Portal:Tropical cyclones/Featured article/1988 Atlantic hurricane season

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The 1988 Atlantic hurricane season was a moderately active season that proved costly and deadly, in which fifteen tropical cyclones directly affecting land. The season officially began on June 1, 1988, and lasted until November 30, 1988, although activity began two days earlier when a tropical depression developed in the Caribbean Sea; these dates conventionally delimit the period of each year when most tropical cyclones form in the Atlantic basin. The first cyclone to attain tropical storm status was Alberto, which did so on August 8; this is nearly a month later than usual. The final storm of the year, Tropical Storm Keith, became extratropical on November 24. The season produced nineteen tropical depressions, with twelve attaining tropical storm status; one tropical storm operationally classified as a tropical depression, but reclassified in post-analysis. Five tropical cyclones reached hurricane status, of which three became major hurricanes, or a Category 3 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale.

The most notable cyclone of the season was Hurricane Gilbert, which, at the time, was the strongest Atlantic hurricane on record. The hurricane tracked through the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico, causing devastation in Jamaica, Mexico, and many other island nations; its passage caused $5 billion in damage (1988 USD, $9 billion 2007 USD) and over 300 deaths, mostly in Mexico. Hurricane Joan struck Nicaragua as a Category 4 hurricane, which caused about $2 billion in damage (1988 USD, $3.5 billion 2007 USD) and over 200 deaths; the hurricane crossed into the eastern Pacific Ocean and was reclassified as Tropical Storm Miriam.

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