Hurricane Flossy (1956)
Hurricane Flossy reached Category 1 in the North Atlantic between September 20, 1956 and October 3, 1956, with a lowest pressure of 974 mb, and made landfall.
Track and intensity
The whole track of Hurricane Flossy, colored by strength, with the other storms of the 1956 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 20, 1956 to October 3, 1956
- Peak strength
- Category 1, 80 kt (92 mph)
- Lowest pressure
- 974 mb (28.76 inHg)
- Landfall
- Yes
- Accumulated cyclone energy
- 5.1
- Fastest the center moved
- 27 kt (31 mph)
- Identifier
- AL071956
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 24, 10:00 | Boothville, LA, 27 km away | 29.1N 89.4W | 75 kt (86 mph) | 980 mb |
| Sep 25, 00:00 | Miramar Beach, FL, 5 km away | 30.4N 86.4W | 80 kt (92 mph) | 974 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 2,373 rain gauge totals over the contiguous United States to this storm. The wettest reached 16.70 inches (424 mm).
| Station | Total | Position |
|---|---|---|
| GOLDEN MEADOW | 16.70 in (424 mm) | 29.38N 90.27W |
| GULF SHORES POST OFFICE | 16.30 in (414 mm) | 30.28N 87.68W |
| PENSACOLA REGIONAL AP | 14.34 in (364 mm) | 30.48N 87.18W |
| PENSACOLA CORRY FLD NAAS | 12.91 in (328 mm) | 30.40N 87.28W |
| ENTERPRISE | 12.05 in (306 mm) | 31.32N 85.85W |
| BLUE SPRINGS | 11.50 in (292 mm) | 31.67N 85.52W |
| OZARK 6 NNW | 11.10 in (282 mm) | 31.53N 85.68W |
| NEW ORLEANS ALVIN CALLENDER F | 11.09 in (282 mm) | 29.83N 90.02W |
| PENSACOLA FOREST SHERMAN NAS | 11.07 in (281 mm) | 30.35N 87.32W |
| PORT SULPHUR | 11.04 in (280 mm) | 29.48N 89.70W |
| FORT MORGAN | 10.70 in (272 mm) | 30.23N 88.02W |
| PENSACOLA | 10.50 in (267 mm) | 30.42N 87.22W |
WPC’s storm rainfall file, 1900 to 2020, compiled by David Roth.
Track
| Time (UTC) | Position | Wind | Pressure | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 20, 18:00 | 18.0N 86.5W | 25 kt | Tropical depression | |
| Sep 21, 00:00 | 18.1N 87.0W | 25 kt | Tropical depression | |
| Sep 21, 06:00 | 18.3N 87.7W | 25 kt | Tropical depression | |
| Sep 21, 12:00 | 18.5N 88.4W | 25 kt | Tropical depression | |
| Sep 21, 18:00 | 18.9N 89.1W | 25 kt | Tropical depression | |
| Sep 22, 00:00 | 19.5N 89.7W | 25 kt | Tropical depression | |
| Sep 22, 06:00 | 20.4N 90.1W | 30 kt | Tropical depression | |
| Sep 22, 12:00 | 21.5N 90.4W | 35 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Sep 22, 18:00 | 22.6N 90.7W | 40 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Sep 23, 00:00 | 23.8N 90.9W | 50 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Sep 23, 06:00 | 25.0N 91.1W | 55 kt | 994 mb | Tropical storm |
| Sep 23, 12:00 | 26.2N 91.3W | 60 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Sep 23, 18:00 | 27.1N 91.3W | 70 kt | Hurricane | |
| Sep 24, 00:00 | 28.0N 90.9W | 75 kt | 984 mb | Hurricane |
| Sep 24, 06:00 | 28.7N 90.1W | 75 kt | 982 mb | Hurricane |
| Sep 24, 10:00 landfall | 29.1N 89.4W | 75 kt | 980 mb | Hurricane |
| Sep 24, 12:00 | 29.4N 88.9W | 75 kt | 980 mb | Hurricane |
| Sep 24, 18:00 | 29.9N 87.6W | 80 kt | 977 mb | Hurricane |
| Sep 25, 00:00 landfall | 30.4N 86.4W | 80 kt | 974 mb | Hurricane |
| Sep 25, 06:00 | 30.8N 85.4W | 50 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Sep 25, 12:00 | 31.2N 84.4W | 40 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Sep 25, 18:00 | 31.9N 83.2W | 35 kt | 998 mb | Extratropical |
| Sep 26, 00:00 | 32.6N 81.8W | 40 kt | 999 mb | Extratropical |
| Sep 26, 06:00 | 33.4N 80.3W | 45 kt | 999 mb | Extratropical |
| Sep 26, 12:00 | 34.1N 79.1W | 45 kt | 1001 mb | Extratropical |
| Sep 26, 18:00 | 34.5N 78.4W | 45 kt | 1001 mb | Extratropical |
| Sep 27, 00:00 | 34.8N 78.0W | 50 kt | 1002 mb | Extratropical |
| Sep 27, 06:00 | 35.0N 77.6W | 50 kt | 1005 mb | Extratropical |
| Sep 27, 12:00 | 35.3N 77.2W | 50 kt | 1008 mb | Extratropical |
| Sep 27, 18:00 | 35.6N 76.6W | 50 kt | 1009 mb | Extratropical |
| Sep 28, 00:00 | 36.3N 75.7W | 50 kt | 1011 mb | Extratropical |
| Sep 28, 06:00 | 37.4N 74.5W | 50 kt | Extratropical | |
| Sep 28, 12:00 | 38.5N 73.0W | 45 kt | Extratropical | |
| Sep 28, 18:00 | 39.5N 71.5W | 40 kt | Extratropical | |
| Sep 29, 00:00 | 40.1N 69.5W | 35 kt | Extratropical | |
| Sep 29, 06:00 | 40.3N 67.5W | 30 kt | Extratropical | |
| Sep 29, 12:00 | 40.5N 64.0W | 30 kt | Extratropical | |
| Sep 29, 18:00 | 40.3N 61.0W | 30 kt | Extratropical | |
| Sep 30, 00:00 | 39.8N 59.5W | 30 kt | Extratropical | |
| Sep 30, 06:00 | 38.5N 58.5W | 30 kt | Extratropical | |
| Sep 30, 12:00 | 37.5N 57.5W | 30 kt | Extratropical | |
| Sep 30, 18:00 | 36.7N 56.0W | 30 kt | Extratropical | |
| Oct 1, 00:00 | 36.0N 55.5W | 30 kt | Extratropical | |
| Oct 1, 06:00 | 36.0N 55.8W | 35 kt | Extratropical | |
| Oct 1, 12:00 | 37.0N 56.0W | 35 kt | Extratropical | |
| Oct 1, 18:00 | 38.5N 56.0W | 40 kt | Extratropical | |
| Oct 2, 00:00 | 40.0N 56.2W | 45 kt | Extratropical | |
| Oct 2, 06:00 | 41.5N 56.5W | 50 kt | Extratropical | |
| Oct 2, 12:00 | 43.0N 56.5W | 50 kt | Extratropical | |
| Oct 2, 18:00 | 44.5N 56.5W | 45 kt | Extratropical | |
| Oct 3, 00:00 | 46.0N 56.5W | 40 kt | Extratropical | |
| Oct 3, 06:00 | 47.5N 56.5W | 40 kt | Extratropical |
Other North Atlantic storms of 1956
- Unnamed tropical stormNorth Atlantic · 1956
- Unnamed tropical stormNorth Atlantic · 1956
- Hurricane AnnaNorth Atlantic · 1956
- Hurricane BetsyNorth Atlantic · 1956
- Tropical Storm CarlaNorth Atlantic · 1956
- Tropical Storm DoraNorth Atlantic · 1956
- Tropical Storm EthelNorth Atlantic · 1956
- Unnamed tropical stormNorth Atlantic · 1956
- Unnamed tropical stormNorth Atlantic · 1956
- Hurricane GretaNorth Atlantic · 1956
- Unnamed tropical stormNorth Atlantic · 1956
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.