All storm pages · 1985 Atlantic season
Hurricane Gloria 1985
Category 4 hurricane · Atlantic · September 16 to September 27, 1985
No other storm of the 1985 Atlantic season matched Gloria's 145 mph peak; the season had 14 storms. It generated 24% of the season's accumulated cyclone energy, more than any other 1985 storm. It made landfall in North Carolina as a Category 2 hurricane on September 27, 1985, with 105 mph winds. The name Gloria is on the National Hurricane Center's list of retired Atlantic hurricane names.
Strength over time
- First record (tropical depression) far out at sea, at 13.3°N, 23.6°W
- Tropical storm far out at sea, at 14.6°N, 28.3°W
- Hurricane 425 miles east-northeast of Pointe-à-Pitre, Guadeloupe, France
- Major hurricane 240 miles north of Arecibo, Puerto Rico
- Peak 365 miles north of Monte Cristi, the Dominican Republic; lowest pressure 920 mb
- Landfall North Carolina
- Landfall New York: Category 1, 85 mph, 961 mb
- No longer tropical (extratropical low) 55 miles southeast of Saint-Georges, Québec, Canada
- Last record far out at sea, at 56.6°N, 29.0°W
Against every Atlantic storm since 1851
In the 1985 season
Storm 9 of 14 in 1985, hurricane 5 of 7; it formed after Fabian and before Henri. See the season.
Places the center passed
The center came within 50 miles of at least 8 towns or cities of 10,000 people or more while the system was tropical. Distances are to the interpolated track line, not the storm's edge.
| Place | Closest | Wind then | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Waterbury, Connecticut | 6 mi | 85 mph | September 27 |
| New Haven, Connecticut | 6 mi | 85 mph | September 27 |
| Bridgeport, Connecticut | 6 mi | 85 mph | September 27 |
| Hartford, Connecticut | 8 mi | 85 mph | September 27 |
| Stamford, Connecticut | 21 mi | 85 mph | September 27 |
| Atlantic City, New Jersey | 22 mi | 90 mph | September 27 |
| New York, New York | 37 mi | 85 mph | September 27 |
| Newark, New Jersey | 45 mi | 85 mph | September 27 |
Similar landfalls in North Carolina
Storms whose strongest landfall record in North Carolina came closest to Gloria's 105 mph:
- Isabel (2003)105 mph, September 18, 2003
- Floyd (1999)105 mph, September 16, 1999
- Bertha (1996)105 mph, July 12, 1996
- Donna (1960)105 mph, September 12, 1960
Also peaked at 145 mph
Of 24 storms from other Atlantic seasons, the nearest in time:
- Helene (1988)938 mb, no landfall record
- Joan (1988)932 mb, landfall in Grenada
- Gabrielle (1989)935 mb, no landfall record
- Edouard (1996)933 mb, no landfall record