Hurricane Ella (1970)
Hurricane Ella reached Category 3 in the North Atlantic between September 8, 1970 and September 13, 1970, with a lowest pressure of 962 mb, and made landfall.
Track and intensity
The whole track of Hurricane Ella, 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
- September 8, 1970 to September 13, 1970
- Peak strength
- Category 3, 110 kt (127 mph)
- Lowest pressure
- 962 mb (28.41 inHg)
- Landfall
- Yes
- Accumulated cyclone energy
- 5.3
- Fastest the center moved
- 20 kt (23 mph)
- Identifier
- AL121970
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) | Where | Position | Wind | Pressure |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 10, 09:30 | Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo, Mexico, 27 km away | 20.5N 87.3W | 40 kt (46 mph) | 1004 mb |
| Sep 12, 10:00 | San Fernando, Tamaulipas, Mexico, 115 km away | 23.9N 97.7W | 110 kt (127 mph) | 962 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.
Track
| Time (UTC) | Position | Wind | Pressure | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 8, 12:00 | 15.8N 82.8W | 25 kt | 1009 mb | Tropical depression |
| Sep 8, 18:00 | 16.2N 83.1W | 25 kt | 1009 mb | Tropical depression |
| Sep 9, 00:00 | 16.6N 83.5W | 25 kt | 1008 mb | Tropical depression |
| Sep 9, 06:00 | 17.0N 84.2W | 25 kt | 1007 mb | Tropical depression |
| Sep 9, 12:00 | 17.6N 84.9W | 25 kt | 1007 mb | Tropical depression |
| Sep 9, 18:00 | 18.4N 85.5W | 30 kt | 1006 mb | Tropical depression |
| Sep 10, 00:00 | 19.2N 86.1W | 35 kt | 1005 mb | Tropical storm |
| Sep 10, 06:00 | 20.0N 86.8W | 40 kt | 1005 mb | Tropical storm |
| Sep 10, 09:30 landfall | 20.5N 87.3W | 40 kt | 1004 mb | Tropical storm |
| Sep 10, 12:00 | 20.8N 87.6W | 35 kt | 1004 mb | Tropical storm |
| Sep 10, 18:00 | 22.0N 89.0W | 50 kt | 997 mb | Tropical storm |
| Sep 11, 00:00 | 23.0N 90.8W | 65 kt | 993 mb | Hurricane |
| Sep 11, 06:00 | 23.6N 92.6W | 65 kt | 994 mb | Hurricane |
| Sep 11, 12:00 | 23.9N 94.2W | 70 kt | 989 mb | Hurricane |
| Sep 11, 18:00 | 24.0N 95.5W | 75 kt | 984 mb | Hurricane |
| Sep 12, 00:00 | 23.9N 96.5W | 85 kt | 973 mb | Hurricane |
| Sep 12, 06:00 | 23.8N 97.4W | 100 kt | 967 mb | Hurricane |
| Sep 12, 10:00 landfall | 23.9N 97.7W | 110 kt | 962 mb | Hurricane |
| Sep 12, 12:00 | 23.9N 98.0W | 80 kt | Hurricane | |
| Sep 12, 18:00 | 24.2N 98.7W | 55 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Sep 13, 00:00 | 24.6N 99.3W | 35 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Sep 13, 06:00 | 25.0N 100.0W | 25 kt | Tropical depression |
Other North Atlantic storms of 1970
- Hurricane AlmaNorth Atlantic · 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
- 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.