Hurricane How (1951)
Hurricane How reached Category 2 in the North Atlantic between September 29, 1951 and October 11, 1951, with a lowest pressure of 963 mb, and made landfall.
Radar
Reflectivity now over Hurricane How. Open it to see storms, cones and warnings on the map.























Radar mosaic and map layers from NOAA MRMS. Boundaries from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet.
The storm
- Basin
- North Atlantic
- Dates
- September 29, 1951 to October 11, 1951
- Peak strength
- Category 2, 85 kt (98 mph)
- Lowest pressure
- 963 mb (28.44 inHg)
- Landfall
- Yes
- Accumulated cyclone energy
- 10.7
- Fastest the center moved
- 47 kt (54 mph)
- Identifier
- AL091951
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 2, 10:00 | Bokeelia, FL, 14 km away | 26.7N 82.3W | 55 kt (63 mph) |
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 150 rain gauge totals over the contiguous United States to this storm. The wettest reached 15.72 inches (399 mm).
| Station | Total | Position |
|---|---|---|
| BONITA SPGS 2 MI ESE | 15.72 in (399 mm) | 26.33N 81.75W |
| NAPLES | 13.95 in (354 mm) | 0.00N 0.00E |
| LAKE TRAFFORD | 11.95 in (304 mm) | 26.43N 81.48W |
| FT MYERS PAGE FLD AP | 10.94 in (278 mm) | 26.58N 81.87W |
| LA BELLE | 10.08 in (256 mm) | 26.75N 81.43W |
| LAKE PLACID 2 SW | 9.85 in (250 mm) | 27.28N 81.38W |
| PUNTA GORDA | 9.84 in (250 mm) | 26.93N 82.05W |
| OKEECHOBEE | 9.83 in (250 mm) | 27.20N 80.83W |
| MYAKKA RVR SP | 9.51 in (242 mm) | 27.25N 82.32W |
| BIG CYPRESS INDIAN RSV | 9.10 in (231 mm) | 0.00N 0.00E |
| PALATKA | 8.89 in (226 mm) | 29.65N 81.67W |
| OKEECHOBEE 9 W | 8.63 in (219 mm) | 27.23N 80.97W |
WPC’s storm rainfall file, 1900 to 2020, compiled by David Roth.
Track
| Time (UTC) | Position | Wind | Pressure | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 29, 00:00 | 20.2N 85.8W | 25 kt | Tropical depression | |
| Sep 29, 06:00 | 21.1N 86.6W | 25 kt | Tropical depression | |
| Sep 29, 12:00 | 21.9N 87.2W | 25 kt | Tropical depression | |
| Sep 29, 18:00 | 22.7N 87.3W | 25 kt | Tropical depression | |
| Sep 30, 00:00 | 23.3N 87.3W | 25 kt | Tropical depression | |
| Sep 30, 06:00 | 23.9N 87.4W | 30 kt | Tropical depression | |
| Sep 30, 12:00 | 24.5N 87.5W | 30 kt | Tropical depression | |
| Sep 30, 18:00 | 25.0N 87.6W | 35 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Oct 1, 00:00 | 25.5N 87.7W | 35 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Oct 1, 06:00 | 25.8N 87.6W | 35 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Oct 1, 12:00 | 26.1N 86.8W | 40 kt | 1003 mb | Tropical storm |
| Oct 1, 18:00 | 26.3N 86.0W | 40 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Oct 2, 00:00 | 26.4N 84.8W | 45 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Oct 2, 06:00 | 26.6N 83.3W | 55 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Oct 2, 10:00 landfall | 26.7N 82.3W | 55 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Oct 2, 12:00 | 26.8N 81.7W | 45 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Oct 2, 18:00 | 27.6N 80.1W | 50 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Oct 3, 00:00 | 28.8N 78.7W | 60 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Oct 3, 06:00 | 30.1N 77.3W | 70 kt | Hurricane | |
| Oct 3, 12:00 | 31.4N 76.5W | 75 kt | 982 mb | Hurricane |
| Oct 3, 18:00 | 32.1N 76.1W | 80 kt | 979 mb | Hurricane |
| Oct 4, 00:00 | 32.8N 75.7W | 85 kt | Hurricane | |
| Oct 4, 06:00 | 33.6N 75.2W | 85 kt | Hurricane | |
| Oct 4, 12:00 | 34.3N 74.6W | 85 kt | Hurricane | |
| Oct 4, 18:00 | 34.9N 74.0W | 80 kt | 975 mb | Hurricane |
| Oct 5, 00:00 | 35.4N 73.4W | 80 kt | Hurricane | |
| Oct 5, 06:00 | 36.1N 72.6W | 80 kt | Hurricane | |
| Oct 5, 12:00 | 36.9N 71.6W | 85 kt | 972 mb | Hurricane |
| Oct 5, 18:00 | 37.7N 70.4W | 85 kt | Hurricane | |
| Oct 6, 00:00 | 38.4N 69.2W | 85 kt | Hurricane | |
| Oct 6, 06:00 | 39.1N 67.6W | 85 kt | Hurricane | |
| Oct 6, 12:00 | 39.7N 65.4W | 80 kt | Extratropical | |
| Oct 6, 18:00 | 40.3N 61.2W | 75 kt | 963 mb | Extratropical |
| Oct 7, 00:00 | 41.2N 56.7W | 75 kt | Extratropical | |
| Oct 7, 06:00 | 42.3N 51.0W | 75 kt | Extratropical | |
| Oct 7, 12:00 | 43.5N 45.5W | 75 kt | Extratropical | |
| Oct 7, 18:00 | 44.7N 39.8W | 75 kt | Extratropical | |
| Oct 8, 00:00 | 46.4N 34.0W | 75 kt | Extratropical | |
| Oct 8, 06:00 | 49.3N 29.3W | 75 kt | Extratropical | |
| Oct 8, 12:00 | 52.3N 26.3W | 75 kt | Extratropical | |
| Oct 8, 18:00 | 56.3N 23.0W | 75 kt | Extratropical | |
| Oct 9, 00:00 | 59.3N 21.0W | 70 kt | Extratropical | |
| Oct 9, 06:00 | 64.0N 19.5W | 65 kt | Extratropical | |
| Oct 9, 12:00 | 67.0N 17.0W | 60 kt | Extratropical | |
| Oct 9, 18:00 | 70.0N 13.0W | 60 kt | Extratropical | |
| Oct 10, 00:00 | 73.0N 8.0W | 55 kt | Extratropical | |
| Oct 10, 06:00 | 75.5N 2.0W | 55 kt | Extratropical | |
| Oct 10, 12:00 | 78.0N 5.0E | 50 kt | Extratropical | |
| Oct 10, 18:00 | 79.5N 14.0E | 50 kt | Extratropical | |
| Oct 11, 00:00 | 80.3N 24.0E | 50 kt | Extratropical | |
| Oct 11, 06:00 | 80.8N 35.0E | 50 kt | Extratropical | |
| Oct 11, 12:00 | 81.0N 48.0E | 50 kt | Extratropical | |
| Oct 11, 18:00 | 81.0N 63.0E | 50 kt | Extratropical |
Other North Atlantic storms of 1951
- Unnamed tropical stormNorth Atlantic · 1951
- Hurricane AbleNorth Atlantic · 1951
- Tropical Storm BakerNorth Atlantic · 1951
- Hurricane CharlieNorth Atlantic · 1951
- Hurricane DogNorth Atlantic · 1951
- Hurricane EasyNorth Atlantic · 1951
- Hurricane FoxNorth Atlantic · 1951
- Tropical Storm GeorgeNorth Atlantic · 1951
- Tropical Storm ItemNorth Atlantic · 1951
- Hurricane JigNorth Atlantic · 1951
- Unnamed hurricaneNorth Atlantic · 1951
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.