Hurricane Gladys (1955)
Hurricane Gladys reached Category 1 in the North Atlantic between September 3, 1955 and September 6, 1955, with a lowest pressure of 996 mb, and made landfall.
Track and intensity
The whole track of Hurricane Gladys, 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
- September 3, 1955 to September 6, 1955
- Peak strength
- Category 1, 65 kt (75 mph)
- Lowest pressure
- 996 mb (29.41 inHg)
- Landfall
- Yes
- Accumulated cyclone energy
- 1.9
- Fastest the center moved
- 10 kt (12 mph)
- Identifier
- AL071955
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 5, 22:00 | Altamira, Tamaulipas, Mexico, 80 km away | 23.1N 97.8W | 65 kt (75 mph) | 996 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 248 rain gauge totals over the contiguous United States to this storm. The wettest reached 17.02 inches (432 mm).
| Station | Total | Position |
|---|---|---|
| Flour Bluff | 17.02 in (432 mm) | 27.65N 97.30W |
| CORPUS CHRISTI NAS | 15.80 in (401 mm) | 27.68N 97.28W |
| FALFURRIAS | 12.54 in (319 mm) | 27.13N 98.12W |
| SARITA 7 E | 12.47 in (317 mm) | 27.22N 97.68W |
| RAYMONDVILLE | 12.43 in (316 mm) | 26.47N 97.80W |
| ARANSAS PASS 2 | 12.29 in (312 mm) | 27.92N 97.13W |
| CORPUS CHRISTI | 10.45 in (265 mm) | 27.80N 97.40W |
| ROCKPORT MARINE LAB | 9.11 in (231 mm) | 28.02N 97.05W |
| CORPUS CHRISTI INTL AP | 8.92 in (227 mm) | 27.77N 97.50W |
| ROBSTOWN | 7.94 in (202 mm) | 27.78N 97.65W |
| SINTON | 7.79 in (198 mm) | 28.03N 97.48W |
| HARLINGEN RIO GRANDE AP | 7.22 in (183 mm) | 26.22N 97.65W |
WPC’s storm rainfall file, 1900 to 2020, compiled by David Roth.
Track
| Time (UTC) | Position | Wind | Pressure | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 3, 18:00 | 19.5N 93.3W | 25 kt | Tropical depression | |
| Sep 4, 00:00 | 19.6N 94.0W | 25 kt | Tropical depression | |
| Sep 4, 06:00 | 20.0N 94.7W | 25 kt | Tropical depression | |
| Sep 4, 12:00 | 20.8N 95.3W | 30 kt | Tropical depression | |
| Sep 4, 18:00 | 21.6N 95.7W | 35 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Sep 5, 00:00 | 22.3N 96.1W | 40 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Sep 5, 06:00 | 22.6N 96.5W | 50 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Sep 5, 12:00 | 23.0N 97.0W | 65 kt | 997 mb | Hurricane |
| Sep 5, 18:00 | 23.3N 97.5W | 65 kt | 996 mb | Hurricane |
| Sep 5, 22:00 landfall | 23.1N 97.8W | 65 kt | 996 mb | Hurricane |
| Sep 6, 00:00 | 22.9N 97.9W | 50 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Sep 6, 06:00 | 22.1N 97.9W | 40 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Sep 6, 12:00 | 21.4N 97.8W | 35 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Sep 6, 18:00 | 21.2N 97.5W | 25 kt | Tropical depression |
Other North Atlantic storms of 1955
- Tropical Storm BrendaNorth Atlantic · 1955
- Hurricane ConnieNorth Atlantic · 1955
- Hurricane DianeNorth Atlantic · 1955
- Hurricane EdithNorth Atlantic · 1955
- Unnamed tropical stormNorth Atlantic · 1955
- Hurricane FloraNorth 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.