Hurricane Laura (2008)
Hurricane Laura reached Category 1 in the North Atlantic between September 26, 2008 and October 4, 2008, with a lowest pressure of 990 mb.
Track and intensity
The whole track of Hurricane Laura, 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.
The storm
- Basin
- North Atlantic
- Dates
- September 26, 2008 to October 4, 2008
- Peak strength
- Category 1, 70 kt (81 mph)
- Lowest pressure
- 990 mb (29.23 inHg)
- Landfall
- No; closest approach 343 km (213 mi)
- Accumulated cyclone energy
- 0.9
- Tropical-storm-force wind reached
- 420 nmi (778 km, 483 mi) from the center at its widest
- Hurricane-force wind reached
- 180 nmi (333 km, 207 mi) from the center at its widest
- Overall size
- 330 nmi (611 km, 380 mi) to the outermost closed isobar
- Peak gust in the best track
- 60 kt (69 mph)
- Fastest the center moved
- 32 kt (37 mph)
- Identifier
- AL122008
Deaths and damage
No source this site reads carries a casualty or damage figure for this storm.
Track
| Time (UTC) | Position | Wind | Pressure | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 26, 00:00 | 39.0N 35.0W | 40 kt | 1011 mb | Extratropical |
| Sep 26, 06:00 | 37.9N 35.0W | 45 kt | 1010 mb | Extratropical |
| Sep 26, 12:00 | 37.0N 35.5W | 50 kt | 1009 mb | Extratropical |
| Sep 26, 18:00 | 36.5N 36.0W | 55 kt | 1007 mb | Extratropical |
| Sep 27, 00:00 | 37.0N 36.5W | 60 kt | 1004 mb | Extratropical |
| Sep 27, 06:00 | 37.4N 37.2W | 65 kt | 998 mb | Extratropical |
| Sep 27, 12:00 | 37.5N 38.0W | 70 kt | 992 mb | Extratropical |
| Sep 27, 18:00 | 37.4N 39.0W | 70 kt | 992 mb | Extratropical |
| Sep 28, 00:00 | 37.3N 40.0W | 60 kt | 994 mb | Extratropical |
| Sep 28, 06:00 | 37.2N 41.2W | 55 kt | 994 mb | Extratropical |
| Sep 28, 12:00 | 37.0N 42.5W | 50 kt | 995 mb | Extratropical |
| Sep 28, 18:00 | 36.8N 44.1W | 50 kt | 995 mb | Extratropical |
| Sep 29, 00:00 | 36.7N 45.7W | 50 kt | 995 mb | Extratropical |
| Sep 29, 06:00 | 37.0N 47.0W | 50 kt | 995 mb | Subtropical storm |
| Sep 29, 12:00 | 37.2N 47.7W | 50 kt | 995 mb | Subtropical storm |
| Sep 29, 18:00 | 37.8N 48.2W | 50 kt | 995 mb | Subtropical storm |
| Sep 30, 00:00 | 38.6N 48.5W | 50 kt | 996 mb | Subtropical storm |
| Sep 30, 06:00 | 39.6N 48.8W | 50 kt | 996 mb | Subtropical storm |
| Sep 30, 12:00 | 40.6N 48.9W | 50 kt | 996 mb | Tropical storm |
| Sep 30, 18:00 | 41.7N 48.8W | 50 kt | 994 mb | Tropical storm |
| Oct 1, 00:00 | 42.9N 48.3W | 45 kt | 995 mb | Tropical storm |
| Oct 1, 06:00 | 44.2N 47.7W | 45 kt | 995 mb | Tropical storm |
| Oct 1, 12:00 | 45.7N 46.9W | 40 kt | 995 mb | Low |
| Oct 1, 18:00 | 47.5N 46.3W | 40 kt | 995 mb | Low |
| Oct 2, 00:00 | 49.5N 46.0W | 35 kt | 997 mb | Low |
| Oct 2, 06:00 | 51.5N 46.0W | 35 kt | 996 mb | Extratropical |
| Oct 2, 12:00 | 53.5N 46.0W | 40 kt | 992 mb | Extratropical |
| Oct 2, 18:00 | 55.6N 45.5W | 40 kt | 992 mb | Extratropical |
| Oct 3, 00:00 | 56.9N 44.0W | 50 kt | 991 mb | Extratropical |
| Oct 3, 06:00 | 57.0N 42.0W | 65 kt | 990 mb | Extratropical |
| Oct 3, 12:00 | 57.0N 40.0W | 60 kt | 992 mb | Extratropical |
| Oct 3, 18:00 | 57.0N 37.0W | 55 kt | 994 mb | Extratropical |
| Oct 4, 00:00 | 56.5N 31.4W | 45 kt | 996 mb | Extratropical |
| Oct 4, 06:00 | 56.0N 26.0W | 40 kt | 997 mb | Extratropical |
Other North Atlantic storms of 2008
- Tropical Storm ArthurNorth Atlantic · 2008
- Hurricane BerthaNorth Atlantic · 2008
- Tropical Storm CristobalNorth Atlantic · 2008
- Hurricane DollyNorth Atlantic · 2008
- Tropical Storm EdouardNorth Atlantic · 2008
- Tropical Storm FayNorth Atlantic · 2008
- Hurricane GustavNorth Atlantic · 2008
- Hurricane HannaNorth Atlantic · 2008
- Hurricane IkeNorth Atlantic · 2008 · 195 deaths · $38 billion
- Tropical Storm JosephineNorth Atlantic · 2008
- Hurricane KyleNorth Atlantic · 2008
- Tropical Storm MarcoNorth Atlantic · 2008
- Tropical Storm NanaNorth Atlantic · 2008
- Hurricane OmarNorth Atlantic · 2008
- Unnamed tropical depressionNorth Atlantic · 2008
- Hurricane PalomaNorth Atlantic · 2008 · 19 deaths
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.