The 1933 season

Unnamed hurricane (1933)

Unnamed hurricane reached Category 4 in the North Atlantic between August 13, 1933 and August 28, 1933, with a lowest pressure of 948 mb, and made landfall.

Track and intensity

The whole track of Unnamed hurricane, colored by strength, with the other storms of the 1933 season in the same basin behind it, and its wind and pressure hour by hour. Every fix is in the track table below.

Open the live map with storms, cones and warnings

The storm

Basin
North Atlantic
Dates
August 13, 1933 to August 28, 1933
Peak strength
Category 4, 120 kt (138 mph)
Lowest pressure
948 mb (27.99 inHg)
Landfall
Yes
Accumulated cyclone energy
33.7
Fastest the center moved
24 kt (28 mph)
Identifier
AL061933

Deaths and damage

No source this site reads publishes a machine-readable casualty or damage figure for a storm of this era. The National Hurricane Center’s season tables begin in 1995 and carry deaths and damage only from 2005 in the Atlantic and 2020 in both basins; the US Storm Events record begins in 1996.

Landfalls

Time (UTC)WherePositionWindPressure
Aug 23, 10:00Wanchese, NC, 6 km away35.8N 75.6W80 kt (92 mph)963 mb
Aug 23, 12:00Southern Shores, NC, 7 km away36.1N 75.8W75 kt (86 mph)966 mb

Landfall points the US agencies flagged in the best track. The nearest town is named from the site’s gazetteer, not from the report.

Track

Time (UTC)PositionWindPressureStatus
Aug 13, 12:0012.3N 21.5W30 ktTropical depression
Aug 13, 18:0012.5N 22.9W35 ktTropical storm
Aug 14, 00:0012.8N 24.3W40 ktTropical storm
Aug 14, 06:0013.1N 25.7W40 ktTropical storm
Aug 14, 12:0013.3N 27.2W45 ktTropical storm
Aug 14, 18:0013.5N 28.9W45 ktTropical storm
Aug 15, 00:0013.7N 30.7W45 ktTropical storm
Aug 15, 06:0013.9N 32.5W50 ktTropical storm
Aug 15, 12:0014.2N 34.4W50 ktTropical storm
Aug 15, 18:0014.5N 36.2W50 ktTropical storm
Aug 16, 00:0014.8N 38.0W55 ktTropical storm
Aug 16, 06:0015.1N 39.8W55 ktTropical storm
Aug 16, 12:0015.5N 41.6W60 ktTropical storm
Aug 16, 18:0016.0N 43.4W65 ktHurricane
Aug 17, 00:0016.6N 45.2W70 ktHurricane
Aug 17, 06:0017.3N 47.0W75 ktHurricane
Aug 17, 12:0018.1N 48.7W85 ktHurricane
Aug 17, 18:0019.0N 50.1W90 ktHurricane
Aug 18, 00:0020.1N 51.4W95 ktHurricane
Aug 18, 06:0021.3N 52.7W105 ktHurricane
Aug 18, 12:0022.4N 53.9W110 ktHurricane
Aug 18, 18:0023.4N 55.2W115 kt948 mbHurricane
Aug 19, 00:0024.4N 56.5W115 ktHurricane
Aug 19, 06:0025.4N 57.8W120 ktHurricane
Aug 19, 12:0026.4N 59.0W120 ktHurricane
Aug 19, 18:0027.3N 59.9W120 ktHurricane
Aug 20, 00:0028.0N 60.8W120 ktHurricane
Aug 20, 06:0028.5N 61.7W115 ktHurricane
Aug 20, 12:0029.1N 62.5W115 ktHurricane
Aug 20, 18:0029.7N 63.5W115 ktHurricane
Aug 21, 00:0030.2N 64.6W110 ktHurricane
Aug 21, 06:0030.7N 65.8W110 ktHurricane
Aug 21, 12:0031.2N 67.0W110 ktHurricane
Aug 21, 18:0031.6N 68.0W110 ktHurricane
Aug 22, 00:0032.0N 69.0W105 ktHurricane
Aug 22, 06:0032.4N 70.0W105 ktHurricane
Aug 22, 12:0032.8N 71.1W105 ktHurricane
Aug 22, 18:0033.4N 72.4W100 ktHurricane
Aug 23, 00:0034.1N 73.7W90 ktHurricane
Aug 23, 06:0035.1N 74.9W85 ktHurricane
Aug 23, 10:00 landfall35.8N 75.6W80 kt963 mbHurricane
Aug 23, 12:00 landfall36.1N 75.8W75 kt966 mbHurricane
Aug 23, 18:0037.4N 76.7W65 kt971 mbHurricane
Aug 24, 00:0038.7N 77.2W55 kt978 mbTropical storm
Aug 24, 06:0040.6N 77.0W45 ktTropical storm
Aug 24, 12:0042.4N 76.3W35 ktTropical storm
Aug 24, 18:0043.4N 75.3W30 ktTropical depression
Aug 25, 00:0044.0N 74.4W30 ktTropical depression
Aug 25, 06:0044.5N 73.7W30 ktTropical depression
Aug 25, 12:0045.0N 73.0W30 ktTropical depression
Aug 25, 18:0044.9N 71.9W30 ktExtratropical
Aug 26, 00:0044.5N 70.4W30 ktExtratropical
Aug 26, 06:0044.1N 68.8W30 ktExtratropical
Aug 26, 12:0044.0N 67.2W30 ktExtratropical
Aug 26, 18:0044.0N 66.2W35 ktExtratropical
Aug 27, 00:0044.1N 65.4W35 ktExtratropical
Aug 27, 06:0044.1N 64.5W35 ktExtratropical
Aug 27, 12:0044.2N 63.5W30 ktExtratropical
Aug 27, 18:0044.2N 61.7W30 ktExtratropical
Aug 28, 00:0044.3N 59.1W30 ktExtratropical
Aug 28, 06:0044.4N 55.8W30 ktExtratropical
Aug 28, 12:0044.5N 52.5W30 ktExtratropical

Other North Atlantic storms of 1933

What this means

A best track is the record a warning agency settles on after the storm, not what it said at the time: position, maximum sustained wind and central pressure every six hours, revised against every observation that came in later. Category is the Saffir-Simpson scale, which runs from Category 1 at 64 kt to Category 5 at 137 kt and reads wind only, so it says nothing about surge or rain. Accumulated cyclone energy adds up the square of the wind through the storm's life, so it counts strength and duration together.

Sources

Storm history from NOAA NCEI’s International Best Track Archive for Climate Stewardship (IBTrACS), which merges the official best track of every warning agency. Live storms, cones, watches and warnings from the National Hurricane Center and the Central Pacific Hurricane Center. Archived radar from NOAA’s Level II archive.

The National Hurricane Center has published no tropical cyclone report for this storm.