Are you a hurricane hobbyist?
With each new hurricane season, many people enjoy researching storms from previous years that were identified by names from the current year’s list.
The names given to major Atlantic storms come from lists originated and recycled every six years by the World Meteorological Organization.
You can see the current lists here. Gordon is the seventh name on the list for 2024.
Since 1988, five Atlantic Ocean tropical cyclones have been named Gordon after it replaced the name Gilbert. As well, the Western Pacific Ocean has seen Gordon used with two tropical storms and two typhoons.
Will Gordon become a hurricane during the 2024 hurricane season or hold on to tropical storm status? It will depend on its wind speed.
All named storms are a form of tropical cyclone, a rotating, organized system of clouds and thunderstorms that originates over tropical or subtropical waters and has a closed low-level circulation.
Early in a cyclone’s development, as a tropical depression, wind speeds are less than 39 mph. Tropical depressions are not given names but are tracked in case they grow into tropical storms or hurricanes.
Gordon’s classification as a tropical storm and the release of its name would happen when its sustained wind speed reaches 39 mph. If that speed reaches 74 mph, Gordon will be a hurricane.
As you’ll see below, even if a tropical storm never achieves hurricane status, it can pose a threat to lives and property.
When Was Hurricane Gordon?
With Gordon squarely in the seventh slot on the World Meteorological Organization’s list of scheduled storm names for 2024, you might wonder, “When did Hurricane Gordon hit?” or “What year was Hurricane Gordon?”
Gordon was the label for four hurricanes in:
- • 1994
- • 2000
- • 2006
- • 2012
Gordon remained at tropical storm strength in 2018.
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Where Did Hurricane Gordon Hit?
In 1994, Hurricane Gordon remained at sea off the eastern U.S. coast while at hurricane strength.
But during the days it traveled as a tropical depression and tropical storm, it heavily impacted Central America and several Caribbean islands.
What Category Was Hurricane Gordon?
Hurricane Gordon was strongest in 2006 as a Category 3 major hurricane.
- • In 2012, Gordon reached Category 2.
- • Both 1994 and 2000 saw Category 1 hurricanes.
For some perspective, peak sustained winds reached 85 mph in 1994, 80 mph in 2000, 120 mph in 2006, and 110 mph in 2012.
What Time Will Hurricane Gordon Make Landfall?
If you research, “What time did Hurricane Gordon make landfall?” in 1994, 2000, 2006, and 2012, the answers will not help you prepare if Gordon becomes a significant storm in 2024.
With any current storm predicted to reach your region, stay up to date on weather forecasts and be aware of that specific storm’s estimated landfall. With any severe storm, don’t make the mistake of waiting until the last minute to reach a safe area.
This article will be updated as more details about 2024’s Gordon become available.
How Many People Died in Hurricane Gordon?
Researching a death toll for a hurricane can be tricky.
For example, during the time Gordon was a hurricane in 1994, it was moving across the Atlantic Ocean and dissipating without loss of life.
However, as a tropical storm leading up to a hurricane, Gordon was deadly.
The most devastating loss of life occurred in Haiti, with 1,122 deaths recorded from massive rainfall and flooding.
- • In 2000, Hurricane Gordon was still an unnamed tropical wave when it caused flooding and landslides in Guatemala that killed 23 people.
- • Because Category 3 Hurricane Gordon in 2006 was almost entirely at sea, no fatalities resulted.
- • No loss of life was connected with Category 2 Hurricane Gordon in 2012, again due to primary movement over water.
What Was the Path of Hurricane Gordon?
Of the Gordons mentioned above, perhaps the most interesting path taken was during the 1994 season. Gordon was the 12th and final cyclone that year and took a long and erratic journey.
Gordon began as a tropical wave in the southwestern Caribbean Sea. Forming close to land, it gained strength over open water heading east to Jamaica and Hispaniola.
As a destructive tropical storm, it crisscrossed the Caribbean and impacted Florida before moving out into the Atlantic, growing to hurricane strength, and then moving back to the eastern U.S. as a weakening but destructive storm.
In 2000, Gordon’s main path was very direct, moving from the Yucatan Peninsula straight across the Gulf of Mexico to cross Florida and move up the U.S. eastern states. Both 2006 and 2012 recorded Gordon pathways primarily tracking across the Atlantic.
Convoy of Hope & Hurricanes
With its 30th anniversary in 2024, Convoy of Hope has a long history of responding to communities impacted by hurricanes.
The faith-based nonprofit with dozens of program countries around the world is involved in extensive disaster response each year.
In 1998, flooding in Del Rio, Texas, followed that year’s Tropical Storm Charley. Convoy marks Del Rio as its first disaster response, and hurricanes continue to be an annual priority for Convoy.
Convoy of Hope Disaster Services responds to natural disasters around the world — earthquakes, floods, wildfires, hurricanes, and drought — offering help and hope to people facing some of the most challenging circumstances in their lives. The nonprofit, faith-based organization pursues a driving passion to feed the world through children’s feeding initiatives, community outreach, and disaster response.
