Hurricane Elena on the Gulf of Mexico 09/1985 - Hurricane Elena, Gulf of Mexico September...

Hurricane Elena on the Gulf of Mexico 09/1985 - Hurricane Elena, Gulf of Mexico September 1985 - Hurricane Elena on the Gulf of Mexico seen by Shuttle Discovery on 01/09/1985. Hurricane Elena, with wind speeds in excess of 110 miles per hour (177 kilometers per hour), was photographed in the Gulf of Mexico on September 1, 1985 from the space shuttle Discovery. Almost the entire storm can be seen in this high - oblique photograph. For instance, a number of thunderstorms with their overshooting tops, the spiral bands of numerous thunderstorms leading to the eye of the hurricane, and numerous cloud gravity waves within the spiral bands can be seen. Some portions of the eye wall, where the most destructive winds of the storm occur, are also visible. This storm eventually made landfall near Gulfport, Mississippi