Hurricane Elena was a strong, destructive and erratic tropical cyclone that affected eastern and central portions of the Gulf Coast of the United States in late August and early September 1985.

Initially projected to strike the central Gulf Coast, the hurricane unexpectedly veered toward the east on August 30, then stalled just 50 mi (80 km) west of Cedar Key, Florida.

Despite predictions that Elena would continue eastward across Florida, the cyclone remained nearly stationary for about 48 hours, causing damage all along the eastern gulf with high winds and waves, before slowly moving northwest and ultimately making landfall near Biloxi, Mississippi, on September 2 as a Category 3 major hurricane.

In Elena's wake, President Ronald Reagan declared parts of Alabama, Mississippi, and Florida federal disaster areas, making storm victims eligible for financial aid and temporary housing.

[3] Analysis of steering currents through the morning of August 30 suggested that Elena would continue on its northwestward track, striking the area between New Orleans, Louisiana, and Biloxi, Mississippi, within 30 hours.

[4] Unexpectedly, a mid-to-upper-level trough of low pressure diving in from the northwest created a weakness in the easterly currents, allowing Elena to recurve and slow drastically in forward speed.

[5] The unpredictable nature of the hurricane, in conjunction with its arrival at popular tourist destinations on the Labor Day holiday weekend, severely complicated preparations along the Gulf Coast.

[6] Evacuations and the hoisting of weather advisories inadvertently occurred in stages to keep up with Elena's shifts in direction; hurricane warnings were in effect at one point or another for every coastal location between Morgan City, Louisiana, and Sarasota, Florida.

The storm's projected path quickly nudged westward, prompting the warnings to be extended to Morgan City, Louisiana, and truncated to Pensacola, Florida on their eastern reach.

[24] Still, official shelter usage was considered to be higher than average, possibly due to shortened lead times limiting the ability of individuals to make arrangements with friends and relatives, or increased awareness of available resources.

When a cargo ship close to the hurricane's center rolled in high seas on August 29, two unsecured storage containers collided, crushing a man to death.

[42] A large aspect of the hurricane's devastation was the havoc it wrought on the eastern Gulf of Mexico oyster industry, particularly in the Apalachicola Bay area and off the coast of Alabama.

[43][44] Elena subjected the Apalachicola Bay reefs to high winds, strong tidal action, and moderate to heavy rainfall, churning up huge quantities of silt and mud which suffocated up to 90% of live oysters and virtually destroyed the most important harvesting sites.

[44] Thousands of individuals relying on the Apalachicola Bay oyster industry soon found themselves struggling to make a living;[43] losses in production at two major reefs were expected to surpass $30 million.

Similarly adverse conditions occurred throughout rest of the Keys and across the southern Florida Peninsula; 60 mph (100 km/h) wind gusts and modest rainfall stretched as far east as the Miami area.

[56] Winds along and around the Pinellas County coast generally blew from the south or southwest for several days, creating persistent onshore flow that built up heavy seas.

[56] Along the predominantly marshy coasts of Pasco, Hernando, and Citrus counties, erosion and structural damage were much more limited, partly due to the local southerly or southeasterly wind direction.

Monetary losses in Cedar Key alone were estimated at $2 million,[67] and all major aspects of local infrastructure were severely affected, initially preventing residents from returning home to the island.

[71] Seawalls with higher standards of construction generally remained intact, though even in those cases, overwash from the Gulf of Mexico topped the barriers and deposited large volumes of sand.

[24] Elena's track parallel to the Florida Panhandle subjected the coastline between Apalachicola and Pensacola Beach to particularly severe conditions that resulted in "significant" property damage there.

[82] In nearby Marion County, tornadic activity destroyed six mobile homes, compromised another 50 residences, and inflicted as much as $500,000 in total losses, though only minor injuries were reported.

Wind gusts at Dauphin Island, situated much closer to the hurricane's eye, were estimated to have reached 130 mph (210 km/h); these velocities represented some of the highest experienced on land from the storm,[11] and were strong enough to snap hundreds of large pine trees.

[107] Winds over inland Pearl River County damaged 350 permanent and mobile homes, and as in Alabama, the hurricane took a large toll on pecan and soybean crops and farms.

[101] Located southwest of the storm's core, New Orleans escaped with little damage and relatively benign weather conditions; still, the hurricane triggered minor flooding and brought down tree limbs around the city.

[11][121] Listed by the National Weather Service among "some of the most significant tropical cyclones to affect Arkansas", the remnants of Elena triggered flash flooding in parts of four counties; 2 ft (0.61 m) of standing water submerged streets in downtown Hot Springs.

[5] Over 8 in (200 mm) fell at Paducah, where urban streets and low-lying terrain experienced freshwater flooding Floodwaters 4 ft (1.2 m) deep submerged cars to their windows and infiltrated 40 homes, several businesses, a hotel, and a high school.

[125] Later, the mature hurricane generated strong rip currents as far away as South Padre Island, Texas, where two swimmers drowned in separate incidents over the Labor Day weekend.

[127] Franklin, Levy, Manatee, and Pinellas counties—where the storm left 5,000 individuals without work—became eligible for federal aid after President Ronald Reagan visited the state and determined that residents in those areas would benefit from assistance such as temporary housing, low-interest loans for rebuilding efforts, and monetary grants.

[135] Efforts to help newly unemployed individuals in the shellfish industry continued in the months following the storm; local Tallahassee musicians organized a benefit concert in January 1986 to raise money for families of oystermen in Franklin County.

[102] By September 5, the Salvation Army, Red Cross, and other organizations had served 100,000 meals to those displaced by the hurricane in Mississippi, and federal food stocks became available for the state to distribute to storm victims.