Hurricane Gracie (1959)

Basin

North Atlantic

Dates

September 20, 1959 to October 2, 1959

Peak strength

Category 4, 115 kt (132 mph)

Lowest pressure

951 mb (28.08 inHg)

Landfall

Yes

Accumulated cyclone energy

16.6

Fastest the center moved

34 kt (39 mph)

Identifier

AL081959

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 points the US agencies flagged in the best track. The nearest town is named from the site’s gazetteer, not from the report.

The Weather Prediction Center attributes 2,526 rain gauge totals over the contiguous United States to this storm. The wettest reached 13.20 inches (335 mm).

WPC’s storm rainfall file, 1900 to 2020, compiled by David Roth.

• Tropical Storm ArleneNorth Atlantic · 1959Tropical Storm55 kt · 993 mb
• Tropical Storm BeulahNorth Atlantic · 1959Tropical Storm60 kt · 985 mb
• Unnamed hurricaneNorth Atlantic · 1959Cat 175 kt · 974 mb
• Hurricane CindyNorth Atlantic · 1959Cat 165 kt · 995 mb
• Hurricane DebraNorth Atlantic · 1959Cat 175 kt · 980 mb
• Unnamed tropical stormNorth Atlantic · 1959Tropical Storm60 kt
• Tropical Storm EdithNorth Atlantic · 1959Tropical Storm50 kt · 1007 mb
• Unnamed tropical stormNorth Atlantic · 1959Tropical Storm60 kt
• Unnamed tropical stormNorth Atlantic · 1959Tropical Storm55 kt · 1002 mb
• Hurricane FloraNorth Atlantic · 1959Cat 165 kt · 994 mb
• Hurricane HannahNorth Atlantic · 1959Cat 3105 kt · 959 mb
• Tropical Storm IreneNorth Atlantic · 1959Tropical Storm40 kt · 1000 mb
• Hurricane JudithNorth Atlantic · 1959Cat 175 kt · 988 mb

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.

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.

• Wikipedia article: Hurricane Gracie