Hurricane Season of 1998 in the North Atlantic

• Introduction
• General characteristics of the Hurricane Season of 1998
• Individual characteristics of tropical Cyclones in 1998
  • «ALEX»
  • «BONNIE»
  • «CHARLEY»
  • «DANIELLE»
  • «EARL»
  • «FRANCES»
  • «GEORGES»
    • Damages caused by Georges in Cuba
  • «HERMINE»
  • «IVAN»
  • «JEANNE»
  • «KARL»
  • «LISA»
  • «MITCH»
  • «NICOLE»
• Acknowledgments
• Sources of Information

Introduction

Along the years the death told due to hurricanes has considerably diminished in many countries due mainly to the advancements reached in the study and prediction of such systems behavior, timely warnings and scheduled evacuations. However, economic losses have generally increased.

In this report, the main characteristics presented by cyclones generated in 1998 on the Atlantic, that made this season to be remembered by it’s peculiarities, will be presented. With no doubt, the main event was the sadly notorious Hurricane Mitch. The tragedy caused by this intense meteor was superior to that caused by the Galveston Hurricane in 1900, when nearly 5000 people drowned in the storm surge that swept the island of Galveston. It was also superior to that associated to Hurricane Fifi (September 1994) in Central America and it is only surpassed by the catastrophe occurred during the Hurricane of 1780 that caused 23000 victims in the Southeast Caribbean near the island of Guadalupe.

Mitch, apart from remaining engraved in the memory of many, has brought to the minds of meteorologists the great hurricanes that originated during the decades of the 20’s, 30’s and 40’s on the West Caribbean making them think whether this Sea has awakened from it’s quietude again.

General characteristics of the Hurricane Season of 1998