The 2005 season

Hurricane Irene (2005)

Hurricane Irene reached Category 2 in the North Atlantic between August 4, 2005 and August 18, 2005, with a lowest pressure of 970 mb.

Track and intensity

The whole track of Hurricane Irene, colored by strength, with the other storms of the 2005 season in the same basin behind it, and its wind and pressure hour by hour. Every fix is in the track table below.

Open the live map with storms, cones and warnings

The storm

Basin
North Atlantic
Dates
August 4, 2005 to August 18, 2005
Peak strength
Category 2, 90 kt (104 mph)
Lowest pressure
970 mb (28.64 inHg)
Landfall
No; closest approach 497 km (309 mi)
Accumulated cyclone energy
13.1
Tropical-storm-force wind reached
360 nmi (667 km, 414 mi) from the center at its widest
Hurricane-force wind reached
30 nmi (56 km, 35 mi) from the center at its widest
Eyewall radius at its peak
15 nmi (28 km, 17 mi)
Overall size
200 nmi (370 km, 230 mi) to the outermost closed isobar
Peak gust in the best track
105 kt (121 mph)
Fastest the center moved
41 kt (47 mph)
Identifier
AL092005

Deaths and damage

The sources count different things and are not added together.

National Hurricane Center

0 direct deathsnone recorded in the United States

The season table in NHC’s report archive, final report. Direct deaths are those caused by the storm’s own wind, water or surge, anywhere in the world.

Track

Time (UTC)PositionWindPressureStatus
Aug 4, 18:0012.9N 33.5W25 kt1009 mbTropical depression
Aug 5, 00:0013.6N 34.5W25 kt1009 mbTropical depression
Aug 5, 06:0014.6N 35.5W25 kt1009 mbTropical depression
Aug 5, 12:0015.6N 36.8W30 kt1008 mbTropical depression
Aug 5, 18:0016.6N 38.4W30 kt1008 mbTropical depression
Aug 6, 00:0017.2N 39.8W30 kt1008 mbTropical depression
Aug 6, 06:0017.7N 40.5W30 kt1008 mbTropical depression
Aug 6, 12:0018.2N 41.6W30 kt1008 mbTropical depression
Aug 6, 18:0018.8N 42.8W30 kt1008 mbTropical depression
Aug 7, 00:0019.3N 43.5W30 kt1008 mbTropical depression
Aug 7, 06:0019.7N 44.2W30 kt1007 mbTropical depression
Aug 7, 12:0020.2N 45.0W35 kt1005 mbTropical storm
Aug 7, 18:0020.8N 46.0W35 kt1005 mbTropical storm
Aug 8, 00:0021.3N 47.2W35 kt1005 mbTropical storm
Aug 8, 06:0021.8N 48.3W35 kt1006 mbTropical storm
Aug 8, 12:0022.2N 49.9W30 kt1009 mbTropical depression
Aug 8, 18:0022.4N 50.9W30 kt1009 mbTropical depression
Aug 9, 00:0022.5N 52.0W30 kt1009 mbTropical depression
Aug 9, 06:0022.4N 52.9W30 kt1009 mbTropical depression
Aug 9, 12:0022.4N 53.7W30 kt1009 mbTropical depression
Aug 9, 18:0022.4N 54.8W30 kt1009 mbTropical depression
Aug 10, 00:0022.4N 55.7W30 kt1009 mbTropical depression
Aug 10, 06:0022.3N 56.5W30 kt1009 mbTropical depression
Aug 10, 12:0022.4N 57.2W30 kt1009 mbTropical depression
Aug 10, 18:0022.8N 58.1W30 kt1008 mbTropical depression
Aug 11, 00:0023.3N 59.3W35 kt1005 mbTropical storm
Aug 11, 06:0023.9N 60.4W40 kt1003 mbTropical storm
Aug 11, 12:0024.7N 61.7W45 kt1001 mbTropical storm
Aug 11, 18:0025.4N 62.9W45 kt1001 mbTropical storm
Aug 12, 00:0026.3N 63.8W45 kt1001 mbTropical storm
Aug 12, 06:0027.2N 65.1W55 kt998 mbTropical storm
Aug 12, 12:0027.9N 66.3W55 kt996 mbTropical storm
Aug 12, 18:0028.4N 67.1W55 kt995 mbTropical storm
Aug 13, 00:0028.9N 67.7W60 kt993 mbTropical storm
Aug 13, 06:0029.6N 68.2W60 kt996 mbTropical storm
Aug 13, 12:0030.0N 69.0W60 kt997 mbTropical storm
Aug 13, 18:0030.8N 69.4W60 kt1000 mbTropical storm
Aug 14, 00:0031.6N 69.9W60 kt997 mbTropical storm
Aug 14, 06:0032.1N 70.2W55 kt999 mbTropical storm
Aug 14, 12:0033.1N 70.1W55 kt999 mbTropical storm
Aug 14, 18:0034.0N 70.0W60 kt994 mbTropical storm
Aug 15, 00:0034.9N 69.5W70 kt989 mbHurricane
Aug 15, 06:0035.7N 68.7W75 kt985 mbHurricane
Aug 15, 12:0036.3N 67.7W75 kt985 mbHurricane
Aug 15, 18:0036.5N 66.5W80 kt980 mbHurricane
Aug 16, 00:0036.6N 65.1W80 kt980 mbHurricane
Aug 16, 06:0036.6N 64.0W80 kt978 mbHurricane
Aug 16, 12:0036.6N 63.0W85 kt975 mbHurricane
Aug 16, 18:0036.5N 62.0W90 kt970 mbHurricane
Aug 17, 00:0036.5N 61.3W80 kt978 mbHurricane
Aug 17, 06:0036.5N 60.6W75 kt983 mbHurricane
Aug 17, 12:0036.9N 59.1W65 kt987 mbHurricane
Aug 17, 18:0037.6N 57.3W65 kt987 mbHurricane
Aug 18, 00:0038.6N 55.0W60 kt990 mbTropical storm
Aug 18, 06:0040.3N 52.3W60 kt990 mbTropical storm
Aug 18, 12:0043.3N 48.9W50 kt992 mbTropical storm

Other North Atlantic storms of 2005

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.