Hurricane Alma (1962)
Hurricane Alma reached Category 1 in the North Atlantic between August 26, 1962 and September 2, 1962, with a lowest pressure of 984 mb, and made landfall.
Track and intensity
The whole track of Hurricane Alma, colored by strength, with the other storms of the 1962 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
- August 26, 1962 to September 2, 1962
- Peak strength
- Category 1, 75 kt (86 mph)
- Lowest pressure
- 984 mb (29.06 inHg)
- Landfall
- Yes
- Accumulated cyclone energy
- 4.9
- Fastest the center moved
- 23 kt (26 mph)
- Identifier
- AL011962
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.
Rainfall
The Weather Prediction Center attributes 1,201 rain gauge totals over the contiguous United States to this storm. The wettest reached 10.38 inches (264 mm).
| Station | Total | Position |
|---|---|---|
| CAPE HATTERAS AP | 10.38 in (264 mm) | 35.22N 75.62W |
| HATTERAS | 7.91 in (201 mm) | 35.22N 75.72W |
| MCCLELLANVILLE | 5.77 in (147 mm) | 33.07N 79.47W |
| OCRACOKE | 5.68 in (144 mm) | 35.10N 75.98W |
| CANADA LAKE | 5.04 in (128 mm) | 43.25N 74.52W |
| OKEECHOBEE | 4.86 in (123 mm) | 27.20N 80.83W |
| CEDAR ISLAND | 4.37 in (111 mm) | 34.98N 76.30W |
| CHARLESTON INTL AP | 4.33 in (110 mm) | 32.88N 80.03W |
| FT DRUM 3 NW | 4.25 in (108 mm) | 27.53N 80.82W |
| MANTEO | 4.25 in (108 mm) | 35.92N 75.68W |
| SOUTHPORT 5 N | 4.02 in (102 mm) | 33.98N 78.00W |
| MT WASHINGTON | 3.98 in (101 mm) | 44.27N 71.28W |
WPC’s storm rainfall file, 1900 to 2020, compiled by David Roth.
Track
| Time (UTC) | Position | Wind | Pressure | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 26, 12:00 | 25.7N 79.7W | 25 kt | Tropical depression | |
| Aug 26, 18:00 | 26.8N 80.1W | 30 kt | Tropical depression | |
| Aug 27, 00:00 | 27.9N 80.3W | 30 kt | Tropical depression | |
| Aug 27, 06:00 | 29.2N 80.2W | 35 kt | 1007 mb | Tropical storm |
| Aug 27, 12:00 | 30.4N 79.7W | 40 kt | 1005 mb | Tropical storm |
| Aug 27, 18:00 | 31.5N 78.8W | 45 kt | 1002 mb | Tropical storm |
| Aug 28, 00:00 | 32.6N 77.7W | 45 kt | 1002 mb | Tropical storm |
| Aug 28, 06:00 | 33.8N 76.6W | 55 kt | 1000 mb | Tropical storm |
| Aug 28, 12:00 | 35.2N 75.3W | 65 kt | 995 mb | Hurricane |
| Aug 28, 18:00 | 36.9N 73.5W | 75 kt | 990 mb | Hurricane |
| Aug 29, 00:00 | 38.7N 71.7W | 75 kt | 988 mb | Hurricane |
| Aug 29, 06:00 | 40.1N 70.2W | 75 kt | 989 mb | Hurricane |
| Aug 29, 12:00 | 41.0N 69.4W | 70 kt | 990 mb | Hurricane |
| Aug 29, 18:00 | 41.5N 68.7W | 65 kt | 984 mb | Hurricane |
| Aug 30, 00:00 | 41.5N 67.8W | 60 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Aug 30, 06:00 | 41.3N 66.9W | 55 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Aug 30, 12:00 | 41.0N 66.0W | 45 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Aug 30, 18:00 | 40.8N 65.1W | 40 kt | Extratropical | |
| Aug 31, 00:00 | 40.4N 64.3W | 40 kt | Extratropical | |
| Aug 31, 06:00 | 39.9N 64.0W | 40 kt | Extratropical | |
| Aug 31, 12:00 | 39.1N 63.8W | 40 kt | Extratropical | |
| Aug 31, 18:00 | 38.6N 64.1W | 35 kt | Extratropical | |
| Sep 1, 00:00 | 38.3N 64.5W | 35 kt | Extratropical | |
| Sep 1, 06:00 | 38.4N 65.0W | 35 kt | Extratropical | |
| Sep 1, 12:00 | 38.6N 65.5W | 35 kt | Extratropical | |
| Sep 1, 18:00 | 39.0N 65.4W | 35 kt | Extratropical | |
| Sep 2, 00:00 | 39.5N 65.0W | 35 kt | Extratropical | |
| Sep 2, 06:00 | 40.4N 63.6W | 35 kt | Extratropical |
Other North Atlantic storms of 1962
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.