Hurricane Earl (2016)

Basin

North Atlantic

Dates

August 2, 2016 to August 6, 2016

Peak strength

Category 1, 75 kt (86 mph)

Lowest pressure

979 mb (28.91 inHg)

Landfall

Yes

Accumulated cyclone energy

4.6

Tropical-storm-force wind reached

120 nmi (222 km, 138 mi) from the center at its widest

Hurricane-force wind reached

20 nmi (37 km, 23 mi) from the center at its widest

Eyewall radius at its peak

15 nmi (28 km, 17 mi)

Overall size

140 nmi (259 km, 161 mi) to the outermost closed isobar

Peak gust in the best track

85 kt (98 mph)

Fastest the center moved

16 kt (18 mph)

Identifier

AL052016

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

0 (0 direct, 0 indirect)

Injuries

0

Property damage

none recorded

Crop damage

none recorded

Events recorded

2 in 1 reports from 1 states and marine areas

State by state

What was recorded

2 marine thunderstorm wind.

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.

• Hurricane AlexNorth Atlantic · 2016Cat 175 kt · 978 mb
• Tropical Storm BonnieNorth Atlantic · 2016Tropical Storm40 kt · 1006 mb
• Tropical Storm ColinNorth Atlantic · 2016Tropical Storm50 kt · 987 mb
• Tropical Storm DanielleNorth Atlantic · 2016Tropical Storm40 kt · 1007 mb
• Tropical Storm FionaNorth Atlantic · 2016Tropical Storm45 kt · 1004 mb
• Hurricane GastonNorth Atlantic · 2016Cat 3105 kt · 955 mb
• Unnamed tropical depressionNorth Atlantic · 2016Tropical Depression30 kt · 1010 mb
• Hurricane HermineNorth Atlantic · 2016Cat 170 kt · 981 mb
• Tropical Storm IanNorth Atlantic · 2016Tropical Storm55 kt · 984 mb
• Tropical Storm KarlNorth Atlantic · 2016Tropical Storm60 kt · 980 mb
• Tropical Storm JuliaNorth Atlantic · 2016Tropical Storm45 kt · 1007 mb
• Tropical Storm LisaNorth Atlantic · 2016Tropical Storm45 kt · 999 mb
• Hurricane MatthewNorth Atlantic · 2016 · 603 deaths · $15 billionCat 5145 kt · 934 mb
• Hurricane NicoleNorth Atlantic · 2016Cat 4120 kt · 950 mb
• Hurricane OttoNorth Atlantic · 2016 · 23 deaths · $192 millionCat 3100 kt · 975 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
• Best track as KMZ, National Hurricane Center
• Best track as a shapefile, National Hurricane Center
• Wikipedia article: Hurricane Earl