Hurricane Able (1952)
Hurricane Able reached Category 2 in the North Atlantic between August 18, 1952 and September 3, 1952, with a lowest pressure of 983 mb, and made landfall.
Track and intensity
The whole track of Hurricane Able, colored by strength, with the other storms of the 1952 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 18, 1952 to September 3, 1952
- Peak strength
- Category 2, 85 kt (98 mph)
- Lowest pressure
- 983 mb (29.03 inHg)
- Landfall
- Yes
- Accumulated cyclone energy
- 9.8
- Fastest the center moved
- 24 kt (28 mph)
- Identifier
- AL021952
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 31, 03:00 | Port Royal, SC, 12 km away | 32.3N 80.6W | 85 kt (98 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 1,964 rain gauge totals over the contiguous United States to this storm. The wettest reached 6.53 inches (166 mm).
| Station | Total | Position |
|---|---|---|
| CONWAY | 6.53 in (166 mm) | 33.82N 79.05W |
| RIFTON 1 N | 6.23 in (158 mm) | 41.85N 74.05W |
| FERNANDINA BEACH | 6.20 in (157 mm) | 30.65N 81.45W |
| CHAMBERSBURG 1 ESE | 6.18 in (157 mm) | 39.93N 77.63W |
| OAK RIDGE RSVR | 6.14 in (156 mm) | 41.00N 74.48W |
| CARTHAGE WTP | 6.11 in (155 mm) | 35.32N 79.40W |
| FAYETTEVILLE PWC | 6.10 in (155 mm) | 35.05N 78.85W |
| EMMITSBURG | 6.09 in (155 mm) | 39.68N 77.35W |
| WADESBORO | 6.00 in (152 mm) | 34.95N 80.07W |
| MACOPIN LWR INTKE DAM | 5.74 in (146 mm) | 41.02N 74.40W |
| PINEHURST STHRN PINES | 5.65 in (144 mm) | 35.20N 79.47W |
| BIG MEADOWS | 5.60 in (142 mm) | 38.52N 78.43W |
WPC’s storm rainfall file, 1900 to 2020, compiled by David Roth.
Track
| Time (UTC) | Position | Wind | Pressure | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 18, 06:00 | 14.6N 19.0W | 25 kt | Tropical depression | |
| Aug 18, 12:00 | 14.4N 19.6W | 25 kt | Tropical depression | |
| Aug 18, 18:00 | 14.3N 20.5W | 25 kt | Tropical depression | |
| Aug 19, 00:00 | 14.1N 21.5W | 25 kt | Tropical depression | |
| Aug 19, 06:00 | 13.9N 22.6W | 25 kt | Tropical depression | |
| Aug 19, 12:00 | 13.7N 23.7W | 25 kt | Tropical depression | |
| Aug 19, 18:00 | 13.4N 25.1W | 25 kt | Tropical depression | |
| Aug 20, 00:00 | 13.2N 26.6W | 25 kt | Tropical depression | |
| Aug 20, 06:00 | 13.0N 28.2W | 25 kt | Tropical depression | |
| Aug 20, 12:00 | 12.8N 29.8W | 25 kt | Tropical depression | |
| Aug 20, 18:00 | 12.6N 31.4W | 25 kt | Tropical depression | |
| Aug 21, 00:00 | 12.4N 33.1W | 25 kt | Tropical depression | |
| Aug 21, 06:00 | 12.3N 34.8W | 25 kt | Tropical depression | |
| Aug 21, 12:00 | 12.3N 36.6W | 25 kt | Tropical depression | |
| Aug 21, 18:00 | 12.3N 38.4W | 25 kt | Tropical depression | |
| Aug 22, 00:00 | 12.3N 40.1W | 25 kt | Tropical depression | |
| Aug 22, 06:00 | 12.6N 41.8W | 25 kt | Tropical depression | |
| Aug 22, 12:00 | 13.0N 43.4W | 25 kt | Tropical depression | |
| Aug 22, 18:00 | 13.5N 45.0W | 25 kt | Tropical depression | |
| Aug 23, 00:00 | 14.0N 46.6W | 25 kt | Tropical depression | |
| Aug 23, 06:00 | 14.5N 48.2W | 25 kt | Tropical depression | |
| Aug 23, 12:00 | 15.0N 49.8W | 25 kt | Tropical depression | |
| Aug 23, 18:00 | 15.5N 51.2W | 25 kt | Tropical depression | |
| Aug 24, 00:00 | 16.0N 52.4W | 25 kt | Tropical depression | |
| Aug 24, 06:00 | 16.5N 53.6W | 25 kt | Tropical depression | |
| Aug 24, 12:00 | 17.0N 54.8W | 30 kt | Tropical depression | |
| Aug 24, 18:00 | 17.5N 55.8W | 35 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Aug 25, 00:00 | 18.0N 56.7W | 35 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Aug 25, 06:00 | 18.6N 57.6W | 35 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Aug 25, 12:00 | 19.3N 58.4W | 35 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Aug 25, 18:00 | 19.8N 59.1W | 40 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Aug 26, 00:00 | 20.0N 59.9W | 40 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Aug 26, 06:00 | 20.3N 60.8W | 45 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Aug 26, 12:00 | 20.7N 61.7W | 45 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Aug 26, 18:00 | 21.1N 62.4W | 50 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Aug 27, 00:00 | 21.4N 63.1W | 50 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Aug 27, 06:00 | 21.7N 63.8W | 55 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Aug 27, 12:00 | 21.9N 64.6W | 55 kt | 1003 mb | Tropical storm |
| Aug 27, 18:00 | 22.2N 65.6W | 60 kt | 998 mb | Tropical storm |
| Aug 28, 00:00 | 22.7N 66.7W | 60 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Aug 28, 06:00 | 23.4N 68.0W | 55 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Aug 28, 12:00 | 24.2N 69.3W | 55 kt | 1002 mb | Tropical storm |
| Aug 28, 18:00 | 25.1N 70.6W | 50 kt | 1003 mb | Tropical storm |
| Aug 29, 00:00 | 25.9N 71.9W | 50 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Aug 29, 06:00 | 26.7N 73.4W | 55 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Aug 29, 12:00 | 27.4N 74.9W | 60 kt | 999 mb | Tropical storm |
| Aug 29, 18:00 | 27.9N 76.3W | 65 kt | Hurricane | |
| Aug 30, 00:00 | 28.5N 77.7W | 65 kt | Hurricane | |
| Aug 30, 06:00 | 29.1N 78.8W | 70 kt | Hurricane | |
| Aug 30, 12:00 | 29.8N 79.5W | 70 kt | 992 mb | Hurricane |
| Aug 30, 18:00 | 30.7N 79.9W | 80 kt | 983 mb | Hurricane |
| Aug 31, 00:00 | 31.7N 80.4W | 85 kt | Hurricane | |
| Aug 31, 03:00 landfall | 32.3N 80.6W | 85 kt | Hurricane | |
| Aug 31, 06:00 | 32.9N 80.8W | 65 kt | Hurricane | |
| Aug 31, 12:00 | 34.2N 80.9W | 45 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Aug 31, 18:00 | 35.4N 80.6W | 40 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Sep 1, 00:00 | 36.6N 79.9W | 40 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Sep 1, 06:00 | 38.1N 78.6W | 45 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Sep 1, 12:00 | 39.5N 77.1W | 50 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Sep 1, 18:00 | 40.8N 75.0W | 50 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Sep 2, 00:00 | 42.2N 72.9W | 45 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Sep 2, 06:00 | 43.0N 71.5W | 30 kt | Tropical depression | |
| Sep 2, 12:00 | 43.9N 70.0W | 25 kt | Tropical depression | |
| Sep 2, 18:00 | 45.5N 68.2W | 25 kt | Tropical depression | |
| Sep 3, 00:00 | 47.2N 65.8W | 25 kt | Tropical depression | |
| Sep 3, 06:00 | 48.5N 63.5W | 20 kt | Tropical depression |
Other North Atlantic storms of 1952
- Unnamed tropical stormNorth Atlantic · 1952
- Unnamed tropical stormNorth Atlantic · 1952
- Hurricane BakerNorth Atlantic · 1952
- Unnamed tropical stormNorth Atlantic · 1952
- Hurricane CharlieNorth Atlantic · 1952
- Tropical Storm DogNorth Atlantic · 1952
- Unnamed tropical stormNorth Atlantic · 1952
- Hurricane EasyNorth Atlantic · 1952
- Hurricane FoxNorth Atlantic · 1952
- Unnamed tropical stormNorth Atlantic · 1952
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.