Hurricane Judith (1959)
Hurricane Judith reached Category 1 in the North Atlantic between October 14, 1959 and October 22, 1959, with a lowest pressure of 988 mb, and made landfall.
Track and intensity
The whole track of Hurricane Judith, 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
- October 14, 1959 to October 22, 1959
- Peak strength
- Category 1, 75 kt (86 mph)
- Lowest pressure
- 988 mb (29.18 inHg)
- Landfall
- Yes
- Accumulated cyclone energy
- 6.8
- Fastest the center moved
- 34 kt (39 mph)
- Identifier
- AL111959
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 18, 14:00 | Bokeelia, FL, 14 km away | 26.7N 82.3W | 55 kt (63 mph) | 998 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 148 rain gauge totals over the contiguous United States to this storm. The wettest reached 7.90 inches (201 mm).
| Station | Total | Position |
|---|---|---|
| MILES CITY TOWER | 7.90 in (201 mm) | 26.18N 81.35W |
| FORT MYERS PAGE FIELD | 7.63 in (194 mm) | 26.58N 81.87W |
| NITTAW 1 S | 6.35 in (161 mm) | 27.93N 81.00W |
| DEVILS GARDEN | 6.22 in (158 mm) | 26.60N 81.13W |
| FORT PIERCE | 5.98 in (152 mm) | 27.47N 80.35W |
| BIG CYPRESS INDIAN RESERVATIO | 5.86 in (149 mm) | 26.32N 81.00W |
| MOORE HAVEN LOCK 1 | 5.78 in (147 mm) | 26.83N 81.08W |
| DAYTONA BEACH | 5.37 in (136 mm) | 29.18N 81.07W |
| VERO BEACH MUNIL AP | 5.31 in (135 mm) | 27.65N 80.42W |
| LAKE PLACID 2 SW | 5.16 in (131 mm) | 27.28N 81.38W |
| LAKE TRAFFORD | 5.09 in (129 mm) | 26.43N 81.48W |
| WEST PALM BEACH INTL ARPT | 4.79 in (122 mm) | 26.68N 80.10W |
WPC’s storm rainfall file, 1900 to 2020, compiled by David Roth.
Track
| Time (UTC) | Position | Wind | Pressure | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 14, 06:00 | 14.0N 73.5W | 30 kt | Tropical depression | |
| Oct 14, 12:00 | 14.0N 75.3W | 35 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Oct 14, 18:00 | 14.0N 77.0W | 40 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Oct 15, 00:00 | 14.1N 78.5W | 40 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Oct 15, 06:00 | 14.3N 79.7W | 35 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Oct 15, 12:00 | 14.6N 80.7W | 30 kt | Tropical depression | |
| Oct 15, 18:00 | 15.0N 81.5W | 25 kt | Tropical depression | |
| Oct 16, 00:00 | 15.6N 82.2W | 25 kt | Disturbance | |
| Oct 16, 06:00 | 16.4N 82.9W | 25 kt | Disturbance | |
| Oct 16, 12:00 | 17.4N 83.6W | 25 kt | Disturbance | |
| Oct 16, 18:00 | 18.6N 84.3W | 25 kt | Disturbance | |
| Oct 17, 00:00 | 19.8N 84.8W | 25 kt | Disturbance | |
| Oct 17, 06:00 | 21.0N 85.1W | 25 kt | Disturbance | |
| Oct 17, 12:00 | 22.3N 85.1W | 30 kt | Tropical depression | |
| Oct 17, 18:00 | 23.8N 84.5W | 40 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Oct 18, 00:00 | 25.0N 84.0W | 55 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Oct 18, 06:00 | 26.0N 83.4W | 55 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Oct 18, 12:00 | 26.7N 82.5W | 55 kt | 998 mb | Tropical storm |
| Oct 18, 14:00 landfall | 26.7N 82.3W | 55 kt | 998 mb | Tropical storm |
| Oct 18, 18:00 | 27.0N 80.5W | 45 kt | 1001 mb | Tropical storm |
| Oct 19, 00:00 | 27.5N 77.2W | 55 kt | 997 mb | Tropical storm |
| Oct 19, 06:00 | 28.5N 73.6W | 65 kt | 993 mb | Hurricane |
| Oct 19, 12:00 | 29.6N 70.0W | 75 kt | 988 mb | Hurricane |
| Oct 19, 18:00 | 30.5N 66.2W | 75 kt | Hurricane | |
| Oct 20, 00:00 | 31.0N 62.6W | 70 kt | Hurricane | |
| Oct 20, 06:00 | 31.0N 59.5W | 70 kt | Hurricane | |
| Oct 20, 12:00 | 31.0N 57.5W | 70 kt | Hurricane | |
| Oct 20, 18:00 | 31.1N 56.5W | 70 kt | Hurricane | |
| Oct 21, 00:00 | 31.3N 55.7W | 60 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Oct 21, 06:00 | 31.5N 55.3W | 55 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Oct 21, 12:00 | 31.7N 55.0W | 50 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Oct 21, 18:00 | 31.8N 54.8W | 40 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Oct 22, 00:00 | 32.0N 54.0W | 35 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Oct 22, 06:00 | 32.0N 52.5W | 30 kt | Tropical depression |
Other North Atlantic storms of 1959
- Tropical Storm ArleneNorth Atlantic · 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
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.