Hurricane Gustav
One of the tropical cyclone disasters on NOAA’s billion-dollar list: $8.6 billion in losses at 2024 prices ($6.0 billion at the time) and 53 deaths.
What the offices filed during it
The 51 most significant tropical cyclone episodes filed in these dates, colored by kind.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
The toll
- Losses, 2024 dollars
- $8.6 billion
- Losses at the time
- $6.0 billion
- Deaths
- 53
The losses and deaths are NCEI’s, counting everything the disaster did. The episodes below are only what the Weather Service filed in its Storm Events record, which counts damage differently and often not at all, so the two never add up and are shown apart.
By state, as filed
| State | Events | Deaths | Injuries | Damage filed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Louisiana | 129 | 10 | 9 | $1.5 billion |
| Mississippi | 92 | 0 | 0 | $93 million |
| Arkansas | 91 | 0 | 0 | $76 million |
| Alabama | 17 | 0 | 0 | $4.8 million |
| Florida | 23 | 1 | 0 | $1.6 million |
| New Mexico | 9 | 0 | 1 | $232,000 |
| Puerto Rico | 20 | 2 | 0 | $73,000 |
| Indiana | 1 | 0 | 0 | $35,000 |
| Arizona | 5 | 0 | 0 | $15,000 |
| California | 3 | 0 | 2 | $10,000 |
| Utah | 9 | 0 | 0 | $8,000 |
| Missouri | 13 | 0 | 0 | $5,000 |
| Texas | 6 | 0 | 0 | $5,000 |
| North Carolina | 7 | 0 | 0 | |
| U.S. Virgin Islands | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
| Nevada | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
| Oklahoma | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
| Wyoming | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Minnesota | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| North Dakota | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Illinois | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Wisconsin | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Episode by episode
- Flash Flooding in New Mexico, August 29, 2008A back door cold front and upper level trough combined to generate heavy rain over portions of northern and eastern New Mexico, with reports of flash flooding in Cimarron and Dora and south of Los Alamos.
- Tropical Storm and Storm Surge in Florida, August 30 to 31, 2008Hurricane Gustav moved west-northwest through the northwest Caribbean Sea, crossing over western Cuba before continuing into the Gulf of Mexico. Tropical storm force winds spread over the Middle and Lower Florida Keys of Monroe County August 30 through 31, 2008.
- Heavy Rain in U.S. Virgin Islands, August 30, 2008As tropical Storm Hanna was located over 200 miles north of Puerto Rico, the extreme outer bands of moisture affected the local area. The storm circulation also induced a west to southwest low level flow.
- Flash Flooding and Hail in Arizona, August 30 to 31, 2008Monsoon moisture triggered thunderstorms which produced severe weather and flash flooding in the Mojave Desert.
- Flash Flooding and Hail in California, August 30, 2008An easterly wave passing through Southern California generated widespread showers and thunderstorms over the mountains and deserts.
- Flash Flood in Texas, August 30, 2008A strong upper level disturbance, moving northwestward across the area, aided in the development of scattered showers and thunderstorms across the Permian Basin and southwest Texas.
- Flash Flooding and Hail in North Carolina, August 30, 2008A moist and moderately unstable air mass over central North Carolina in conjunction with a weakening mid level disturbance triggered scattered thunderstorms across the northern Piedmont and Coastal Plain.
- Flash Flood and Hail in Nevada, August 30, 2008Monsoon moisture triggered thunderstorms which produced severe weather and flash flooding in the Mojave Desert.
- Flash Flooding and Damaging Winds in Utah, August 30 to 31, 2008Numerous thunderstorms across the state of Utah produced strong gusty winds in northern Utah and flash flooding in southern Utah.
- Flash Flooding in New Mexico, August 30 to 31, 2008A deep, moist southeasterly flow with embedded upper disturbances produced widespread showers and thunderstorms with heavy rainfall in southern New Mexico.
- Tornado in Florida, August 31, 2008An outer spiral band associated with Hurricane Gustav produced a tornado which was sighted by motorist driving on Highway 41 in the Everglades.
- Flash Flood in New Mexico, August 31, 2008Deep moisture helped fuel thunderstorm development over New Mexico, with some storms producing heavy rain. The heavy rain and steep terrain of the Jemez mountains resulted in flash flooding of state highway 4 near the Jemez Pueblo.
- Flash Flood in Arizona, August 31, 2008Very heavy rainfall occurred throughout much of the Tucson Metro area with some areas receiving in excess of 2 inches of rain. This produced flash flooding and led to a swift water rescue.
- Tropical Storm in Alabama, August 31, 2008Hurricane Gustav moved south and west of the area. Heavy rains and higher than normal tides brought flooding to the coastal areas.
- Hurricane and Tornadoes in Louisiana, September 1 to 2, 2008Hurricane Gustav emerged into the southeast Gulf of Mexico as a major category 3 hurricane on August 31st after developing in the Caribbean Sea and moving across western Cuba.
- Hurricane and Storm Surge in Mississippi, September 1 to 2, 2008Hurricane Gustav emerged into the southeast Gulf of Mexico as a major category 3 hurricane on August 31st after developing in the Caribbean Sea and moving across western Cuba.
- Tropical Storm in Alabama, September 1, 2008Hurricane Gustav brought tropical storm force winds to the coastal areas of southwest Alabama on September 1.
- Storm Surge in Florida, September 1 to 2, 2008Storm tides of three to five feet along the Panhandle coast associated with Hurricane Gustav produced flooding and minor beach erosion. Several homes and roads in coastal Gulf, Wakulla and Franklin counties were affected.
- Storm Surge in Florida, September 1, 2008Swells from Hurricane Gustav caused above normal tides along the west coast of Florida. Gustav made landfall along the Louisiana coast in the late morning on September 1. Minor coastal flooding and high surf was reported on Cedar Key around the time of high tide.
- Tropical Depression in Mississippi, September 1, 2008Gustav brought tropical depression conditions to southeast Mississippi as it moved south of the area.
- Storm Surge in Alabama, September 1, 2008Gustav moved south and west of the Alabama coastal waters bringing high surge values.
- Tropical Storm in Florida, September 1, 2008As Gustav moved south of northwest Florida tropical storm force winds were observed along the coastal areas.
- Tornadoes in Florida, September 1, 2008Outer rainbands from Hurricane Gustav produced several small tornadoes across northwest Florida.
- Storm Surge in Florida, September 1, 2008Gustav moved south and west of the northwest Florida coast and brought higher than normal tides to the area.
- Hurricane and Tornadoes in Louisiana, September 1 to 3, 2008Hurricane Gustav caused wind damage, flash flooding, and several tornadoes across southwest Louisiana. Hustav made landfall in Terrebonne Parish in the morning of September 2nd as a category 2 hurricane with sustained winds of 110 mph.
- Tornadoes and Tropical Storm in Mississippi, September 1 to 4, 2008Hurricane Gustav was the 2nd major hurricane of the 2008 Atlantic Hurricane Season. It took shape as a tropical depression on the morning of August 25th just southeast of Haiti, and rapidly strengthened to hurricane status by the morning of August 26th.
- Storm Surge in Texas, September 1, 2008Swells generated by Hurricane Gustav, which moved northwest from western Cuba toward the southeast Louisiana coast in a little over 30 hours between late evening August 30th and early morning on Labor Day, September 1st, moved onto the Deep South Texas coastline by late morning…
- Flash Flood and Debris Flows in Puerto Rico, September 1 to 3, 2008The extreme outer bands of Tropical Storm Hanna impacted Puerto Rio during the first week of September. Hanna's circulation induced a low level flow of south to southwest winds that pushed showers and thunderstorms from the Caribbean waters northward into the island.
- Tornado in Alabama, September 1 to 2, 2008Outer rainbands from Hurricane Gustav produced a weak tornado and several funnel clouds across extreme southwest Alabama.
- Tornadoes and Tropical Storm in Louisiana, September 1 to 3, 2008Hurricane Gustav was the 2nd major hurricane of the 2008 Atlantic Hurricane Season. It took shape as a tropical depression on the morning of August 25th just southeast of Haiti, and rapidly strengthened to hurricane status by the morning of August 26th.
- Flash Flooding in Alabama, September 1, 2008Gustav brought heavy rains to the area and caused many roads to flood and they had to be closed for several hours due to high water.
- Flash Flooding in Mississippi, September 1, 2008Heavy rains from Gustav brought flash flooding to southeast Mississippi, Many roads across the area had to be closed for several hours due to high water.
- Tornado in Wyoming, September 1, 2008A small tornado touched down near Savageton.
- Tornado and Tropical Storm in Arkansas, September 1 to 3, 2008Hurricane Gustav was the 2nd major hurricane of the 2008 Atlantic Hurricane Season. It took shape as a tropical depression on the morning of August 25th just southeast of Haiti, and rapidly strengthened to hurricane status by the morning of August 26th.
- Tropical Storm and Flash Flooding in Louisiana, September 1 to 3, 2008Hurricane Gustav moved northwestward into the southeast Louisiana coast during the early morning hours of September 1st. The storm continued a steady northwestward motion into east central Louisiana and northwest Louisiana during the evening hours of September 1st.
- Flash Flood in Minnesota, September 2, 2008A slow moving surface cold front moved from eastern North Dakota into western Minnesota early on the morning of the 2nd. Once again, a very moist airmass was in place ahead of the front, with dew points in the mid to upper 60s.
- Flash Flood in North Dakota, September 2, 2008A slow moving surface cold front moved from eastern North Dakota into western Minnesota early on the morning of the 2nd. Once again, a very moist airmass was in place ahead of the front, with dew points in the mid to upper 60s.
- Flash Flood in New Mexico, September 2, 2008Heavy rainfall occured across Southeast New Mexico and the Permian Basin as an early season cold front moved south across the area. Precipitable water values of up to 1.7 inches aided in the development of isolated areas of heavy rainfall.
- Tornado and Flash Flooding in Arkansas, September 2 to 11, 2008Tropical Depression Gustav entered the southwest corner of Arkansas on the evening of the 2nd and lingered in the southwest part of the state for nearly 24 hours. By mid-evening on the 3rd, Gustav was about 75 miles west of Little Rock.
- Tornadoes in Mississippi, September 2, 2008The remnants of Hurricane Gustav moved inland from the Louisiana Coast northward into Southwest Arkansas. The system weakened as it pushed northward. Numerous showers and thunderstorms were associated with the remnants.
- Tornado and Flooding in Missouri, September 2 to 4, 2008Following the landfall of Hurricane Gustav along the Louisiana coast, Gustav's extra-tropical circulation tracked directly into southern Missouri. The remnant moisture from Gustav created widespread rainfall amounts ranging from two to six inches across the region.
- Flash Flood in Texas, September 2, 2008Heavy rainfall occured across Southeast New Mexico and the Permian Basin as an early season cold front moved south across the area. Precipitable water values of up to 1.7 inches aided in the development of isolated areas of heavy rainfall.
- Tropical Depression in Texas, September 2, 2008The remnants of Hurricane Gustav moved through Louisiana and Arkansas causing gusty winds to spread across east Texas.
- Flash Flood in Oklahoma, September 3, 2008Heavy rain caused a flash flood in Le Flore county in southeast Oklahoma.
- Flash Flood in Arkansas, September 3, 2008Localized flash flooding occurred across northwest Arkansas on the 3rd.
- Flash Flooding in Arkansas, September 3, 2008Hurricane Gustav moved northwestward into the southeast Louisiana coast during the early morning hours of September 1st. The storm continued a steady northwestward motion into east central Louisiana and northwest Louisiana during the evening hours of September 1st.
- Tornado in Arizona, September 3, 2008A small tornado was seen near Big Lake in the White Mountains.
- Heavy Rain in Illinois, September 3, 2008Locally heavy rain occurred near a slow-moving cold front that extended from northeast to southwest across western Kentucky.
- Flood in Oklahoma, September 3 to 6, 2008Heavy rain associated with the remnants of Hurricane Gustav caused a moderate flood along the Poteau River near Panama.
- Heavy Rain in Wisconsin, September 4 to 5, 2008Heavy rains of 1 to 3 inches soaked Southcentral and Southeast Wisconsin on September 4th and 5th. The rain was associated with the remnants of Hurricane Gustav which eventually moved northeast through the Ohio River Valley. This kind of heavy rain is rare for Southern Wisconsin.
- Tornado in Indiana, September 4, 2008During the afternoon hours of September 4th, the remnants of what once was hurricane Gustav moved northeast across northwest Indiana. Several bands of rain moved through the area with some convective cells. One of these cells produced a brief tornado.
More
Every billion-dollar disasterEvery storm of 2008The 2008 hurricane seasonTornadoes in 2008
Sources
NOAA NCEI, U.S. Billion-Dollar Weather and Climate Disasters (2025), https://doi.org/10.25921/stkw-7w73, and the Storm Events Database for the episodes.