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All storm pages · 2011 Atlantic season

Hurricane Irene 2011

Category 3 hurricane · Atlantic · August 21 to August 28, 2011

Irene has landfall records in 6 different places: the US Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, the Bahamas, North Carolina, New Jersey and New York. It came ashore in the Bahamas as a Category 3 hurricane on August 24, 2011, with 115 mph winds. With a peak of 120 mph, it ranked the third-strongest of the 20 storms of the 2011 season. The name Irene is on the National Hurricane Center's list of retired Atlantic hurricane names.

Track of Irene (2011) from the best-track record, coloured by strength20°N30°N40°N50°N100°W90°W80°W70°W60°W50°W40°WUS Virgin Islands, 70 mphPuerto Rico, 70 mphBahamas, 115 mphNorth Carolina, 85 mphNew Jersey, 70 mphNew York, 65 mphPeak 120 mphFirst recordNot tropicalTropical stormCategory 1Category 2Category 300 and 12 UTCLandfall

Strength over time

Maximum sustained wind of Irene (2011) over time, in mphTSCat 1Cat 2Cat 3Cat 404080120160Aug 22Aug 23Aug 24Aug 25Aug 26Aug 27Aug 28Aug 29Aug 30mph
  1. First record (tropical storm) 135 miles north-northeast of Bridgetown, Saint Michael, Barbados
  2. Landfall US Virgin Islands: tropical storm, 70 mph, 993 mb
  3. Landfall Puerto Rico: tropical storm, 70 mph, 990 mb
  4. Hurricane 20 miles southeast of San Juan, Puerto Rico
  5. Major hurricane 140 miles north-northwest of Port-De-Paix, Nord-Ouest, Haiti
  6. Peak 140 miles north-northwest of Port-De-Paix, Nord-Ouest, Haiti; lowest pressure 942 mb
  7. Landfall Bahamas
  8. Landfall Bahamas: Category 2, 110 mph, 952 mb
  9. Landfall Bahamas: Category 2, 105 mph, 950 mb
  10. Landfall Bahamas: Category 2, 105 mph, 950 mb
  11. Landfall North Carolina: Category 1, 85 mph, 952 mb
  12. Landfall New Jersey: tropical storm, 70 mph, 959 mb
  13. Landfall New York: tropical storm, 65 mph, 965 mb
  14. No longer tropical (extratropical low) 60 miles east-southeast of Burlington, Vermont
  15. Last record 295 miles north-northwest of Corner Brook, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada

Against every Atlantic storm since 1851

Peak sustained wind120 mph · tied 221st of 1,98830 mph190 mph
Lowest central pressure942 mb · tied 127th of 1,277882 mb1016 mb
Accumulated cyclone energy18.8 · 265th of 1,7520.173.6
Days as a tropical or subtropical cyclone7.8 days · tied 461st of 1,9880.0 days31.8 days

In the 2011 season

04080120160Irene

Storm 9 of 20 in 2011, hurricane 1 of 7; it formed after Harvey and before Ten. Irene produced 15% of the season's accumulated cyclone energy. 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
Atlantic City, New Jersey0 mi70 mphAugust 28
New York, New York3 mi65 mphAugust 28
San Juan, Puerto Rico5 mi75 mphAugust 22
Christiansted, the US Virgin Islands6 mi70 mphAugust 21
Pittsfield, Massachusetts6 mi60 mphAugust 28
Newark, New Jersey11 mi65 mphAugust 28
Stamford, Connecticut12 mi65 mphAugust 28
Pointe-à-Pitre, Guadeloupe, France14 mi50 mphAugust 21

Every storm within 50 miles of New York, New York

Similar landfalls in Bahamas

Storms whose strongest landfall record in the Bahamas came closest to Irene's 115 mph:

All 29 storms with a landfall record in Bahamas

Also peaked at 120 mph

Of 59 storms from other Atlantic seasons, the nearest in time:

  • Fred (2009)958 mb, no landfall record
  • Edouard (2014)955 mb, no landfall record
  • Gordon (2006)955 mb, no landfall record
  • Helene (2006)955 mb, no landfall record