Hurricane Gordon (2000)

Basin

North Atlantic

Dates

September 14, 2000 to September 21, 2000

Peak strength

Category 1, 70 kt (81 mph)

Lowest pressure

981 mb (28.97 inHg)

Landfall

Yes

Accumulated cyclone energy

3.4

Fastest the center moved

23 kt (26 mph)

Identifier

AL112000

Radar at KTLH as it neared land, Sep 18, 03:00 UTC

The sources count different things and are not added together.

Landfall points the US agencies flagged in the best track. The nearest town is named from the site’s gazetteer, not from the report.

NOAA’s Storm Events database, the record National Weather Service offices compile months after a storm, as compiled March 2026.

Deaths

1 (1 direct, 0 indirect)

Injuries

1

Property damage

$9.8 million

Crop damage

none recorded

Events recorded

89 in 20 reports from 8 states and marine areas

State by state

What was recorded

25 hurricane (typhoon), 25 heavy rain, 19 flash flood, 13 tropical storm, 6 tornado, 1 rip current.

6 tornadoes recorded in the United States, strongest first.

The Weather Prediction Center attributes 1,039 rain gauge totals over the contiguous United States to this storm. The wettest reached 9.48 inches (241 mm).

WPC’s storm rainfall file, 1900 to 2020, compiled by David Roth.

From the Storm Events narratives, unedited.

A fast moving tornado, on the low end of the F1 scale, associated with an outer band of hurricane Gordon, touched down along East Gulf Drive, two miles east of Sanibel on Sanibel Island, and caused extensive damage to two condominium complexes, two dozen nearby homes and lanais. The tornado moved north northwest and sporadically touched down along rural County Road 767 on Pine Island in western Lee county. The tornado damaged the roofs of a few homes, carports and toppled or snapped palm trees along it's path. The tornado lifted and dissipated near Bokeelia on the north side of Pine Island. Residents in the path of the tornado in Sanibel indicated that they heard the sound of roaring train and their ears felt an air pressure change as it passed overhead.

Lee, Florida · Tornado · Sep 17, 08:43 UTC

Hurricane Gordon, a minimal Category 1 storm, weakened to a tropical storm just prior to landfall near Cedar Key, Florida during the late evening hours of Sunday, September, 17, 2000. Heavy rainfall associated with Gordon's outer bands began to affect mainly eastern portions of the Florida Big Bend as early as Sunday morning. Storm total rainfall varied from 0.71 inches at Tallahassee to 4.83 inches at Cross City, Florida. The highest sustained wind recorded was 33 mph with a peak gust of 42 mph at Cross City. The lowest sea-level pressure recorded was 997 mb at Cross City. There were no reports of beach erosion, flooding or tornadoes.

Franklin, Florida · Hurricane (Typhoon) · Sep 17, 13:00 UTC

The remnants of Tropical Storm Gordon passed over Georgetown county. Based on spotter reports and radar estimates, over 8 inches of rain fell in a short period of time in the town of Georgetown. Numerous streets were reported flooded by emergency managers, and newspaper accounts illustrated standing water in excess of 2-3 feet in many areas. Many motorists had to abandon their cars due to the rising water, with many automobiles sustaining water damage. Numerous homes also sustained flood damage, particularly along Hawkins Street. Most businesses were forced to close for the day along Front and Fraser Streets, an area that was particularly hard hit with flooding. Only one injury was reported when a policeman had a heart attack after the flood waters entered his home. He was treated and released from a local hospital.

Georgetown, South Carolina · Flash Flood · Sep 18, 13:25 UTC

• Unnamed tropical depressionNorth Atlantic · 2000Tropical Depression25 kt · 1008 mb
• Unnamed tropical depressionNorth Atlantic · 2000Tropical Depression30 kt · 1008 mb
• Hurricane AlbertoNorth Atlantic · 2000Cat 3110 kt · 950 mb
• Unnamed tropical depressionNorth Atlantic · 2000Tropical Depression30 kt · 1009 mb
• Tropical Storm BerylNorth Atlantic · 2000Tropical Storm45 kt · 1007 mb
• Tropical Storm ChrisNorth Atlantic · 2000Tropical Storm35 kt · 1008 mb
• Hurricane DebbyNorth Atlantic · 2000Cat 175 kt · 991 mb
• Tropical Storm ErnestoNorth Atlantic · 2000Tropical Storm35 kt · 1008 mb
• Unnamed tropical depressionNorth Atlantic · 2000Tropical Depression30 kt · 1008 mb
• Hurricane FlorenceNorth Atlantic · 2000Cat 170 kt · 985 mb
• Tropical Storm HeleneNorth Atlantic · 2000Tropical Storm60 kt · 986 mb
• Hurricane IsaacNorth Atlantic · 2000Cat 4120 kt · 943 mb
• Hurricane JoyceNorth Atlantic · 2000Cat 180 kt · 975 mb
• Hurricane KeithNorth Atlantic · 2000Cat 4120 kt · 939 mb
• Tropical Storm LeslieNorth Atlantic · 2000Tropical Storm60 kt · 973 mb
• Hurricane MichaelNorth Atlantic · 2000Cat 285 kt · 965 mb
• Tropical Storm NadineNorth Atlantic · 2000Tropical Storm50 kt · 999 mb
• Unnamed tropical stormNorth Atlantic · 2000Tropical Storm55 kt · 976 mb

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.

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.

• Tropical cyclone report, National Hurricane Center
• Every advisory and discussion NHC issued while it was live
• Wikipedia article: Hurricane Gordon