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All storm pages · 2008 Atlantic season

Hurricane Paloma 2008

Category 4 hurricane · Atlantic · November 5 to November 9, 2008

Paloma's winds climbed 60 mph in the 24 hours to November 8. Its 100 mph landfall in Cuba on November 9, 2008 ranks tied for the 20th-strongest of the 56 storms with a landfall record there. With a peak of 145 mph, it ranked tied for the second-strongest of the 17 storms of the 2008 season. The name Paloma is on the National Hurricane Center's list of retired Atlantic hurricane names.

Track of Paloma (2008) from the best-track record, coloured by strength15°N20°N25°N30°N95°W90°W85°W80°W75°W70°WNuevitasCuba, 100 mphPeak 145 mphFirst recordNot tropicalDepressionTropical stormCategory 1Category 2Category 3Category 400 and 12 UTCLandfall

Strength over time

Maximum sustained wind of Paloma (2008) over time, in mphTSCat 1Cat 2Cat 3Cat 4Cat 504080120160Nov 6Nov 7Nov 8Nov 9Nov 10Nov 11Nov 12Nov 13Nov 14mph
  1. First record (tropical depression) 80 miles north of San Andrés, Colombia
  2. Tropical storm 100 miles east-northeast of Bilwi, Atlántico Norte, Nicaragua
  3. Hurricane 220 miles north-northeast of Bilwi, Atlántico Norte, Nicaragua
  4. Major hurricane 205 miles west of Montego Bay, Saint James, Jamaica
  5. Peak 145 miles northwest of Montego Bay, Saint James, Jamaica; lowest pressure 944 mb
  6. Landfall Cuba
  7. No longer tropical (low) 30 miles north of Camagüey, Cuba
  8. Last record 85 miles south of Panama City, Florida

Against every Atlantic storm since 1851

Peak sustained wind145 mph · tied 85th of 1,98830 mph190 mph
Lowest central pressure944 mb · tied 140th of 1,277882 mb1016 mb
Accumulated cyclone energy9.2 · 566th of 1,7520.173.6
Days as a tropical or subtropical cyclone4.0 days · tied 1119th of 1,9880.0 days31.8 days

In the 2008 season

04080120160Paloma

Storm 17 of 17 in 2008, hurricane 8 of 8; it formed after Sixteen. Paloma produced 6% of the season's accumulated cyclone energy. See the season.

Places the center passed

The center came within 50 miles of 3 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
Camagüey, Cuba6 mi35 mphNovember 9
Nuevitas, Camagüey, Cuba38 mi35 mphNovember 9
Las Tunas, Cuba48 mi65 mphNovember 9

Every storm within 50 miles of Camagüey, Cuba

Similar landfalls in Cuba

Storms whose strongest landfall record in Cuba came closest to Paloma's 100 mph:

  • Lili (1996)100 mph, October 18, 1996
  • Isbell (1964)100 mph, October 13, 1964
  • Lili (2002)105 mph, October 1, 2002
  • Alma (1966)105 mph, June 8, 1966

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