The 1966 season

Hurricane Inez (1966)

Hurricane Inez reached Category 5 in the North Atlantic between September 21, 1966 and October 11, 1966, with a lowest pressure of 927 mb, and made landfall.

Track and intensity

The whole track of Hurricane Inez, colored by strength, with the other storms of the 1966 season in the same basin behind it, and its wind and pressure hour by hour. Every fix is in the track table below.

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The storm

Basin
North Atlantic
Dates
September 21, 1966 to October 11, 1966
Peak strength
Category 5, 140 kt (161 mph)
Lowest pressure
927 mb (27.37 inHg)
Landfall
Yes
Accumulated cyclone energy
51.5
Fastest the center moved
16 kt (18 mph)
Identifier
AL091966

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.

Landfalls

Time (UTC)WherePositionWindPressure
Sep 27, 17:00Petit-Bourg, Guadeloupe, Guadeloupe, 1 km away16.2N 61.6W110 kt (127 mph)958 mb
Sep 29, 14:00Santa Cruz de Barahona, Barahona Province, Dominican Republic, 65 km away17.7N 71.4W140 kt (161 mph)
Sep 29, 19:00Jacmel, Sud-Est, Haiti, 8 km away18.2N 72.6W100 kt (115 mph)
Sep 30, 14:00Santiago de Cuba, Santiago de Cuba Province, Cuba, 13 km away20.0N 75.7W100 kt (115 mph)
Oct 1, 15:00La Sierpe, Sancti Spiritus Province, Cuba, 31 km away21.6N 79.5W65 kt (75 mph)
Oct 4, 18:00Tavernier, FL, 2 km away25.0N 80.5W85 kt (98 mph)984 mb
Oct 4, 23:00Big Pine Key, FL, 6 km away24.7N 81.3W85 kt (98 mph)988 mb
Oct 5, 02:00Key West, FL, 5 km away24.6N 81.8W85 kt (98 mph)988 mb
Oct 10, 12:00Altamira, Tamaulipas, Mexico, 47 km away22.8N 97.8W100 kt (115 mph)961 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 128 rain gauge totals over the contiguous United States to this storm. The wettest reached 4.80 inches (122 mm).

StationTotalPosition
KENDALL 2 E4.80 in (122 mm)25.68N 80.28W
KEY WEST NAS4.43 in (113 mm)24.58N 81.68W
TITUSVILLE4.31 in (109 mm)28.63N 80.83W
KEY WEST INTL ARPT4.30 in (109 mm)24.55N 81.75W
HIALEAH3.78 in (96 mm)25.82N 80.28W
FORT LAUDERDALE EXPERIMENT ST3.70 in (94 mm)26.08N 80.25W
FORT LAUDERDALE3.69 in (94 mm)26.10N 80.20W
MIAMI 12 SSW3.66 in (93 mm)25.65N 80.30W
MIAMI INTL AP3.18 in (81 mm)25.78N 80.32W
MIAMI BAYFRONT PARK3.08 in (78 mm)25.78N 80.18W
SOUTH MIAMI 5 W3.02 in (77 mm)25.70N 80.35W
PERRINE 4W2.84 in (72 mm)25.58N 80.43W

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

Track

Time (UTC)PositionWindPressureStatus
Sep 21, 12:009.9N 35.1W25 ktTropical depression
Sep 21, 18:0010.4N 36.1W25 ktTropical depression
Sep 22, 00:0010.9N 37.2W25 ktTropical depression
Sep 22, 06:0011.3N 38.3W25 ktTropical depression
Sep 22, 12:0011.7N 39.4W25 ktTropical depression
Sep 22, 18:0012.0N 40.6W25 ktTropical depression
Sep 23, 00:0012.3N 41.8W25 ktTropical depression
Sep 23, 06:0012.7N 43.0W25 ktTropical depression
Sep 23, 12:0013.1N 44.1W30 ktTropical depression
Sep 23, 18:0013.4N 45.1W30 ktTropical depression
Sep 24, 00:0013.7N 46.0W30 ktTropical depression
Sep 24, 06:0014.0N 46.9W30 ktTropical depression
Sep 24, 12:0014.4N 47.9W35 kt1009 mbTropical storm
Sep 24, 18:0014.8N 48.9W40 kt1008 mbTropical storm
Sep 25, 00:0015.1N 49.8W45 ktTropical storm
Sep 25, 06:0015.3N 50.7W50 ktTropical storm
Sep 25, 12:0015.5N 51.6W50 kt1000 mbTropical storm
Sep 25, 18:0015.6N 52.5W50 kt1000 mbTropical storm
Sep 26, 00:0015.6N 53.6W55 ktTropical storm
Sep 26, 06:0015.7N 54.8W60 ktTropical storm
Sep 26, 12:0015.8N 56.0W65 kt995 mbHurricane
Sep 26, 18:0015.9N 57.0W80 kt982 mbHurricane
Sep 27, 00:0015.9N 58.0W90 kt974 mbHurricane
Sep 27, 06:0016.0N 59.1W100 kt965 mbHurricane
Sep 27, 12:0016.1N 60.3W105 kt961 mbHurricane
Sep 27, 17:00 landfall16.2N 61.6W110 kt958 mbHurricane
Sep 27, 18:0016.2N 61.7W110 kt958 mbHurricane
Sep 28, 00:0016.3N 63.0W100 kt964 mbHurricane
Sep 28, 06:0016.5N 64.4W115 kt955 mbHurricane
Sep 28, 12:0016.8N 65.7W130 kt941 mbHurricane
Sep 28, 18:0017.0N 67.2W140 kt927 mbHurricane
Sep 29, 00:0017.1N 68.5W140 kt928 mbHurricane
Sep 29, 06:0017.2N 69.7W140 ktHurricane
Sep 29, 12:0017.5N 71.0W140 ktHurricane
Sep 29, 14:00 landfall17.7N 71.4W140 ktHurricane
Sep 29, 18:0018.1N 72.3W100 ktHurricane
Sep 29, 19:00 landfall18.2N 72.6W100 ktHurricane
Sep 30, 00:0018.7N 73.5W80 kt987 mbHurricane
Sep 30, 06:0019.2N 74.5W90 ktHurricane
Sep 30, 12:0019.8N 75.4W100 ktHurricane
Sep 30, 14:00 landfall20.0N 75.7W100 ktHurricane
Sep 30, 18:0020.2N 76.3W80 ktHurricane
Oct 1, 00:0020.5N 77.3W65 ktHurricane
Oct 1, 06:0020.7N 78.5W65 ktHurricane
Oct 1, 12:0021.3N 79.4W65 ktHurricane
Oct 1, 15:00 landfall21.6N 79.5W65 ktHurricane
Oct 1, 18:0022.0N 79.9W60 ktTropical storm
Oct 2, 00:0022.6N 80.1W50 ktTropical storm
Oct 2, 06:0023.1N 80.1W50 ktTropical storm
Oct 2, 12:0023.5N 79.9W50 ktTropical storm
Oct 2, 18:0024.1N 79.6W55 kt999 mbTropical storm
Oct 3, 00:0024.5N 79.2W60 kt995 mbTropical storm
Oct 3, 06:0024.9N 78.9W60 kt989 mbTropical storm
Oct 3, 12:0025.2N 78.6W65 kt985 mbHurricane
Oct 3, 18:0025.5N 78.5W65 kt986 mbHurricane
Oct 4, 00:0025.5N 78.5W65 kt985 mbHurricane
Oct 4, 06:0025.5N 79.0W65 kt988 mbHurricane
Oct 4, 12:0025.2N 79.6W75 kt987 mbHurricane
Oct 4, 18:00 landfall25.0N 80.5W85 kt984 mbHurricane
Oct 4, 23:00 landfall24.7N 81.3W85 kt988 mbHurricane
Oct 5, 00:0024.6N 81.4W85 kt988 mbHurricane
Oct 5, 02:00 landfall24.6N 81.8W85 kt988 mbHurricane
Oct 5, 06:0024.5N 82.3W85 kt985 mbHurricane
Oct 5, 12:0024.5N 83.0W85 kt983 mbHurricane
Oct 5, 18:0024.3N 83.7W85 kt980 mbHurricane
Oct 6, 00:0024.0N 84.3W85 kt977 mbHurricane
Oct 6, 06:0023.7N 85.0W85 kt974 mbHurricane
Oct 6, 12:0023.3N 85.7W85 kt974 mbHurricane
Oct 6, 18:0022.8N 86.4W85 kt974 mbHurricane
Oct 7, 00:0022.3N 87.2W100 kt961 mbHurricane
Oct 7, 06:0022.0N 88.1W95 ktHurricane
Oct 7, 12:0021.8N 89.0W90 ktHurricane
Oct 7, 18:0021.6N 90.0W85 kt972 mbHurricane
Oct 8, 00:0021.5N 91.0W95 ktHurricane
Oct 8, 06:0021.5N 92.1W105 ktHurricane
Oct 8, 12:0021.8N 93.1W115 kt953 mbHurricane
Oct 8, 18:0022.0N 93.9W115 kt956 mbHurricane
Oct 9, 00:0022.2N 94.7W115 kt948 mbHurricane
Oct 9, 06:0022.6N 95.2W115 kt951 mbHurricane
Oct 9, 12:0022.7N 95.6W110 kt951 mbHurricane
Oct 9, 18:0022.9N 96.0W100 kt961 mbHurricane
Oct 10, 00:0023.0N 96.4W100 kt960 mbHurricane
Oct 10, 06:0023.0N 97.0W100 kt962 mbHurricane
Oct 10, 12:00 landfall22.8N 97.8W100 kt961 mbHurricane
Oct 10, 18:0022.4N 98.5W60 ktTropical storm
Oct 11, 00:0022.1N 99.2W30 ktTropical depression
Oct 11, 06:0021.8N 99.9W25 ktTropical depression
Oct 11, 12:0021.5N 100.6W20 ktTropical depression

Other North Atlantic storms of 1966

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.