What is Hurricane Elena?
{{Infobox Hurricane | Name=Hurricane Elena | Type=hurricane | Year=1985 | Basin=Atl | Image location=Elena 1985-09-01 2100Z.png | Image name=Hurricane Elena in the Gulf of Mexico on September 1, 1985 | Formed=August 28, 1985 | Dissipated=September 4, 1985 | 1-min winds=110 | Pressure=953 | Damages=1250 | Inflated=1 | Fatalities=0 direct, 4 indirect | Areas=[[Cuba]], [[Florida]], [[Alabama]], [[Mississippi]], [[Louisiana]], [[Mississippi Valley]] region | Hurricane season=[[1985 Atlantic hurricane season]] }} '''Hurricane Elena''' was a category 3 major hurricane that caused heavy damage along the Gulf Coast of the [[United States]] in August and September of the [[1985 Atlantic hurricane season]]. Elena's unusual path through the Gulf of Mexico, which included a loop, caused many people to evacuate from the coastline. ==Meteorological history== {{storm path|Elena 1985 track.png|left|200px}} Before Hurricane Elena, there was a tropical wave that moved off the coast of [[Africa]] on August 23. It remained weak due to its fast westward motion and [[Saharan Air Layer]] around the circulation. As it moved through the [[Greater Antilles]], it slowed and a tropical depression formed on August 28 between [[Cuba]] and [[Haiti]]. It paralleled the northern cost of Cuba, and became Tropical Storm Elena that night. Conditions were good for the storm to develop in the Gulf of Mexico, and Elena became a hurricane on the 29th. {{Retired Atlantic hurricanes}} {{1985 Atlantic hurricane season buttons}} {{weather-stub}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Elena}} [[Category:1985 in the United States]] [[Category:Category 3 Atlantic hurricanes]] [[Category:Hurricanes in the United States]] [[Category:20th century in Cuba]] [[Category:1980s in Florida]] [[Category:20th century in Alabama]] [[Category:20th century in Mississippi]] [[Category:1980s in Louisiana]] [[Category:Retired tropical cyclone names]] [[Category:1980s in weather]]