Tropical Storm Cristobal (2008)

Tropical Storm Cristobal peaked at 55 kt in the North Atlantic between July 19, 2008 and July 23, 2008, with a lowest pressure of 998 mb.

Track and intensity

The whole track of Tropical Storm Cristobal, colored by strength, with the other storms of the 2008 season in the same basin behind it, and its wind and pressure hour by hour. Every fix is in the track table below.

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The storm

Basin: North Atlantic
Dates: July 19, 2008 to July 23, 2008
Peak strength: Tropical Storm, 55 kt (63 mph)
Lowest pressure: 998 mb (29.47 inHg)
Landfall: No; closest approach 42 km (26 mi)
Accumulated cyclone energy: 3.7
Tropical-storm-force wind reached: 110 nmi (204 km, 127 mi) from the center at its widest
Eyewall radius at its peak: 40 nmi (74 km, 46 mi)
Overall size: 200 nmi (370 km, 230 mi) to the outermost closed isobar
Peak gust in the best track: 65 kt (75 mph)
Fastest the center moved: 30 kt (35 mph)
Identifier: AL032008

Radar at KMHX as it neared land, Jul 20, 12:00 UTC

Deaths and damage

The sources count different things and are not added together.

NOAA Storm Events

0 deaths (0 direct, 0 indirect)none recorded

What National Weather Service offices recorded county by county in 5 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.

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: none recorded
Crop damage: none recorded
Events recorded: 13 in 5 reports from 5 states and marine areas

State by state

State or marine area	Deaths	Injuries	Damage	Events
New York	0	0		5
North Carolina	0	0		3
New Jersey	0	0		2
Connecticut	0	0		2
Florida	0	0		1

What was recorded

9 flash flood, 3 storm surge/tide, 1 hail.

Rainfall

The Weather Prediction Center attributes 933 rain gauge totals over the contiguous United States to this storm. The wettest reached 7.97 inches (202 mm).

Station	Total	Position
MARCO ISLAND CC FL	7.97 in (202 mm)	25.95N 81.71W
OCHOPEE_1NE FL	7.26 in (184 mm)	25.92N 81.28W
Arcadia 7.1 WSW	6.45 in (164 mm)	27.18N 81.96W
Tampa 4.4 SSW	6.17 in (157 mm)	27.90N 82.52W
University West 2.0 WNW	6.08 in (154 mm)	28.08N 82.46W
WILMINGTON NC	5.56 in (141 mm)	34.27N 77.90W
De Land 4.5 NW	5.34 in (136 mm)	29.09N 81.34W
Lakeland 3.8 NW	5.16 in (131 mm)	28.08N 82.01W
WILM 7N/CASTLE HAYNE NC	5.04 in (128 mm)	34.32N 77.92W
Ogden 2 WNW NC	4.96 in (126 mm)	34.28N 77.84W
Marco 0.2 SSE	4.92 in (125 mm)	25.94N 81.72W
Micco 4.5 NW	4.86 in (123 mm)	27.92N 80.56W

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

What forecast offices wrote

From the Storm Events narratives, unedited.

Five inches of standing water accumulated on Old Mill Road at the railroad underpass in Wantagh. NWS mesonets reported storm total rainfall amounts of 3.03 inches in Bellmore, 1.77 inches in Massapequa Park, 1.75 inches in North Bellmore, and 1.57 inches in Merrick.
Nassau, New York · Flash Flood · Jul 23, 15:24 UTC

Route 218 was closed in both directions between West Point Academy and the Cornwall line due to flooding. A National Weather Service Cooperative Observer reported a storm total rainfall amount of 2.00 inches in West Point.
Orange, New York · Flash Flood · Jul 24, 00:21 UTC

Track

Time (UTC)	Position	Wind	Pressure	Status
Jul 19, 00:00	31.7N 79.8W	25 kt	1010 mb	Tropical depression
Jul 19, 06:00	32.2N 79.4W	25 kt	1009 mb	Tropical depression
Jul 19, 12:00	32.4N 78.8W	35 kt	1007 mb	Tropical storm
Jul 19, 18:00	32.8N 78.2W	45 kt	1006 mb	Tropical storm
Jul 20, 00:00	33.2N 77.8W	45 kt	1006 mb	Tropical storm
Jul 20, 06:00	33.7N 77.4W	45 kt	1006 mb	Tropical storm
Jul 20, 12:00	34.1N 76.7W	45 kt	1006 mb	Tropical storm
Jul 20, 18:00	34.5N 76.1W	45 kt	1007 mb	Tropical storm
Jul 21, 00:00	34.9N 75.4W	45 kt	1005 mb	Tropical storm
Jul 21, 06:00	35.6N 74.3W	50 kt	1004 mb	Tropical storm
Jul 21, 12:00	36.2N 73.2W	55 kt	1000 mb	Tropical storm
Jul 21, 18:00	36.8N 72.0W	55 kt	1000 mb	Tropical storm
Jul 22, 00:00	37.4N 70.7W	55 kt	1000 mb	Tropical storm
Jul 22, 06:00	38.4N 69.2W	55 kt	1000 mb	Tropical storm
Jul 22, 12:00	40.0N 67.0W	55 kt	998 mb	Tropical storm
Jul 22, 18:00	41.7N 64.2W	50 kt	1000 mb	Tropical storm
Jul 23, 00:00	43.3N 60.7W	45 kt	1001 mb	Tropical storm
Jul 23, 06:00	44.4N 57.5W	40 kt	1004 mb	Tropical storm

Other North Atlantic storms of 2008

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.