Hurricane Ernesto (2024)
Hurricane Ernesto reached Category 2 in the North Atlantic between August 11, 2024 and August 20, 2024, with a lowest pressure of 967 mb, and made landfall. It killed 3 people directly, by the National Hurricane Center’s count.
Radar
Reflectivity now over Hurricane Ernesto. Open it to see storms, cones and warnings on the map.
Radar mosaic and map layers from NOAA MRMS. Boundaries from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet.
The storm
- Basin
- North Atlantic
- Dates
- August 11, 2024 to August 20, 2024
- Peak strength
- Category 2, 85 kt (98 mph)
- Lowest pressure
- 967 mb (28.56 inHg)
- Landfall
- Yes
- Accumulated cyclone energy
- 14.4
- Tropical-storm-force wind reached
- 240 nmi (444 km, 276 mi) from the center at its widest
- Hurricane-force wind reached
- 65 nmi (120 km, 75 mi) from the center at its widest
- Eyewall radius at its peak
- 40 nmi (74 km, 46 mi)
- Overall size
- 330 nmi (611 km, 380 mi) to the outermost closed isobar
- Peak gust in the best track
- 105 kt (121 mph)
- Fastest the center moved
- 38 kt (44 mph)
- Identifier
- AL052024
Deaths and damage
The sources count different things and are not added together.
National Hurricane Center
3 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.
NOAA Storm Events
1 deaths (1 direct, 0 indirect)none recorded
What National Weather Service offices recorded county by county in 2 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.
Landfalls
| Time (UTC) | Where | Position | Wind | Pressure |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 13, 09:40 | Le Moule, Guadeloupe, Guadeloupe, 10 km away | 16.4N 61.4W | 35 kt (40 mph) | 1007 mb |
| Aug 13, 12:50 | Saint John’s, Saint John Parish, Antigua and Barbuda, 60 km away | 16.7N 62.2W | 40 kt (46 mph) | 1005 mb |
| Aug 13, 23:30 | Coast unnamed here | 18.3N 64.7W | 55 kt (63 mph) | 998 mb |
| Aug 17, 08:30 | Coast unnamed here | 32.3N 64.8W | 75 kt (86 mph) | 972 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 July 2026.
- Deaths
- 1 (1 direct, 0 indirect)
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- none recorded
- Crop damage
- none recorded
- Events recorded
- 3 in 2 reports from 2 states and marine areas
State by state
| State or marine area | Deaths | Injuries | Damage | Events |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| North Carolina | 1 | 0 | 2 | |
| Atlantic South | 0 | 0 | 1 |
What was recorded
2 rip current, 1 waterspout.
Tornadoes and waterspouts
1 waterspout recorded in the United States.
What forecast offices wrote
From the Storm Events narratives, unedited.
A member of the public reported a waterspout in the coastal waters of Punta Santiago, Humacao, and it was also seen from Naguabo.
Coastal Waters East of Puerto Rico, Around Vieques, and Around and Just North of Culebra and Saint John, Atlantic South · Waterspout · Aug 15, 21:10 UTC
Wrightsville Beach Ocean Rescue performed 25 rip current rescues due to strong rip currents caused by Hurricane Ernesto.
Coastal New Hanover, North Carolina · Rip Current · Aug 17, 14:00 UTC
A 41 year old male drowned in a rip current in Surf City during the afternoon of the 17th attempting to rescue two children caught in a strong current caused by swells from Hurricane Ernesto.
Coastal Pender, North Carolina · Rip Current · Aug 17, 18:45 UTC
Track
| Time (UTC) | Position | Wind | Pressure | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 11, 18:00 | 14.4N 47.2W | 25 kt | 1010 mb | Disturbance |
| Aug 12, 00:00 | 14.8N 49.8W | 25 kt | 1009 mb | Disturbance |
| Aug 12, 06:00 | 15.3N 52.2W | 25 kt | 1009 mb | Disturbance |
| Aug 12, 12:00 | 15.6N 54.6W | 30 kt | 1008 mb | Tropical depression |
| Aug 12, 18:00 | 15.9N 56.6W | 35 kt | 1007 mb | Tropical storm |
| Aug 13, 00:00 | 16.0N 58.6W | 35 kt | 1007 mb | Tropical storm |
| Aug 13, 06:00 | 16.1N 60.5W | 35 kt | 1007 mb | Tropical storm |
| Aug 13, 09:40 landfall | 16.4N 61.4W | 35 kt | 1007 mb | Tropical storm |
| Aug 13, 12:00 | 16.6N 62.0W | 40 kt | 1005 mb | Tropical storm |
| Aug 13, 12:50 landfall | 16.7N 62.2W | 40 kt | 1005 mb | Tropical storm |
| Aug 13, 18:00 | 17.6N 63.5W | 50 kt | 1001 mb | Tropical storm |
| Aug 13, 23:30 landfall | 18.3N 64.7W | 55 kt | 998 mb | Tropical storm |
| Aug 14, 00:00 | 18.4N 64.9W | 55 kt | 998 mb | Tropical storm |
| Aug 14, 06:00 | 19.0N 66.0W | 60 kt | 996 mb | Tropical storm |
| Aug 14, 12:00 | 19.9N 67.2W | 65 kt | 991 mb | Hurricane |
| Aug 14, 18:00 | 21.1N 68.0W | 65 kt | 989 mb | Hurricane |
| Aug 15, 00:00 | 22.3N 68.7W | 70 kt | 981 mb | Hurricane |
| Aug 15, 06:00 | 23.4N 69.2W | 75 kt | 979 mb | Hurricane |
| Aug 15, 12:00 | 24.5N 69.3W | 75 kt | 975 mb | Hurricane |
| Aug 15, 18:00 | 25.6N 69.0W | 80 kt | 975 mb | Hurricane |
| Aug 16, 00:00 | 26.6N 68.3W | 85 kt | 969 mb | Hurricane |
| Aug 16, 06:00 | 27.7N 67.5W | 85 kt | 968 mb | Hurricane |
| Aug 16, 12:00 | 28.9N 66.8W | 85 kt | 967 mb | Hurricane |
| Aug 16, 18:00 | 30.0N 66.1W | 85 kt | 969 mb | Hurricane |
| Aug 17, 00:00 | 31.0N 65.4W | 80 kt | 969 mb | Hurricane |
| Aug 17, 06:00 | 31.9N 65.0W | 75 kt | 972 mb | Hurricane |
| Aug 17, 08:30 landfall | 32.3N 64.8W | 75 kt | 972 mb | Hurricane |
| Aug 17, 12:00 | 32.6N 64.6W | 70 kt | 974 mb | Hurricane |
| Aug 17, 18:00 | 33.0N 64.2W | 65 kt | 977 mb | Hurricane |
| Aug 18, 00:00 | 33.5N 63.6W | 60 kt | 981 mb | Tropical storm |
| Aug 18, 06:00 | 34.3N 63.2W | 60 kt | 982 mb | Tropical storm |
| Aug 18, 12:00 | 35.4N 63.0W | 60 kt | 980 mb | Tropical storm |
| Aug 18, 18:00 | 36.4N 62.6W | 65 kt | 977 mb | Hurricane |
| Aug 19, 00:00 | 37.7N 62.0W | 70 kt | 975 mb | Hurricane |
| Aug 19, 06:00 | 39.2N 61.2W | 75 kt | 972 mb | Hurricane |
| Aug 19, 12:00 | 40.9N 59.8W | 85 kt | 967 mb | Hurricane |
| Aug 19, 18:00 | 42.8N 58.1W | 80 kt | 970 mb | Hurricane |
| Aug 20, 00:00 | 44.8N 55.0W | 75 kt | 972 mb | Hurricane |
| Aug 20, 06:00 | 46.6N 51.4W | 65 kt | 976 mb | Hurricane |
| Aug 20, 12:00 | 48.3N 47.2W | 60 kt | 987 mb | Extratropical |
| Aug 20, 18:00 | 49.7N 41.9W | 55 kt | 991 mb | Extratropical |
Other North Atlantic storms of 2024
- Tropical Storm AlbertoNorth Atlantic · 2024 · 2 deaths · $125 million
- Hurricane BerylNorth Atlantic · 2024 · 35 deaths · $7.2 billion
- Tropical Storm ChrisNorth Atlantic · 2024 · 5 deaths
- Hurricane DebbyNorth Atlantic · 2024 · 12 deaths · $2.5 billion
- Hurricane FrancineNorth Atlantic · 2024 · $1.3 billion
- Tropical Storm GordonNorth Atlantic · 2024
- Unnamed tropical stormNorth Atlantic · 2024
- Hurricane HeleneNorth Atlantic · 2024 · 175 deaths · $79 billion
- Hurricane IsaacNorth Atlantic · 2024
- Tropical Storm JoyceNorth Atlantic · 2024
- Hurricane KirkNorth Atlantic · 2024
- Hurricane LeslieNorth Atlantic · 2024
- Hurricane MiltonNorth Atlantic · 2024 · 15 deaths · $34 billion
- Tropical Storm NadineNorth Atlantic · 2024 · 7 deaths
- Hurricane OscarNorth Atlantic · 2024 · 8 deaths
- Tropical Storm PattyNorth Atlantic · 2024
- Hurricane RafaelNorth Atlantic · 2024 · 2 deaths
- Tropical Storm SaraNorth Atlantic · 2024 · 9 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.