Hurricane Erika (2003)
Hurricane Erika reached Category 1 in the North Atlantic between August 14, 2003 and August 17, 2003, with a lowest pressure of 986 mb, and made landfall. It killed 2 people and did $12,000 of damage, as Wikidata records it.
Track and intensity
The whole track of Hurricane Erika, colored by strength, with the other storms of the 2003 season in the same basin behind it, and its wind and pressure hour by hour. Every fix is in the track table below.
The storm
- Basin
- North Atlantic
- Dates
- August 14, 2003 to August 17, 2003
- Peak strength
- Category 1, 65 kt (75 mph)
- Lowest pressure
- 986 mb (29.12 inHg)
- Landfall
- Yes
- Accumulated cyclone energy
- 2.1
- Tropical-storm-force wind reached
- 120 nmi (222 km, 138 mi) from the center at its widest
- Eyewall radius at its peak
- 25 nmi (46 km, 29 mi)
- Overall size
- 150 nmi (278 km, 173 mi) to the outermost closed isobar
- Fastest the center moved
- 23 kt (26 mph)
- Identifier
- AL082003
Deaths and damage
The sources count different things and are not added together.
NOAA Storm Events
0 deaths (0 direct, 0 indirect)$10,000
What National Weather Service offices recorded county by county in 1 states and marine areas, in the United States only. Property and crop damage as each office estimated it, which is not a national loss total.
Wikidata
2 deaths$12,000
A community-maintained total, usually direct and indirect deaths together and damage worldwide. Joined to this storm by its IBTrACS serial, not by name.
Landfall
| Time (UTC) | Where | Position | Wind | Pressure |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 16, 10:30 | Valle Hermoso, Tamaulipas, Mexico, 59 km away | 25.3N 97.4W | 65 kt (75 mph) | 986 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.
In the United States
NOAA’s Storm Events database, the record National Weather Service offices compile months after a storm, as compiled March 2026.
- Deaths
- 0 (0 direct, 0 indirect)
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- $10,000
- Crop damage
- none recorded
- Events recorded
- 1 in 1 reports from 1 states and marine areas
State by state
| State or marine area | Deaths | Injuries | Damage | Events |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | 0 | 0 | $10,000 | 1 |
What was recorded
1 strong wind.
Rainfall
The Weather Prediction Center attributes 337 rain gauge totals over the contiguous United States to this storm. The wettest reached 3.83 inches (97 mm).
| Station | Total | Position |
|---|---|---|
| SAN_BENITO/RIO GRANDE TX | 3.83 in (97 mm) | 26.03N 97.73W |
| PEARLAND TX | 3.30 in (84 mm) | 29.59N 95.38W |
| VRBF1 | 2.62 in (67 mm) | 27.69N 80.43W |
| VRB | 2.36 in (60 mm) | 27.65N 80.42W |
| TMB | 2.15 in (55 mm) | 25.65N 80.43W |
| PBI | 1.80 in (46 mm) | 26.68N 80.10W |
| PITF1 | 1.74 in (44 mm) | 30.95N 85.84W |
| LOS FRESNOS TX | 1.65 in (42 mm) | 26.05N 97.17W |
| RAYMONDVILLE TX | 1.52 in (39 mm) | 26.49N 97.80W |
| NORF1 | 1.51 in (38 mm) | 26.18N 80.45W |
| PORT MANSFIELD TX | 1.46 in (37 mm) | 26.55N 97.43W |
| FPRF1 | 1.43 in (36 mm) | 27.43N 80.40W |
WPC’s storm rainfall file, 1900 to 2020, compiled by David Roth.
Wind reports
The strongest winds National Weather Service offices recorded with this storm. An estimated figure is a forecaster’s judgment from the damage, not an instrument reading.
| Wind | How | Where | State | Time (UTC) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 50 kt (58 mph) | Estimated | Cameron | Texas | Aug 19, 08:00 |
Track
| Time (UTC) | Position | Wind | Pressure | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 14, 18:00 | 26.4N 83.3W | 35 kt | 1011 mb | Tropical storm |
| Aug 15, 00:00 | 26.6N 85.7W | 40 kt | 1008 mb | Tropical storm |
| Aug 15, 06:00 | 26.4N 88.3W | 40 kt | 1008 mb | Tropical storm |
| Aug 15, 12:00 | 26.1N 90.5W | 45 kt | 1007 mb | Tropical storm |
| Aug 15, 18:00 | 26.0N 92.5W | 50 kt | 1001 mb | Tropical storm |
| Aug 16, 00:00 | 25.9N 94.4W | 55 kt | 995 mb | Tropical storm |
| Aug 16, 06:00 | 25.6N 96.2W | 60 kt | 988 mb | Tropical storm |
| Aug 16, 10:30 landfall | 25.3N 97.4W | 65 kt | 986 mb | Hurricane |
| Aug 16, 12:00 | 25.2N 97.6W | 65 kt | 988 mb | Hurricane |
| Aug 16, 18:00 | 24.8N 98.9W | 35 kt | 1003 mb | Tropical storm |
| Aug 17, 00:00 | 24.7N 100.3W | 25 kt | 1008 mb | Tropical depression |
Other North Atlantic storms of 2003
- Tropical Storm AnaNorth Atlantic · 2003
- Unnamed tropical depressionNorth Atlantic · 2003
- Tropical Storm BillNorth Atlantic · 2003
- Hurricane ClaudetteNorth Atlantic · 2003
- Hurricane DannyNorth Atlantic · 2003
- Unnamed tropical depressionNorth Atlantic · 2003
- Unnamed tropical depressionNorth Atlantic · 2003
- Unnamed tropical depressionNorth Atlantic · 2003
- Hurricane FabianNorth Atlantic · 2003
- Tropical Storm GraceNorth Atlantic · 2003
- Tropical Storm HenriNorth Atlantic · 2003
- Hurricane IsabelNorth Atlantic · 2003
- Unnamed tropical depressionNorth Atlantic · 2003
- Hurricane JuanNorth Atlantic · 2003
- Hurricane KateNorth Atlantic · 2003
- Tropical Storm LarryNorth Atlantic · 2003
- Tropical Storm MindyNorth Atlantic · 2003
- Tropical Storm NicholasNorth Atlantic · 2003
- Tropical Storm OdetteNorth Atlantic · 2003
- Tropical Storm PeterNorth Atlantic · 2003
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.