Hurricane Carol (1954)
Hurricane Carol reached Category 3 in the North Atlantic between August 25, 1954 and September 1, 1954, with a lowest pressure of 955 mb, and made landfall.
Track and intensity
The whole track of Hurricane Carol, colored by strength, with the other storms of the 1954 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 25, 1954 to September 1, 1954
- Peak strength
- Category 3, 100 kt (115 mph)
- Lowest pressure
- 955 mb (28.20 inHg)
- Landfall
- Yes
- Accumulated cyclone energy
- 13.4
- Fastest the center moved
- 38 kt (44 mph)
- Identifier
- AL061954
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) | Where | Position | Wind | Pressure |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 31, 14:00 | Wainscott, NY, 5 km away | 40.9N 72.2W | 100 kt (115 mph) | 955 mb |
| Aug 31, 15:00 | Groton Long Point, CT, 2 km away | 41.3N 72.0W | 100 kt (115 mph) | 957 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 1,704 rain gauge totals over the contiguous United States to this storm. The wettest reached 6.49 inches (165 mm).
| Station | Total | Position |
|---|---|---|
| HATTERAS | 6.49 in (165 mm) | 35.22N 75.72W |
| WILLARD BROOK STATE FOREST | 6.00 in (152 mm) | 42.67N 71.80W |
| BREWERTON LOCK 23 | 5.84 in (148 mm) | 43.24N 76.20W |
| MANTEO | 5.76 in (146 mm) | 35.92N 75.68W |
| ASHBURNHAM | 5.66 in (144 mm) | 42.62N 71.92W |
| LAKEPORT | 5.45 in (138 mm) | 43.55N 71.47W |
| COLCHESTER 2 W | 5.34 in (136 mm) | 41.55N 72.37W |
| FITCHBURG 4 SE | 5.17 in (131 mm) | 42.55N 71.75W |
| EAST DEERING | 5.12 in (130 mm) | 43.07N 71.82W |
| WORCESTER | 5.07 in (129 mm) | 42.30N 71.82W |
| NEW LONDON | 5.02 in (128 mm) | 41.35N 72.10W |
| WORCESTER | 4.97 in (126 mm) | 42.27N 71.87W |
WPC’s storm rainfall file, 1900 to 2020, compiled by David Roth.
Track
| Time (UTC) | Position | Wind | Pressure | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 25, 12:00 | 23.8N 75.0W | 30 kt | Tropical depression | |
| Aug 25, 18:00 | 25.0N 75.5W | 30 kt | Tropical depression | |
| Aug 26, 00:00 | 26.1N 76.0W | 35 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Aug 26, 06:00 | 27.0N 76.3W | 40 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Aug 26, 12:00 | 27.8N 76.4W | 45 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Aug 26, 18:00 | 28.5N 76.3W | 45 kt | 1002 mb | Tropical storm |
| Aug 27, 00:00 | 29.0N 76.2W | 45 kt | 1002 mb | Tropical storm |
| Aug 27, 06:00 | 29.3N 76.3W | 50 kt | 1002 mb | Tropical storm |
| Aug 27, 12:00 | 29.6N 76.4W | 60 kt | 995 mb | Tropical storm |
| Aug 27, 18:00 | 29.8N 76.5W | 70 kt | 984 mb | Hurricane |
| Aug 28, 00:00 | 30.0N 76.7W | 80 kt | 981 mb | Hurricane |
| Aug 28, 06:00 | 30.2N 76.9W | 85 kt | 978 mb | Hurricane |
| Aug 28, 12:00 | 30.3N 77.2W | 85 kt | 975 mb | Hurricane |
| Aug 28, 18:00 | 30.4N 77.4W | 85 kt | Hurricane | |
| Aug 29, 00:00 | 30.4N 77.5W | 85 kt | Hurricane | |
| Aug 29, 06:00 | 30.3N 77.6W | 80 kt | Hurricane | |
| Aug 29, 12:00 | 30.5N 77.7W | 80 kt | Hurricane | |
| Aug 29, 18:00 | 30.8N 77.8W | 80 kt | Hurricane | |
| Aug 30, 00:00 | 31.1N 77.8W | 80 kt | Hurricane | |
| Aug 30, 06:00 | 31.6N 77.7W | 85 kt | Hurricane | |
| Aug 30, 12:00 | 32.2N 77.6W | 90 kt | Hurricane | |
| Aug 30, 18:00 | 33.0N 77.2W | 95 kt | 962 mb | Hurricane |
| Aug 31, 00:00 | 34.2N 76.1W | 95 kt | 960 mb | Hurricane |
| Aug 31, 06:00 | 36.6N 74.1W | 100 kt | 958 mb | Hurricane |
| Aug 31, 12:00 | 39.5N 72.8W | 100 kt | 955 mb | Hurricane |
| Aug 31, 14:00 landfall | 40.9N 72.2W | 100 kt | 955 mb | Hurricane |
| Aug 31, 15:00 landfall | 41.3N 72.0W | 100 kt | 957 mb | Hurricane |
| Aug 31, 18:00 | 43.1N 71.4W | 80 kt | 970 mb | Extratropical |
| Sep 1, 00:00 | 46.2N 70.9W | 50 kt | 987 mb | Extratropical |
| Sep 1, 06:00 | 48.5N 70.5W | 40 kt | 992 mb | Extratropical |
Other North Atlantic storms of 1954
- Unnamed tropical stormNorth Atlantic · 1954
- Unnamed tropical stormNorth Atlantic · 1954
- Hurricane AliceNorth Atlantic · 1954
- Unnamed tropical stormNorth Atlantic · 1954
- Tropical Storm BarbaraNorth Atlantic · 1954
- Hurricane DollyNorth Atlantic · 1954
- Hurricane EdnaNorth Atlantic · 1954
- Unnamed tropical stormNorth Atlantic · 1954
- Tropical Storm FlorenceNorth Atlantic · 1954
- Unnamed tropical stormNorth Atlantic · 1954
- Tropical Storm GildaNorth Atlantic · 1954
- Unnamed hurricaneNorth Atlantic · 1954
- Hurricane HazelNorth Atlantic · 1954
- Unnamed tropical stormNorth Atlantic · 1954
- Hurricane AliceNorth Atlantic · 1954
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.