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All storm pages · 2001 Atlantic season

Hurricane Michelle 2001

Category 4 hurricane · Atlantic · October 29 to November 5, 2001

Michelle came ashore in Cuba as a Category 4 hurricane on November 4, 2001, with 140 mph winds. With a peak of 140 mph, it ranked the second-strongest of the 17 storms of the 2001 season. It produced 15% of the season's accumulated cyclone energy. The name Michelle is on the National Hurricane Center's list of retired Atlantic hurricane names.

Track of Michelle (2001) from the best-track record, coloured by strength15°N20°N25°N30°N85°W80°W75°W70°W65°WCuba, 140 mphBahamas, 90 mphPeak 140 mphFirst recordNot tropicalDepressionTropical stormCategory 1Category 2Category 3Category 400 and 12 UTCLandfall

Strength over time

Maximum sustained wind of Michelle (2001) over time, in mphTSCat 1Cat 2Cat 3Cat 4Cat 504080120160Oct 30Oct 31Nov 1Nov 2Nov 3Nov 4Nov 5Nov 6mph
  1. First record (tropical depression) 55 miles south-southwest of Bilwi, Atlántico Norte, Nicaragua
  2. Tropical storm 125 miles north of Bilwi, Atlántico Norte, Nicaragua
  3. Hurricane 230 miles northeast of La Ceiba, Atlántida, Honduras
  4. Major hurricane 210 miles southeast of Cozumel, Quintana Roo, Mexico
  5. Peak 125 miles south-southwest of Nueva Gerona, Isla de la Juventud, Cuba; lowest pressure 933 mb
  6. Landfall Cuba
  7. Landfall Cuba: Category 4, 130 mph, 950 mb
  8. Landfall Bahamas: Category 1, 90 mph, 974 mb
  9. Landfall Bahamas: Category 1, 85 mph, 980 mb
  10. No longer tropical (extratropical low) 195 miles east-northeast of Nassau, the Bahamas
  11. Last record 270 miles south-southwest of Hamilton, Bermuda

Against every Atlantic storm since 1851

Peak sustained wind140 mph · tied 110th of 1,98830 mph190 mph
Lowest central pressure933 mb · tied 74th of 1,277882 mb1016 mb
Accumulated cyclone energy15.7 · tied 338th of 1,7520.173.6
Days as a tropical or subtropical cyclone7.0 days · tied 563rd of 1,9880.0 days31.8 days

In the 2001 season

04080120160Michelle

Storm 15 of 17 in 2001, hurricane 7 of 9; it formed after Lorenzo and before Noel. 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
Sagua la Grande, Villa Clara, Cuba2 mi105 mphNovember 5
Bilwi, Atlántico Norte, Nicaragua7 mi35 mphOctober 31
Nassau, the Bahamas18 mi85 mphNovember 5
Colón, Matanzas, Cuba24 mi115 mphNovember 5
Cienfuegos, Cuba26 mi115 mphNovember 5
Santa Clara, Villa Clara, Cuba29 mi105 mphNovember 5
Caibarién, Villa Clara, Cuba41 mi100 mphNovember 5
Placetas, Villa Clara, Cuba46 mi105 mphNovember 5

Every storm within 50 miles of Santa Clara, Villa Clara, Cuba

Similar landfalls in Cuba

Storms whose strongest landfall record in Cuba came closest to Michelle's 140 mph:

All 56 storms with a landfall record in Cuba

Also peaked at 140 mph

Of 35 storms from other Atlantic seasons, the nearest in time:

  • Isaac (2000)943 mb, no landfall record
  • Keith (2000)939 mb, landfall in Belize
  • Cindy (1999)942 mb, no landfall record
  • Hortense (1996)935 mb, landfall in Puerto Rico