Tropical Storm Arlene (1959)
Tropical Storm Arlene peaked at 55 kt in the North Atlantic between May 28, 1959 and June 2, 1959, with a lowest pressure of 993 mb, and made landfall.
Track and intensity
The whole track of Tropical Storm Arlene, colored by strength, with the other storms of the 1959 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
- May 28, 1959 to June 2, 1959
- Peak strength
- Tropical Storm, 55 kt (63 mph)
- Lowest pressure
- 993 mb (29.32 inHg)
- Landfall
- Yes
- Accumulated cyclone energy
- 2.1
- Fastest the center moved
- 25 kt (29 mph)
- Identifier
- AL011959
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 30, 22:00 | Franklin, LA, 24 km away | 29.6N 91.6W | 55 kt (63 mph) |
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 3,240 rain gauge totals over the contiguous United States to this storm. The wettest reached 13.55 inches (344 mm).
| Station | Total | Position |
|---|---|---|
| MERRILL | 13.55 in (344 mm) | 30.98N 88.72W |
| PARADIS 7 S | 13.40 in (340 mm) | 29.78N 90.42W |
| HOUMA | 13.13 in (334 mm) | 29.58N 90.72W |
| NEW ORLEANS INTL AP | 10.47 in (266 mm) | 29.98N 90.25W |
| PURVIS 2N | 9.87 in (251 mm) | 31.17N 89.40W |
| SCHRIEVER | 9.35 in (237 mm) | 29.73N 90.82W |
| CITRONELLE | 9.18 in (233 mm) | 31.08N 88.23W |
| TRAY MTN | 9.16 in (233 mm) | 34.80N 83.70W |
| RESERVE | 9.06 in (230 mm) | 30.05N 90.57W |
| BEAUMONT | 8.99 in (228 mm) | 31.18N 88.92W |
| TALBOTTON | 8.34 in (212 mm) | 32.68N 84.52W |
| NEEL GAP | 8.28 in (210 mm) | 34.73N 83.92W |
WPC’s storm rainfall file, 1900 to 2020, compiled by David Roth.
Track
| Time (UTC) | Position | Wind | Pressure | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 28, 06:00 | 23.3N 86.5W | 25 kt | Tropical depression | |
| May 28, 12:00 | 24.0N 87.0W | 30 kt | Tropical depression | |
| May 28, 18:00 | 24.7N 87.5W | 30 kt | Tropical depression | |
| May 29, 00:00 | 25.5N 88.2W | 35 kt | Tropical storm | |
| May 29, 06:00 | 26.5N 89.0W | 40 kt | Tropical storm | |
| May 29, 12:00 | 27.4N 90.1W | 45 kt | 1000 mb | Tropical storm |
| May 29, 18:00 | 27.7N 91.2W | 45 kt | 1002 mb | Tropical storm |
| May 30, 00:00 | 27.8N 91.8W | 45 kt | 1000 mb | Tropical storm |
| May 30, 06:00 | 28.0N 91.9W | 45 kt | 999 mb | Tropical storm |
| May 30, 12:00 | 28.5N 91.9W | 50 kt | 996 mb | Tropical storm |
| May 30, 18:00 | 29.2N 91.8W | 55 kt | 993 mb | Tropical storm |
| May 30, 22:00 landfall | 29.6N 91.6W | 55 kt | Tropical storm | |
| May 31, 00:00 | 29.8N 91.6W | 55 kt | Tropical storm | |
| May 31, 06:00 | 30.4N 91.4W | 40 kt | Tropical storm | |
| May 31, 12:00 | 30.9N 91.2W | 30 kt | Tropical depression | |
| May 31, 18:00 | 31.5N 90.9W | 25 kt | Tropical depression | |
| Jun 1, 00:00 | 32.1N 90.5W | 25 kt | Tropical depression | |
| Jun 1, 06:00 | 32.4N 89.9W | 25 kt | Tropical depression | |
| Jun 1, 12:00 | 32.6N 89.1W | 25 kt | Tropical depression | |
| Jun 1, 18:00 | 32.7N 88.3W | 25 kt | Tropical depression | |
| Jun 2, 00:00 | 32.8N 87.2W | 20 kt | Tropical depression | |
| Jun 2, 06:00 | 32.9N 85.0W | 20 kt | Tropical depression | |
| Jun 2, 12:00 | 33.5N 82.7W | 20 kt | Tropical depression | |
| Jun 2, 18:00 | 34.4N 80.0W | 20 kt | Tropical depression |
Other North Atlantic storms of 1959
- Tropical Storm BeulahNorth Atlantic · 1959
- Unnamed hurricaneNorth Atlantic · 1959
- Hurricane CindyNorth Atlantic · 1959
- Hurricane DebraNorth Atlantic · 1959
- Unnamed tropical stormNorth Atlantic · 1959
- Tropical Storm EdithNorth Atlantic · 1959
- Unnamed tropical stormNorth Atlantic · 1959
- Unnamed tropical stormNorth Atlantic · 1959
- Hurricane FloraNorth Atlantic · 1959
- Hurricane GracieNorth Atlantic · 1959
- Hurricane HannahNorth Atlantic · 1959
- Tropical Storm IreneNorth Atlantic · 1959
- Hurricane JudithNorth Atlantic · 1959
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.