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All storm pages · 2008 Atlantic season

Hurricane Ike 2008

Category 4 hurricane · Atlantic · September 1 to September 14, 2008

Ike's hurricane-force winds extended 127 miles from the center, tied for the fourth-widest hurricane-force field of the 171 Atlantic hurricanes measured this way since 2004. It has landfall records in 3 different places: the Bahamas, Cuba and Texas. It generated 27% of the season's accumulated cyclone energy, more than any other 2008 storm. The name Ike is on the National Hurricane Center's list of retired Atlantic hurricane names.

Track of Ike (2008) from the best-track record, coloured by strength20°N30°N40°N90°W80°W70°W60°W50°W40°WBahamas, 125 mphCuba, 130 mphTexas, 110 mphPeak 145 mphFirst recordNot tropicalDepressionTropical stormCategory 1Category 2Category 3Category 400 and 12 UTCLandfall

Strength over time

Maximum sustained wind of Ike (2008) over time, in mphTSCat 1Cat 2Cat 3Cat 4Cat 504080120160Sep 2Sep 4Sep 6Sep 8Sep 10Sep 12Sep 14mph
  1. First record (tropical depression) far out at sea, at 17.2°N, 37.0°W
  2. Tropical storm far out at sea, at 17.3°N, 38.4°W
  3. Hurricane 705 miles east-northeast of Saint John's, Antigua and Barbuda
  4. Major hurricane 635 miles east-northeast of Saint John's, Antigua and Barbuda
  5. Peak, 145 mph 575 miles northeast of Saint John's, Antigua and Barbuda; lowest pressure 935 mb
  6. Landfall Bahamas: Category 3, 125 mph, 947 mb
  7. Landfall Cuba
  8. Landfall Cuba: Category 1, 80 mph, 965 mb
  9. Landfall Texas: Category 2, 110 mph, 950 mb
  10. No longer tropical (extratropical low) 65 miles north-northwest of Poplar Bluff, Missouri
  11. Last record 25 miles north-northeast of Québec, Canada

Against every Atlantic storm since 1851

Peak sustained wind145 mph · tied 85th of 1,98830 mph190 mph
Lowest central pressure935 mb · tied 84th of 1,277882 mb1016 mb
Accumulated cyclone energy39.2 · 45th of 1,7520.173.6
Days as a tropical or subtropical cyclone13.0 days · tied 97th of 1,9880.0 days31.8 days

More from the record

It came ashore in Cuba as a Category 4 hurricane on September 8, 2008, with 130 mph winds.

Its winds climbed 80 mph in the 24 hours to September 4.

In the 2008 season

04080120160Ike

Storm 9 of 17 in 2008, hurricane 5 of 8; it formed after Hanna and before Josephine. Ike ranks joint second by peak wind in the season. 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.

PlaceClosestWind thenDate
Baytown, Texas2 mi105 mphSeptember 13
Galveston, Texas5 mi110 mphSeptember 13
Tyler, Texas8 mi50 mphSeptember 13
Banes, Holguín, Cuba9 mi130 mphSeptember 8
Las Tunas, Cuba10 mi110 mphSeptember 8
Texas City, Texas11 mi110 mphSeptember 13
Holguín, Cuba15 mi120 mphSeptember 8
Pasadena, Texas15 mi105 mphSeptember 13

Every storm within 50 miles of Pasadena, Texas

Similar landfalls in Cuba

Storms whose strongest landfall record in Cuba came closest to Ike's 130 mph:

All 56 storms with a landfall record in Cuba

Also peaked at 145 mph

Of 23 storms from other Atlantic seasons, the nearest in time:

  • Earl (2010)927 mb, landfall in Nova Scotia
  • Frances (2004)935 mb, landfall in Bahamas
  • Karl (2004)938 mb, no landfall record
  • Fabian (2003)939 mb, no landfall record