Category 5 major hurricane (SSHWS/NWS) | |
Oscar shortly after peak intensity on October 2 | |
Formed | September 27, 2018 |
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Dissipated | October 7, 2018 |
(Extratropical after October 5) | |
Highest winds | 1-minute sustained: 165 mph (270 km/h) |
Lowest pressure | 917 mbar (hPa); 27.08 inHg |
Fatalities | 89 Total |
Damage | $20.31 billion (2018 USD) |
Areas affected | Lesser Antilles, Puerto Rico, Hispaniola, United States, Bermuda, Canada |
Part of the 2018 Atlantic Hurricane Season |
Hurricane Oscar was a very powerful hurricane that caused devastating damage across parts of the east coast in early October 2018. It was the 15th named storm, 7th hurricane, and 4th major hurricane of the active 2018 Atlantic hurricane season. Developing from a tropical wave just north of the Leeward Islands, the storm tracked west-northwestwards for several days, before undergoing rapid intensification, peaking as a Category 5 hurricane, the strongest of the 2018 season. Afterwards, the storm underwent a period of weakening, but strengthened again and made landfall over Maryland as a Category 3 hurricane.