Hurricane Alma (1970)
Hurricane Alma reached Category 1 in the North Atlantic between May 17, 1970 and May 27, 1970, with a lowest pressure of 993 mb, and made landfall.
Track and intensity
The whole track of Hurricane Alma, colored by strength, with the other storms of the 1970 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
- May 17, 1970 to May 27, 1970
- Peak strength
- Category 1, 65 kt (75 mph)
- Lowest pressure
- 993 mb (29.32 inHg)
- Landfall
- Yes
- Accumulated cyclone energy
- 3.4
- Fastest the center moved
- 18 kt (21 mph)
- Identifier
- AL011970
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 825 rain gauge totals over the contiguous United States to this storm. The wettest reached 6.66 inches (169 mm).
| Station | Total | Position |
|---|---|---|
| MIAMI 12 SSW | 6.66 in (169 mm) | 25.65N 80.30W |
| FT PIERCE | 6.03 in (153 mm) | 27.43N 80.33W |
| FT LAUDERDALE | 5.53 in (140 mm) | 26.10N 80.15W |
| KENDALL 2 E | 5.00 in (127 mm) | 25.68N 80.28W |
| TAVERNIER | 4.85 in (123 mm) | 25.02N 80.52W |
| PUNTA GORDA 4 ESE | 4.81 in (122 mm) | 26.97N 81.97W |
| ALAPAHA EXP STN | 4.62 in (117 mm) | 31.35N 83.22W |
| BLACKBEARD ISLAND | 4.59 in (117 mm) | 31.48N 81.22W |
| DANIA 4 WNW | 4.50 in (114 mm) | 26.07N 80.20W |
| MIAMI INTL AP | 4.50 in (114 mm) | 25.82N 80.28W |
| LOXAHATCHEE | 4.47 in (114 mm) | 26.68N 80.27W |
| HILTON HEAD | 4.42 in (112 mm) | 32.22N 80.75W |
WPC’s storm rainfall file, 1900 to 2020, compiled by David Roth.
Track
| Time (UTC) | Position | Wind | Pressure | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 17, 18:00 | 11.5N 79.0W | 25 kt | Tropical depression | |
| May 18, 00:00 | 11.8N 79.3W | 25 kt | Tropical depression | |
| May 18, 06:00 | 12.1N 79.7W | 25 kt | Tropical depression | |
| May 18, 12:00 | 12.3N 80.1W | 25 kt | Tropical depression | |
| May 18, 18:00 | 12.6N 80.5W | 25 kt | Tropical depression | |
| May 19, 00:00 | 13.0N 81.0W | 25 kt | Tropical depression | |
| May 19, 06:00 | 13.5N 81.5W | 25 kt | Tropical depression | |
| May 19, 12:00 | 14.0N 81.9W | 25 kt | 1005 mb | Tropical depression |
| May 19, 18:00 | 14.7N 82.1W | 30 kt | Tropical depression | |
| May 20, 00:00 | 15.5N 82.2W | 35 kt | Tropical storm | |
| May 20, 06:00 | 16.3N 82.0W | 45 kt | Tropical storm | |
| May 20, 12:00 | 16.9N 81.7W | 55 kt | Tropical storm | |
| May 20, 18:00 | 17.4N 81.4W | 65 kt | 993 mb | Hurricane |
| May 21, 00:00 | 17.8N 81.0W | 60 kt | Tropical storm | |
| May 21, 06:00 | 18.2N 80.6W | 50 kt | Tropical storm | |
| May 21, 12:00 | 18.5N 80.2W | 45 kt | 1002 mb | Tropical storm |
| May 21, 18:00 | 19.0N 80.0W | 45 kt | 1003 mb | Tropical storm |
| May 22, 00:00 | 19.5N 80.1W | 45 kt | 1004 mb | Tropical storm |
| May 22, 06:00 | 19.3N 80.6W | 40 kt | 1005 mb | Tropical storm |
| May 22, 12:00 | 19.1N 81.1W | 35 kt | 1007 mb | Tropical storm |
| May 22, 18:00 | 19.0N 81.8W | 30 kt | Tropical depression | |
| May 23, 00:00 | 19.2N 82.6W | 30 kt | Tropical depression | |
| May 23, 06:00 | 19.8N 83.5W | 25 kt | Tropical depression | |
| May 23, 12:00 | 20.8N 84.1W | 25 kt | Tropical depression | |
| May 23, 18:00 | 21.8N 84.4W | 25 kt | Tropical depression | |
| May 24, 00:00 | 22.9N 84.5W | 25 kt | Tropical depression | |
| May 24, 06:00 | 23.9N 84.3W | 30 kt | 1008 mb | Tropical depression |
| May 24, 12:00 | 24.9N 84.1W | 30 kt | 1008 mb | Tropical depression |
| May 24, 18:00 | 26.3N 83.9W | 30 kt | Tropical depression | |
| May 25, 00:00 | 28.0N 83.4W | 30 kt | Tropical depression | |
| May 25, 06:00 | 29.5N 82.9W | 30 kt | Tropical depression | |
| May 25, 12:00 | 30.8N 82.2W | 30 kt | Tropical depression | |
| May 25, 18:00 | 31.8N 81.6W | 35 kt | 1003 mb | Tropical storm |
| May 26, 00:00 | 32.6N 81.2W | 40 kt | Tropical storm | |
| May 26, 06:00 | 33.5N 80.7W | 40 kt | Tropical storm | |
| May 26, 12:00 | 34.6N 79.9W | 40 kt | Tropical storm | |
| May 26, 18:00 | 35.7N 78.7W | 35 kt | Tropical storm | |
| May 27, 00:00 | 36.5N 77.0W | 35 kt | 1003 mb | Tropical storm |
Other North Atlantic storms of 1970
- Tropical Storm BeckyNorth Atlantic · 1970
- Unnamed tropical depressionNorth Atlantic · 1970
- Hurricane CeliaNorth Atlantic · 1970
- Unnamed tropical depressionNorth Atlantic · 1970
- Unnamed hurricaneNorth Atlantic · 1970
- Unnamed tropical depressionNorth Atlantic · 1970
- Tropical Storm DorothyNorth Atlantic · 1970
- Unnamed tropical depressionNorth Atlantic · 1970
- Unnamed tropical stormNorth Atlantic · 1970
- Unnamed tropical depressionNorth Atlantic · 1970
- Hurricane EllaNorth Atlantic · 1970
- Tropical Storm FeliceNorth Atlantic · 1970
- Unnamed tropical stormNorth Atlantic · 1970
- Unnamed tropical depressionNorth Atlantic · 1970
- Tropical Storm GretaNorth Atlantic · 1970
- Unnamed hurricaneNorth Atlantic · 1970
- Unnamed hurricaneNorth Atlantic · 1970
- Unnamed hurricaneNorth Atlantic · 1970
- Unnamed tropical depressionNorth Atlantic · 1970
- Unnamed tropical stormNorth Atlantic · 1970
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.