Hurricane Gustav

Category 4 Atlantic hurricane in 2008

Hurricane Gustav
Gustav near peak intensity and approaching western Cuba on August 30
Meteorological history
FormedAugust 25, 2008
ExtratropicalSeptember 4, 2008
DissipatedSeptember 7, 2008
Category 4 major hurricane
1-minute sustained (SSHWS/NWS)
Highest winds155 mph (250 km/h)
Lowest pressure941 mbar (hPa); 27.79 inHg
Overall effects
Fatalities153
Damage$8.31 billion (2008 USD)
Areas affectedLesser Antilles, Greater Antilles, United States Gulf Coast, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Tennessee, Missouri, Illinois, Michigan
IBTrACSEdit this at Wikidata

Part of the 2008 Atlantic hurricane season

Hurricane Gustav (/ˈɡʊstɑːv/) was the second most destructive hurricane of the 2008 Atlantic hurricane season. The seventh tropical cyclone, third hurricane, and second major hurricane of the season, Gustav caused serious damage and casualties in Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, the Cayman Islands, Cuba and the United States. Gustav caused at least $8.31 billion (2008 USD) in damages.[1]

It formed on the morning of August 25, 2008, about 260 miles (420 km) southeast of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, and rapidly strengthened into a tropical storm that afternoon and into a hurricane early on August 26. Later that day it made landfall near the Haitian town of Jacmel. It inundated Jamaica and ravaged Western Cuba and then steadily moved across the Gulf of Mexico.[2][3]

Once into the Gulf, Gustav gradually weakened because of increased wind shear and dry air. It weakened to a Category 2 hurricane late on August 31, and remained at that intensity until landfall on the morning of September 1 near Cocodrie, Louisiana.[4] Weakening continued, and Gustav weakened to a tropical storm that evening and to a tropical depression the next day as it meandered around the south-central US. The weak system became extratropical on September 4 and was absorbed by another low on September 5.[4]

In total, an estimated 153 deaths had been attributed to Gustav in the U.S. and Caribbean. Damage in the U.S. totaled to $6 billion (2008 USD)[5] with additional damage of $2.1 billion in Cuba[6] and $210 million in damage in Jamaica.[7]

Meteorological history

Map plotting the storm's track and intensity, according to the Saffir–Simpson scale
  Tropical depression (≤38 mph, ≤62 km/h)
  Tropical storm (39–73 mph, 63–118 km/h)
  Category 1 (74–95 mph, 119–153 km/h)
  Category 2 (96–110 mph, 154–177 km/h)
  Category 3 (111–129 mph, 178–208 km/h)
  Category 4 (130–156 mph, 209–251 km/h)
  Category 5 (≥157 mph, ≥252 km/h)
  Unknown
Storm type
circle Tropical cyclone
square Subtropical cyclone
triangle Extratropical cyclone, remnant low, tropical disturbance, or monsoon depression