 Gustav near peak intensity and approaching western Cuba on August 30 | |
| Meteorological history | |
|---|---|
| Formed | August 25, 2008 |
| Extratropical | September 4, 2008 |
| Dissipated | September 7, 2008 |
| Category 4 major hurricane | |
| 1-minute sustained (SSHWS/NWS) | |
| Highest winds | 155 mph (250 km/h) |
| Lowest pressure | 941 mbar (hPa); 27.79 inHg |
| Overall effects | |
| Fatalities | 153 |
| Damage | $8.31 billion (2008 USD) |
| Areas affected | Lesser Antilles, Greater Antilles, United States Gulf Coast, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Tennessee, Missouri, Illinois, Michigan |
| IBTrACS | |
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]
- ^ "Jindal to survey local storm damage, asks Congress for hurricane-protection money". HoumaToday.com. Archived from the original on June 1, 2016. Retrieved June 5, 2015.
- ^ Weissert, Will. "Gustav swells to dangerous Cat 3 storm off Cuba". Associated Press. Archived from the original on September 2, 2008. Retrieved August 30, 2008.
- ^ "Hurricane Gustav reaches Category 4 as it nears Cuba". CNN.com. Archived from the original on August 31, 2008. Retrieved August 30, 2008.
- ^ a b "Tropical Cyclone Report: Hurricane Gustav" (PDF). National Hurricane Center. Retrieved January 26, 2009.
- ^ Costliest U.S. tropical cyclones tables updated (PDF) (Report). National Hurricane Center. January 26, 2018. Retrieved January 29, 2018.
- ^ Report on 2008 Hurricane Season in Cuba. RA IV Hurricane Committee Thirty First Session. World Meteorological Organization's RA IV Hurricane Committee. Retrieved September 13, 2014.
- ^ "Cuban storms damage 'worst ever'". BBC. September 16, 2008. Retrieved September 16, 2008.