Hurricane Betsy (1961)
Hurricane Betsy reached Category 4 in the North Atlantic between September 2, 1961 and September 16, 1961, with a lowest pressure of 945 mb.
Track and intensity
The whole track of Hurricane Betsy, colored by strength, with the other storms of the 1961 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 2, 1961 to September 16, 1961
- Peak strength
- Category 4, 115 kt (132 mph)
- Lowest pressure
- 945 mb (27.91 inHg)
- Landfall
- No; closest approach 293 km (182 mi)
- Accumulated cyclone energy
- 27.2
- Identifier
- AL021961
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.
Track
| Time (UTC) | Position | Wind | Pressure | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 2, 06:00 | 13.3N 41.6W | 55 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Sep 2, 12:00 | 13.8N 42.6W | 60 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Sep 2, 18:00 | 14.3N 43.6W | 70 kt | Hurricane | |
| Sep 3, 00:00 | 14.8N 44.6W | 80 kt | Hurricane | |
| Sep 3, 06:00 | 15.3N 45.6W | 85 kt | Hurricane | |
| Sep 3, 12:00 | 15.9N 46.7W | 90 kt | 973 mb | Hurricane |
| Sep 3, 18:00 | 17.0N 47.9W | 85 kt | 977 mb | Hurricane |
| Sep 4, 00:00 | 18.2N 49.0W | 80 kt | 981 mb | Hurricane |
| Sep 4, 06:00 | 19.4N 49.8W | 80 kt | 984 mb | Hurricane |
| Sep 4, 12:00 | 20.7N 50.1W | 75 kt | 986 mb | Hurricane |
| Sep 4, 18:00 | 22.0N 50.2W | 75 kt | 982 mb | Hurricane |
| Sep 5, 00:00 | 23.2N 50.6W | 85 kt | Hurricane | |
| Sep 5, 06:00 | 24.4N 51.4W | 95 kt | Hurricane | |
| Sep 5, 12:00 | 25.6N 52.1W | 105 kt | 957 mb | Hurricane |
| Sep 5, 18:00 | 27.0N 52.9W | 110 kt | 955 mb | Hurricane |
| Sep 6, 00:00 | 28.5N 54.0W | 115 kt | 952 mb | Hurricane |
| Sep 6, 06:00 | 29.9N 55.0W | 115 kt | 949 mb | Hurricane |
| Sep 6, 12:00 | 31.1N 56.1W | 115 kt | 945 mb | Hurricane |
| Sep 6, 18:00 | 32.3N 56.9W | 105 kt | 954 mb | Hurricane |
| Sep 7, 00:00 | 33.1N 57.3W | 105 kt | Hurricane | |
| Sep 7, 06:00 | 33.7N 57.8W | 100 kt | Hurricane | |
| Sep 7, 12:00 | 34.2N 58.3W | 95 kt | 954 mb | Hurricane |
| Sep 7, 18:00 | 34.6N 58.7W | 90 kt | Hurricane | |
| Sep 8, 00:00 | 35.0N 59.2W | 90 kt | Hurricane | |
| Sep 8, 06:00 | 35.3N 59.6W | 85 kt | Hurricane | |
| Sep 8, 12:00 | 35.5N 59.9W | 85 kt | Hurricane | |
| Sep 8, 18:00 | 35.9N 59.8W | 75 kt | 974 mb | Hurricane |
| Sep 9, 00:00 | 36.0N 59.6W | 75 kt | Hurricane | |
| Sep 9, 06:00 | 36.3N 59.2W | 75 kt | Hurricane | |
| Sep 9, 12:00 | 36.6N 58.7W | 75 kt | 978 mb | Hurricane |
| Sep 9, 18:00 | 37.2N 57.5W | 80 kt | 976 mb | Hurricane |
| Sep 10, 00:00 | 38.0N 56.1W | 80 kt | Hurricane | |
| Sep 10, 06:00 | 38.6N 54.4W | 85 kt | Hurricane | |
| Sep 10, 12:00 | 39.2N 52.3W | 85 kt | Hurricane | |
| Sep 10, 18:00 | 39.8N 49.7W | 85 kt | 962 mb | Hurricane |
| Sep 11, 00:00 | 40.9N 45.8W | 85 kt | Extratropical | |
| Sep 11, 06:00 | 42.8N 42.0W | 85 kt | Extratropical | |
| Sep 11, 12:00 | 44.7N 38.5W | 85 kt | Extratropical | |
| Sep 11, 18:00 | 47.7N 33.0W | 80 kt | Extratropical | |
| Sep 12, 00:00 | 50.8N 26.5W | 75 kt | Extratropical | |
| Sep 12, 06:00 | 54.0N 22.6W | 70 kt | 956 mb | Extratropical |
| Sep 12, 12:00 | 56.5N 21.0W | 70 kt | 952 mb | Extratropical |
| Sep 12, 18:00 | 58.0N 20.0W | 70 kt | 949 mb | Extratropical |
| Sep 13, 00:00 | 58.5N 19.0W | 70 kt | 946 mb | Extratropical |
| Sep 13, 06:00 | 59.0N 19.0W | 70 kt | 947 mb | Extratropical |
| Sep 13, 12:00 | 59.5N 21.0W | 65 kt | 948 mb | Extratropical |
| Sep 13, 18:00 | 60.2N 23.0W | 65 kt | 952 mb | Extratropical |
| Sep 14, 00:00 | 61.0N 24.0W | 60 kt | 954 mb | Extratropical |
| Sep 14, 06:00 | 61.0N 24.5W | 60 kt | 955 mb | Extratropical |
| Sep 14, 12:00 | 61.3N 25.5W | 60 kt | 956 mb | Extratropical |
| Sep 14, 18:00 | 62.0N 27.0W | 55 kt | 960 mb | Extratropical |
| Sep 15, 00:00 | 62.5N 29.0W | 50 kt | 964 mb | Extratropical |
| Sep 15, 06:00 | 62.0N 30.0W | 50 kt | 968 mb | Extratropical |
| Sep 15, 12:00 | 60.0N 30.0W | 50 kt | 972 mb | Extratropical |
| Sep 15, 18:00 | 57.0N 29.0W | 45 kt | 976 mb | Extratropical |
| Sep 16, 00:00 | 55.0N 27.0W | 40 kt | 980 mb | Extratropical |
| Sep 16, 06:00 | 52.5N 26.0W | 35 kt | 986 mb | Extratropical |
| Sep 16, 12:00 | 51.0N 23.0W | 30 kt | 992 mb | Extratropical |
Other North Atlantic storms of 1961
- Hurricane AnnaNorth Atlantic · 1961
- Hurricane CarlaNorth Atlantic · 1961
- Hurricane DebbieNorth Atlantic · 1961
- Hurricane EstherNorth Atlantic · 1961
- Unnamed tropical stormNorth Atlantic · 1961
- Hurricane FrancesNorth Atlantic · 1961
- Hurricane GerdaNorth Atlantic · 1961
- Hurricane HattieNorth Atlantic · 1961
- Hurricane JennyNorth Atlantic · 1961
- Tropical Storm IngaNorth Atlantic · 1961
- Unnamed tropical stormNorth Atlantic · 1961
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.