The 1998 Atlantic hurricane season was an above-average season. This season featured a total of 14 tropical cyclones, 14 named storms, 10 hurricanes, and 3 major hurricanes. The two most notable storms were Georges, and Mitch. Georges, the costliest storm of the season, devastated the Caribbean and Gulf Shore causing 604 direct deaths, and $9.72 Billion 1999 USD in damage. While Mitch, dropped torrential rainfall over Honduras and Nicaragua, causing over $6.2 Billion 1999 USD in damage, and killing 19,325 people, leaving Mitch known as one of the deadliest storms on record.
Danielle had a long track across the Atlantic. Although it did not seriously impact land as a tropical cyclone, it battered portions of Great Britain as an extratropical system.[3]
Earl made landfall on the Florida panhandle as a category 1 hurricane on the Saffir/Simpson Hurricane Scale (SSHS),resulting in significant storm surge flooding in the “Big Bend” area of Florida.[4]
Frances was a tropical storm that brought more than 15 inches of rainfall to portions of east Texas, about ten inches in southern Louisiana, and lesser amounts were spread northward across Oklahoma, Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, and Iowa.[5]
Georges (pronounced Zhorzh) was the second deadliest and second strongest hurricane within the Atlantic basin during the 1998 season. Its 17 day journey resulted in seven landfalls, extending from the northeastern Caribbean to the coast of Mississippi, and 602 fatalities -- mainly in the Dominican Republic and Haiti.[6]
Jeanne remained over the eastern Atlantic. It brushed the Cape Verde Islands, and also caused some gusty winds over the Azores just before losing tropical characteristics.[7]
Hurricane Karl was one of four hurricanes in existence over the Atlantic basin at one time. It remained over water without any direct effects to land.[8]
Mitch is responsible for over nine thousand deaths predominately from rain-induced flooding in portions of Central America, mainly in Honduras and Nicaragua. This makes Mitch one of the deadliest Atlantic tropical cyclones in history, ranking only below the 1780 “Great Hurricane” in the Lesser Antilles, and comparable to the Galveston hurricane of 1900, and Hurricane Fifi of 1974, which primarily affected Honduras.[10]
Late season Hurricane Nicole was a tenacious tropical cyclone that persisted for several days over the northeast Atlantic.[11]
Storm names[]
Alex
Bonnie
Charley
Danielle
Earl
Frances
Georges
Hermine
Ivan
Jeanne
Karl
Lisa
Mitch
Nicole
Otto (unused)
Paula (unused)
Richard (unused)
Shary (unused)
Tomas (unused)
Virginie (unused)
Walter (unused)
Retirement[]
In Spring 1999, it was announced the World Meteorological Organization had retired the names, Georges and Mitch, for the damage and deaths caused by the storms. They were replaced by Gaston and Matthew for the 2004 Atlantic hurricane season.
