (63 mph) | 995 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 433 rain gauge totals over the contiguous United States to this storm. The wettest reached 10.27 inches (261 mm).
| Station | Total | Position |
|---|---|---|
| SAINT LEO | 10.27 in (261 mm) | 28.33N 82.27W |
| TARPON SPRINGS SWG PLNT | 7.60 in (193 mm) | 28.15N 82.75W |
| CLERMONT 7 S | 7.19 in (183 mm) | 28.45N 81.75W |
| HILLSBOROUGH RVR ST PK | 6.34 in (161 mm) | 28.15N 82.23W |
| DAYTONA BEACH INTL AP | 5.88 in (149 mm) | 29.18N 81.05W |
| ORLANDO INTL ARPT | 5.87 in (149 mm) | 28.43N 81.33W |
| PLANT CITY | 5.53 in (140 mm) | 28.02N 82.15W |
| LAKELAND | 5.14 in (131 mm) | 28.02N 81.92W |
| KISSIMMEE 2 | 4.98 in (126 mm) | 28.28N 81.42W |
| WINTER HAVEN | 4.98 in (126 mm) | 28.02N 81.73W |
| LAKE ALFRED EXP STN | 4.84 in (123 mm) | 28.10N 81.72W |
| SANFORD | 4.51 in (115 mm) | 28.80N 81.27W |
WPC’s storm rainfall file, 1900 to 2020, compiled by David Roth.
Track
| Time (UTC) | Position | Wind | Pressure | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 17, 18:00 | 14.9N 74.3W | 30 kt | 1008 mb | Tropical depression |
| Nov 18, 00:00 | 15.0N 75.5W | 30 kt | 1008 mb | Tropical depression |
| Nov 18, 06:00 | 15.0N 76.5W | 30 kt | 1008 mb | Tropical depression |
| Nov 18, 12:00 | 15.0N 77.7W | 30 kt | 1008 mb | Tropical depression |
| Nov 18, 18:00 | 15.0N 79.0W | 30 kt | 1008 mb | Tropical depression |
| Nov 19, 00:00 | 15.0N 79.9W | 30 kt | 1007 mb | Tropical depression |
| Nov 19, 06:00 | 15.1N 80.4W | 30 kt | 1007 mb | Tropical depression |
| Nov 19, 12:00 | 15.2N 81.2W | 30 kt | 1007 mb | Tropical depression |
| Nov 19, 18:00 | 15.5N 81.8W | 30 kt | 1006 mb | Tropical depression |
| Nov 20, 00:00 | 15.8N 82.6W | 30 kt | 1005 mb | Tropical depression |
| Nov 20, 06:00 | 16.3N 83.4W | 35 kt | 1004 mb | Tropical storm |
| Nov 20, 12:00 | 17.8N 84.5W | 40 kt | 1002 mb | Tropical storm |
| Nov 20, 18:00 | 19.1N 85.4W | 45 kt | 997 mb | Tropical storm |
| Nov 21, 00:00 | 19.8N 86.1W | 60 kt | 985 mb | Tropical storm |
| Nov 21, 06:00 | 20.7N 86.6W | 60 kt | 993 mb | Tropical storm |
| Nov 21, 08:00 landfall | 21.2N 86.8W | 60 kt | 993 mb | Tropical storm |
| Nov 21, 12:00 | 21.8N 87.0W | 60 kt | 993 mb | Tropical storm |
| Nov 21, 18:00 | 22.4N 87.2W | 60 kt | 990 mb | Tropical storm |
| Nov 22, 00:00 | 23.1N 87.0W | 60 kt | 993 mb | Tropical storm |
| Nov 22, 06:00 | 23.8N 86.8W | 55 kt | 995 mb | Tropical storm |
| Nov 22, 12:00 | 24.4N 86.2W | 55 kt | 995 mb | Tropical storm |
| Nov 22, 18:00 | 25.5N 85.1W | 55 kt | 993 mb | Tropical storm |
| Nov 23, 00:00 | 26.5N 84.2W | 55 kt | 994 mb | Tropical storm |
| Nov 23, 06:00 | 27.3N 82.8W | 55 kt | 995 mb | Tropical storm |
| Nov 23, 07:00 landfall | 27.3N 82.6W | 55 kt | 995 mb | Tropical storm |
| Nov 23, 12:00 | 27.9N 81.3W | 35 kt | 999 mb | Tropical storm |
| Nov 23, 18:00 | 28.9N 79.8W | 40 kt | 998 mb | Tropical storm |
| Nov 24, 00:00 | 29.7N 77.7W | 50 kt | 995 mb | Tropical storm |
| Nov 24, 06:00 | 31.0N 75.2W | 55 kt | 992 mb | Tropical storm |
| Nov 24, 12:00 | 32.5N 70.5W | 60 kt | 990 mb | Tropical storm |
| Nov 24, 18:00 | 34.0N 66.0W | 55 kt | 985 mb | Extratropical |
| Nov 25, 00:00 | 36.0N 60.0W | 50 kt | 982 mb | Extratropical |
| Nov 25, 06:00 | 39.0N 54.0W | 50 kt | 976 mb | Extratropical |
| Nov 25, 12:00 | 40.0N 49.0W | 50 kt | 964 mb | Extratropical |
| Nov 25, 18:00 | 44.0N 45.0W | 55 kt | 960 mb | Extratropical |
| Nov 26, 00:00 | 48.0N 43.0W | 65 kt | 950 mb | Extratropical |
| Nov 26, 06:00 | 52.0N 42.0W | 65 kt | 945 mb | Extratropical |
| Nov 26, 12:00 | 52.5N 44.0W | 65 kt | 945 mb | Extratropical |
| Nov 26, 18:00 | 52.0N 46.0W | 65 kt | 950 mb | Extratropical |
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
- Tropical Storm IsaacNorth Atlantic · 1988
- Hurricane Joan:MiriamNorth Atlantic · 1988
- Unnamed tropical depressionNorth 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.