Hurricane Ella (1958)
Hurricane Ella reached Category 2 in the North Atlantic between August 30, 1958 and September 7, 1958, with a lowest pressure of 983 mb, and made landfall.
Track and intensity
The whole track of Hurricane Ella, colored by strength, with the other storms of the 1958 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 30, 1958 to September 7, 1958
- Peak strength
- Category 2, 95 kt (109 mph)
- Lowest pressure
- 983 mb (29.03 inHg)
- Landfall
- Yes
- Accumulated cyclone energy
- 9.7
- Fastest the center moved
- 24 kt (28 mph)
- Identifier
- AL051958
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 1, 12:00 | Les Cayes, Sud, Haiti, 37 km away | 18.2N 73.4W | 95 kt (109 mph) | |
| Sep 2, 00:00 | Palma Soriano, Santiago de Cuba Province, Cuba, 32 km away | 20.0N 76.2W | 70 kt (81 mph) | |
| Sep 3, 11:00 | Nueva Gerona, Isla de la Juventud, Cuba, 15 km away | 21.8N 82.7W | 55 kt (63 mph) | 1003 mb |
| Sep 3, 17:00 | Guane, Pinar del Rio, Cuba, 15 km away | 22.1N 84.0W | 60 kt (69 mph) | 1002 mb |
| Sep 6, 08:00 | Ingleside On-the-Bay, TX, 37 km away | 27.5N 97.2W | 50 kt (58 mph) | 1001 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 948 rain gauge totals over the contiguous United States to this storm. The wettest reached 13.06 inches (332 mm).
| Station | Total | Position |
|---|---|---|
| GALVESTON SCHOLES FLD | 13.06 in (332 mm) | 29.27N 94.87W |
| FREEPORT 2 NW | 11.44 in (291 mm) | 28.98N 95.38W |
| GEORGE WEST 2 SSW | 9.47 in (241 mm) | 28.30N 98.12W |
| ANGLETON 2 W | 8.58 in (218 mm) | 29.17N 95.45W |
| REFUGIO | 8.43 in (214 mm) | 28.30N 97.28W |
| WHITSETT 3 SW | 8.05 in (204 mm) | 28.63N 98.27W |
| HOUSTON HOBBY AP | 7.04 in (179 mm) | 29.63N 95.28W |
| PROVIDENT CITY | 7.00 in (178 mm) | 29.28N 96.63W |
| BAY CITY WTR WKS | 6.73 in (171 mm) | 29.00N 95.97W |
| HENLY | 6.60 in (168 mm) | 30.20N 98.22W |
| HOUSTON ELLINGTON AFB | 6.59 in (167 mm) | 29.60N 95.17W |
| GALVESTON | 6.52 in (166 mm) | 29.30N 94.80W |
WPC’s storm rainfall file, 1900 to 2020, compiled by David Roth.
Track
| Time (UTC) | Position | Wind | Pressure | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 30, 06:00 | 12.5N 58.0W | 30 kt | Tropical depression | |
| Aug 30, 12:00 | 13.8N 60.0W | 35 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Aug 30, 18:00 | 14.8N 61.9W | 35 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Aug 31, 00:00 | 15.5N 63.8W | 40 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Aug 31, 06:00 | 15.9N 65.5W | 50 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Aug 31, 12:00 | 16.0N 67.2W | 65 kt | Hurricane | |
| Aug 31, 18:00 | 16.3N 69.0W | 70 kt | Hurricane | |
| Sep 1, 00:00 | 16.8N 70.7W | 75 kt | 983 mb | Hurricane |
| Sep 1, 06:00 | 17.5N 72.1W | 85 kt | Hurricane | |
| Sep 1, 12:00 landfall | 18.2N 73.4W | 95 kt | Hurricane | |
| Sep 1, 18:00 | 19.1N 74.8W | 70 kt | 995 mb | Hurricane |
| Sep 2, 00:00 landfall | 20.0N 76.2W | 70 kt | Hurricane | |
| Sep 2, 06:00 | 20.7N 77.4W | 55 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Sep 2, 12:00 | 21.1N 78.2W | 50 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Sep 2, 18:00 | 21.3N 79.2W | 45 kt | 1004 mb | Tropical storm |
| Sep 3, 00:00 | 21.5N 80.4W | 50 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Sep 3, 06:00 | 21.7N 81.7W | 50 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Sep 3, 11:00 landfall | 21.8N 82.7W | 55 kt | 1003 mb | Tropical storm |
| Sep 3, 12:00 | 21.9N 83.0W | 55 kt | 1003 mb | Tropical storm |
| Sep 3, 17:00 landfall | 22.1N 84.0W | 60 kt | 1002 mb | Tropical storm |
| Sep 3, 18:00 | 22.1N 84.2W | 60 kt | 1002 mb | Tropical storm |
| Sep 4, 00:00 | 22.4N 85.4W | 60 kt | 1001 mb | Tropical storm |
| Sep 4, 06:00 | 22.8N 86.6W | 60 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Sep 4, 12:00 | 23.2N 87.7W | 60 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Sep 4, 18:00 | 23.8N 88.8W | 60 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Sep 5, 00:00 | 24.7N 90.1W | 55 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Sep 5, 06:00 | 25.6N 91.5W | 55 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Sep 5, 12:00 | 26.3N 92.8W | 50 kt | 1002 mb | Tropical storm |
| Sep 5, 18:00 | 26.8N 94.0W | 50 kt | 1002 mb | Tropical storm |
| Sep 6, 00:00 | 27.1N 95.3W | 50 kt | 1001 mb | Tropical storm |
| Sep 6, 06:00 | 27.4N 96.8W | 50 kt | 1001 mb | Tropical storm |
| Sep 6, 08:00 landfall | 27.5N 97.2W | 50 kt | 1001 mb | Tropical storm |
| Sep 6, 12:00 | 27.5N 98.0W | 30 kt | 1001 mb | Tropical depression |
| Sep 6, 18:00 | 27.5N 98.8W | 25 kt | 1002 mb | Tropical depression |
| Sep 7, 00:00 | 27.5N 99.5W | 25 kt | 1005 mb | Tropical depression |
Other North Atlantic storms of 1958
- Unnamed tropical stormNorth Atlantic · 1958
- Tropical Storm AlmaNorth Atlantic · 1958
- Tropical Storm BeckyNorth Atlantic · 1958
- Hurricane CleoNorth Atlantic · 1958
- Hurricane DaisyNorth Atlantic · 1958
- Hurricane FifiNorth Atlantic · 1958
- Tropical Storm GerdaNorth Atlantic · 1958
- Hurricane HeleneNorth Atlantic · 1958
- Hurricane IlsaNorth Atlantic · 1958
- Hurricane JaniceNorth Atlantic · 1958
- Unnamed tropical stormNorth Atlantic · 1958
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.