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NHC AL051985 · Atlantic basin

Hurricane Elena (1985)

August 28, 1985 – September 4, 1985

Data: NOAA NHC HURDAT2 and NOAA SPC tornado and hail reports, through 2025 · Updated

Hurricane Elena peaked at Category 3 with 127 mph sustained winds and passed within 75 miles of 278 US cities, 155 of them while still at hurricane strength.

Elena in the record

HURDAT2 tracks Elena from August 28, 1985 to September 4, 1985; its peak was 127 mph (Category 3). HURDAT2 marks a landfall within 50 miles of a US city on this site: on September 2 at 115 mph (Category 3), 4 miles from Long Beach, MS. Its centre passed within 75 miles of 278 US cities, in 4 states, most in Louisiana (138) and Mississippi (78). The strongest pass was 127 mph (Category 3) 43 miles from Port St Joe, FL; the centre came closest to Carriere, MS, 1 mile away.

Peak strength
Category 3

127 mph

Cities within 75 mi
278
At hurricane strength
155

when closest

States
4

Cities Elena passed near, strongest first

Florida (33)

Alabama (29)

Mississippi (78)

and 18 more

Louisiana (138)

and 78 more

Other storms of the 1985 season

  • BobCategory 1 · 552 cities
  • DannyCategory 1 · 138 cities
  • GloriaCategory 4 · 1,706 cities
  • HenriTropical storm · 657 cities
  • IsabelTropical storm · 70 cities
  • NeleCategory 1 · 2 cities
  • JuanCategory 1 · 418 cities
  • KateCategory 3 · 437 cities

All hurricanes and tropical storms →

About this record

The track is the National Hurricane Center's best-track record, revised after the season with every observation available. Strength at a city is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, not the wind that city measured.