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Atlantic 2018 season

Hurricane Michael (2018)

Hurricane Michael was a Category 5 hurricane at its peak, with maximum sustained winds of 161 mph (140 kt) and a minimum central pressure of 919 mb. It was active from Oct 6, 2018 to Oct 15, 2018 and made 1 documented landfall.

Storm facts

Peak statusHurricane — Category 5
Max sustained winds140 kt / 161 mph / 259 km/h
Minimum central pressure919 mb
Active datesOct 6, 2018 – Oct 15, 2018
Accumulated cyclone energy (ACE)14.5
Documented landfalls1

Every value on this page is taken directly from the NHC HURDAT2 best-track record for Michael 2018. Nothing is estimated. The best-track table below shows one entry per day at 00:00 UTC; the full six-hourly record lives in the HURDAT2 database.

Best-track table (daily, 00:00 UTC)

DateStatusMax windsPosition
Oct 7, 2018Post-tropical low25 kt (46 km/h)18.1N 86.9W
Oct 8, 2018Tropical storm50 kt (93 km/h)19.7N 85.5W
Oct 9, 2018Hurricane85 kt (157 km/h)22.7N 85.2W
Oct 10, 2018Hurricane110 kt (204 km/h)26.6N 86.5W
Oct 11, 2018Hurricane80 kt (148 km/h)31.5N 84.5W
Oct 12, 2018Extratropical50 kt (93 km/h)36.5N 77.7W
Oct 13, 2018Extratropical65 kt (120 km/h)43.1N 61.5W
Oct 14, 2018Extratropical65 kt (120 km/h)48.4N 33.1W
Oct 15, 2018Extratropical55 kt (102 km/h)45.9N 13.5W

Read this like a pro

Wind speeds above are in knots, the unit NHC uses in HURDAT2. For what a Category 5 wind field actually does, see hurricane categories explained; for why the wind number alone never tells the danger story, see storm surge vs. flooding.