Unnamed hurricane (1940)
Unnamed hurricane reached Category 2 in the North Atlantic between August 5, 1940 and August 14, 1940, with a lowest pressure of 972 mb, and made landfall.
Track and intensity
The whole track of Unnamed hurricane, colored by strength, with the other storms of the 1940 season in the same basin behind it, and its wind and pressure hour by hour. Every fix is in the track table below.
The storm
- Basin
- North Atlantic
- Dates
- August 5, 1940 to August 14, 1940
- Peak strength
- Category 2, 85 kt (98 mph)
- Lowest pressure
- 972 mb (28.70 inHg)
- Landfall
- Yes
- Accumulated cyclone energy
- 10.5
- Fastest the center moved
- 19 kt (22 mph)
- Identifier
- AL031940
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.
Landfall
| Time (UTC) | Where | Position | Wind | Pressure |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 11, 20:00 | Tybee Island, GA, 12 km away | 32.1N 80.8W | 85 kt (98 mph) | 972 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.
Rainfall
The Weather Prediction Center attributes 758 rain gauge totals over the contiguous United States to this storm. The wettest reached 20.65 inches (525 mm).
| Station | Total | Position |
|---|---|---|
| IDLEWILD | 20.65 in (525 mm) | 36.32N 81.47W |
| COPPER HILL | 17.03 in (433 mm) | 37.08N 80.15W |
| MOUNT MITCHELL TVA | 15.72 in (399 mm) | 35.77N 82.27W |
| CLARKSVILLE | 15.51 in (394 mm) | 36.62N 78.57W |
| CROSSNORE | 15.00 in (381 mm) | 36.02N 81.93W |
| ROCKY KNOB | 14.94 in (379 mm) | 36.85N 80.37W |
| CAPRON | 13.71 in (348 mm) | 36.73N 77.25W |
| LOUISVILLE 1 E | 13.68 in (347 mm) | 33.02N 82.38W |
| SCOTLAND NECK | 13.66 in (347 mm) | 36.22N 77.38W |
| BLUE RIDGE RESVR DAM | 13.62 in (346 mm) | 34.88N 84.28W |
| HICKORY | 13.52 in (343 mm) | 35.75N 81.35W |
| ROCK HOUSE | 13.26 in (337 mm) | 35.00N 83.10W |
WPC’s storm rainfall file, 1900 to 2020, compiled by David Roth.
Track
| Time (UTC) | Position | Wind | Pressure | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 5, 18:00 | 18.9N 64.8W | 40 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Aug 6, 00:00 | 19.1N 66.4W | 40 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Aug 6, 06:00 | 19.8N 68.2W | 40 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Aug 6, 12:00 | 20.6N 70.0W | 40 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Aug 6, 18:00 | 21.6N 71.4W | 40 kt | 1003 mb | Tropical storm |
| Aug 7, 00:00 | 22.0N 72.6W | 40 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Aug 7, 06:00 | 22.5N 73.4W | 45 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Aug 7, 12:00 | 23.2N 73.7W | 45 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Aug 7, 18:00 | 24.3N 73.8W | 45 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Aug 8, 00:00 | 25.3N 73.9W | 50 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Aug 8, 06:00 | 26.2N 73.8W | 55 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Aug 8, 12:00 | 27.1N 73.8W | 55 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Aug 8, 18:00 | 27.9N 73.8W | 60 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Aug 9, 00:00 | 28.4N 73.8W | 60 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Aug 9, 06:00 | 28.9N 74.2W | 65 kt | Hurricane | |
| Aug 9, 12:00 | 29.2N 74.8W | 65 kt | Hurricane | |
| Aug 9, 18:00 | 29.4N 75.3W | 70 kt | Hurricane | |
| Aug 10, 00:00 | 29.5N 75.9W | 70 kt | Hurricane | |
| Aug 10, 06:00 | 29.6N 76.4W | 75 kt | Hurricane | |
| Aug 10, 12:00 | 29.9N 76.9W | 80 kt | Hurricane | |
| Aug 10, 18:00 | 30.3N 77.4W | 80 kt | Hurricane | |
| Aug 11, 00:00 | 30.7N 77.9W | 85 kt | Hurricane | |
| Aug 11, 06:00 | 31.3N 78.5W | 85 kt | Hurricane | |
| Aug 11, 12:00 | 31.8N 79.3W | 85 kt | Hurricane | |
| Aug 11, 18:00 | 32.1N 80.3W | 85 kt | 972 mb | Hurricane |
| Aug 11, 20:00 landfall | 32.1N 80.8W | 85 kt | 972 mb | Hurricane |
| Aug 12, 00:00 | 32.2N 81.3W | 65 kt | 977 mb | Hurricane |
| Aug 12, 06:00 | 32.4N 82.4W | 50 kt | 987 mb | Tropical storm |
| Aug 12, 12:00 | 32.6N 83.5W | 35 kt | 996 mb | Tropical storm |
| Aug 12, 18:00 | 33.2N 84.2W | 30 kt | 1003 mb | Tropical depression |
| Aug 13, 00:00 | 33.7N 84.7W | 30 kt | 1005 mb | Tropical depression |
| Aug 13, 06:00 | 34.3N 84.8W | 30 kt | 1007 mb | Tropical depression |
| Aug 13, 12:00 | 34.9N 84.8W | 25 kt | 1008 mb | Tropical depression |
| Aug 13, 18:00 | 35.5N 84.8W | 25 kt | Tropical depression | |
| Aug 14, 00:00 | 36.0N 84.6W | 25 kt | Tropical depression | |
| Aug 14, 06:00 | 36.4N 83.9W | 25 kt | Tropical depression | |
| Aug 14, 12:00 | 36.8N 82.9W | 25 kt | Tropical depression | |
| Aug 14, 18:00 | 37.0N 81.8W | 25 kt | Tropical depression |
Other North Atlantic storms of 1940
- Unnamed tropical stormNorth Atlantic · 1940
- Unnamed hurricaneNorth Atlantic · 1940
- Unnamed hurricaneNorth Atlantic · 1940
- Unnamed hurricaneNorth Atlantic · 1940
- Unnamed tropical stormNorth Atlantic · 1940
- Unnamed hurricaneNorth Atlantic · 1940
- Unnamed hurricaneNorth Atlantic · 1940
- Unnamed hurricaneNorth Atlantic · 1940
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.