Hurricane Diane (1955)
Hurricane Diane reached Category 2 in the North Atlantic between August 7, 1955 and August 23, 1955, with a lowest pressure of 969 mb, and made landfall.
Track and intensity
The whole track of Hurricane Diane, colored by strength, with the other storms of the 1955 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 7, 1955 to August 23, 1955
- Peak strength
- Category 2, 90 kt (104 mph)
- Lowest pressure
- 969 mb (28.61 inHg)
- Landfall
- Yes
- Accumulated cyclone energy
- 16.5
- Fastest the center moved
- 47 kt (54 mph)
- Identifier
- AL031955
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 17, 12:00 | Kure Beach, NC, 1 km away | 34.0N 77.9W | 60 kt (69 mph) | 985 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 1,628 rain gauge totals over the contiguous United States to this storm. The wettest reached 19.75 inches (502 mm).
| Station | Total | Position |
|---|---|---|
| WESTFIELD | 19.75 in (502 mm) | 42.13N 72.75W |
| TORRINGTON 2 | 16.86 in (428 mm) | 41.80N 73.13W |
| SPRINGFIELD | 16.65 in (423 mm) | 42.10N 72.58W |
| CHARLTON 2 | 16.56 in (421 mm) | 42.13N 71.95W |
| BAKERSVILLE | 16.52 in (420 mm) | 41.85N 73.02W |
| WALPOLE 1 SSE | 16.18 in (411 mm) | 42.13N 71.25W |
| BARKHAMSTED | 15.95 in (405 mm) | 41.92N 72.95W |
| BURLINGTON | 15.92 in (404 mm) | 41.80N 72.93W |
| MILFORD | 15.65 in (398 mm) | 42.17N 71.52W |
| WALPOLE | 15.62 in (397 mm) | 42.17N 71.23W |
| THOMPSONVILLE | 15.45 in (392 mm) | 42.00N 72.60W |
| WEST HARTLAND | 15.30 in (389 mm) | 42.00N 72.97W |
WPC’s storm rainfall file, 1900 to 2020, compiled by David Roth.
Track
| Time (UTC) | Position | Wind | Pressure | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 7, 06:00 | 15.7N 41.2W | 25 kt | Tropical depression | |
| Aug 7, 12:00 | 16.0N 42.5W | 25 kt | Tropical depression | |
| Aug 7, 18:00 | 16.1N 43.8W | 25 kt | Tropical depression | |
| Aug 8, 00:00 | 16.2N 45.2W | 25 kt | Tropical depression | |
| Aug 8, 06:00 | 16.3N 46.6W | 25 kt | Tropical depression | |
| Aug 8, 12:00 | 16.5N 48.0W | 25 kt | Tropical depression | |
| Aug 8, 18:00 | 16.6N 49.7W | 25 kt | Tropical depression | |
| Aug 9, 00:00 | 16.7N 50.7W | 25 kt | Tropical depression | |
| Aug 9, 06:00 | 16.8N 51.9W | 30 kt | Tropical depression | |
| Aug 9, 12:00 | 17.0N 53.1W | 30 kt | Tropical depression | |
| Aug 9, 18:00 | 17.3N 54.5W | 35 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Aug 10, 00:00 | 17.7N 56.0W | 35 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Aug 10, 06:00 | 18.2N 57.4W | 35 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Aug 10, 12:00 | 19.0N 58.6W | 35 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Aug 10, 18:00 | 20.0N 59.5W | 40 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Aug 11, 00:00 | 21.2N 60.0W | 45 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Aug 11, 06:00 | 22.3N 60.6W | 45 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Aug 11, 12:00 | 23.3N 61.3W | 45 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Aug 11, 18:00 | 23.8N 61.8W | 45 kt | 1004 mb | Tropical storm |
| Aug 12, 00:00 | 24.2N 61.6W | 50 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Aug 12, 06:00 | 24.6N 61.4W | 60 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Aug 12, 12:00 | 25.0N 61.2W | 70 kt | Hurricane | |
| Aug 12, 18:00 | 25.5N 61.0W | 75 kt | 975 mb | Hurricane |
| Aug 13, 00:00 | 26.0N 60.8W | 70 kt | 980 mb | Hurricane |
| Aug 13, 06:00 | 26.7N 61.0W | 70 kt | Hurricane | |
| Aug 13, 12:00 | 27.3N 61.4W | 80 kt | Hurricane | |
| Aug 13, 18:00 | 27.4N 62.6W | 90 kt | 969 mb | Hurricane |
| Aug 14, 00:00 | 27.2N 63.8W | 90 kt | 973 mb | Hurricane |
| Aug 14, 06:00 | 27.3N 64.7W | 80 kt | 976 mb | Hurricane |
| Aug 14, 12:00 | 27.5N 65.7W | 75 kt | 980 mb | Hurricane |
| Aug 14, 18:00 | 27.8N 66.8W | 75 kt | Hurricane | |
| Aug 15, 00:00 | 28.2N 68.1W | 75 kt | Hurricane | |
| Aug 15, 06:00 | 28.7N 69.5W | 80 kt | 973 mb | Hurricane |
| Aug 15, 12:00 | 29.2N 70.9W | 80 kt | 973 mb | Hurricane |
| Aug 15, 18:00 | 29.7N 72.3W | 80 kt | 973 mb | Hurricane |
| Aug 16, 00:00 | 30.0N 73.4W | 75 kt | Hurricane | |
| Aug 16, 06:00 | 30.4N 74.4W | 75 kt | Hurricane | |
| Aug 16, 12:00 | 30.9N 75.3W | 75 kt | 982 mb | Hurricane |
| Aug 16, 18:00 | 31.7N 76.2W | 75 kt | 983 mb | Hurricane |
| Aug 17, 00:00 | 32.5N 76.9W | 70 kt | 984 mb | Hurricane |
| Aug 17, 06:00 | 33.2N 77.4W | 65 kt | 985 mb | Hurricane |
| Aug 17, 12:00 landfall | 34.0N 77.9W | 60 kt | 985 mb | Tropical storm |
| Aug 17, 18:00 | 35.1N 78.4W | 55 kt | 990 mb | Tropical storm |
| Aug 18, 00:00 | 36.5N 78.7W | 50 kt | 993 mb | Tropical storm |
| Aug 18, 06:00 | 37.8N 78.8W | 45 kt | 999 mb | Tropical storm |
| Aug 18, 12:00 | 38.8N 78.1W | 40 kt | 1001 mb | Tropical storm |
| Aug 18, 18:00 | 39.6N 76.9W | 35 kt | 1004 mb | Tropical storm |
| Aug 19, 00:00 | 40.2N 75.7W | 35 kt | 1003 mb | Tropical storm |
| Aug 19, 06:00 | 40.5N 74.5W | 40 kt | 1001 mb | Tropical storm |
| Aug 19, 12:00 | 40.7N 73.0W | 40 kt | 998 mb | Tropical storm |
| Aug 19, 18:00 | 40.9N 71.5W | 40 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Aug 20, 00:00 | 41.0N 69.9W | 40 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Aug 20, 06:00 | 41.2N 67.5W | 45 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Aug 20, 12:00 | 41.5N 64.5W | 45 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Aug 20, 18:00 | 42.3N 61.8W | 45 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Aug 21, 00:00 | 43.0N 58.4W | 50 kt | Extratropical | |
| Aug 21, 06:00 | 43.8N 53.5W | 50 kt | Extratropical | |
| Aug 21, 12:00 | 45.0N 48.0W | 50 kt | Extratropical | |
| Aug 21, 18:00 | 47.0N 42.0W | 50 kt | Extratropical | |
| Aug 22, 00:00 | 49.0N 36.0W | 55 kt | Extratropical | |
| Aug 22, 06:00 | 52.5N 34.0W | 55 kt | Extratropical | |
| Aug 22, 12:00 | 56.0N 33.0W | 55 kt | Extratropical | |
| Aug 22, 18:00 | 58.5N 32.5W | 55 kt | Extratropical | |
| Aug 23, 00:00 | 60.5N 32.0W | 50 kt | Extratropical | |
| Aug 23, 06:00 | 62.0N 32.0W | 45 kt | Extratropical | |
| Aug 23, 12:00 | 63.5N 31.0W | 40 kt | Extratropical | |
| Aug 23, 18:00 | 65.0N 29.0W | 35 kt | Extratropical |
Other North Atlantic storms of 1955
- Tropical Storm BrendaNorth Atlantic · 1955
- Hurricane ConnieNorth Atlantic · 1955
- Hurricane EdithNorth Atlantic · 1955
- Unnamed tropical stormNorth Atlantic · 1955
- Hurricane FloraNorth Atlantic · 1955
- Hurricane GladysNorth Atlantic · 1955
- Hurricane IoneNorth Atlantic · 1955
- Hurricane HildaNorth Atlantic · 1955
- Hurricane JanetNorth Atlantic · 1955
- Unnamed tropical stormNorth Atlantic · 1955
- Unnamed tropical stormNorth Atlantic · 1955
- Hurricane KatieNorth Atlantic · 1955
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.