Hurricane Gerda (1961)
Hurricane Gerda reached Category 1 in the North Atlantic between October 17, 1961 and October 22, 1961, with a lowest pressure of 988 mb, and made landfall.
Radar
Reflectivity now over Hurricane Gerda. Open it to see storms, cones and warnings on the map.
Radar mosaic and map layers from NOAA MRMS. Boundaries from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet.
The storm
- Basin
- North Atlantic
- Dates
- October 17, 1961 to October 22, 1961
- Peak strength
- Category 1, 65 kt (75 mph)
- Lowest pressure
- 988 mb (29.18 inHg)
- Landfall
- Yes
- Accumulated cyclone energy
- 2.2
- Identifier
- AL081961
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 17, 00:00 | 19.7N 77.9W | 30 kt | 1003 mb | Tropical depression |
| Oct 17, 06:00 | 20.1N 78.0W | 30 kt | 1002 mb | Tropical depression |
| Oct 17, 12:00 | 20.5N 78.0W | 30 kt | 1002 mb | Tropical depression |
| Oct 17, 18:00 | 21.0N 78.0W | 30 kt | 1002 mb | Tropical depression |
| Oct 18, 00:00 | 21.6N 78.0W | 30 kt | 1002 mb | Tropical depression |
| Oct 18, 06:00 | 22.5N 77.9W | 35 kt | 1003 mb | Tropical storm |
| Oct 18, 12:00 | 23.5N 77.7W | 35 kt | 1003 mb | Tropical storm |
| Oct 18, 18:00 | 24.5N 77.2W | 40 kt | 1003 mb | Tropical storm |
| Oct 19, 00:00 | 25.6N 76.3W | 40 kt | 1003 mb | Tropical storm |
| Oct 19, 06:00 | 26.8N 75.0W | 50 kt | 1001 mb | Tropical storm |
| Oct 19, 12:00 | 28.4N 73.5W | 55 kt | 999 mb | Tropical storm |
| Oct 19, 18:00 | 30.3N 71.8W | 60 kt | 989 mb | Tropical storm |
| Oct 20, 00:00 | 33.5N 70.2W | 60 kt | 989 mb | Tropical storm |
| Oct 20, 06:00 | 37.0N 68.8W | 60 kt | 988 mb | Tropical storm |
| Oct 20, 12:00 | 39.3N 68.2W | 60 kt | Extratropical | |
| Oct 20, 18:00 | 40.7N 67.5W | 60 kt | Extratropical | |
| Oct 21, 00:00 | 41.5N 66.0W | 65 kt | Extratropical | |
| Oct 21, 06:00 | 42.4N 64.5W | 60 kt | Extratropical | |
| Oct 21, 12:00 | 43.2N 62.7W | 50 kt | 994 mb | Extratropical |
| Oct 21, 18:00 | 44.0N 61.2W | 45 kt | Extratropical | |
| Oct 22, 00:00 | 44.2N 58.5W | 35 kt | Extratropical | |
| Oct 22, 06:00 | 44.4N 54.0W | 35 kt | Extratropical | |
| Oct 22, 12:00 | 44.6N 49.3W | 35 kt | Extratropical |
Other North Atlantic storms of 1961
- Hurricane AnnaNorth Atlantic · 1961
- Hurricane BetsyNorth Atlantic · 1961
- Hurricane CarlaNorth Atlantic · 1961
- Hurricane DebbieNorth Atlantic · 1961
- Hurricane EstherNorth Atlantic · 1961
- Unnamed tropical stormNorth Atlantic · 1961
- Hurricane FrancesNorth 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.