Tropical Storm Arlene (1971)
Tropical Storm Arlene peaked at 55 kt in the North Atlantic between July 4, 1971 and July 8, 1971, with a lowest pressure of 1000 mb.
Track and intensity
The whole track of Tropical Storm Arlene, colored by strength, with the other storms of the 1971 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
- July 4, 1971 to July 8, 1971
- Peak strength
- Tropical Storm, 55 kt (63 mph)
- Lowest pressure
- 1000 mb (29.53 inHg)
- Landfall
- No; closest approach 18 km (11 mi)
- Accumulated cyclone energy
- 1.8
- Fastest the center moved
- 29 kt (33 mph)
- Identifier
- AL011971
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 250 rain gauge totals over the contiguous United States to this storm. The wettest reached 4.11 inches (104 mm).
| Station | Total | Position |
|---|---|---|
| PINOPOLIS DAM | 4.11 in (104 mm) | 33.25N 79.98W |
| TILGHMAN FOREST NURSER | 3.87 in (98 mm) | 33.90N 80.50W |
| BELHAVEN 3 NE | 3.27 in (83 mm) | 35.50N 76.68W |
| HOLLY HILL | 2.94 in (75 mm) | 33.33N 80.42W |
| WALTERBORO 1 SW | 2.85 in (72 mm) | 32.88N 80.68W |
| SUMMERVILLE 4W | 2.58 in (66 mm) | 32.98N 80.18W |
| CAPE HATTERAS AP | 2.44 in (62 mm) | 35.23N 75.62W |
| BISHOPVILLE 1 ENE | 2.40 in (61 mm) | 34.22N 80.23W |
| GEORGETOWN 2 E | 2.30 in (58 mm) | 33.37N 79.22W |
| SHALLOTTE 4 WNW | 2.28 in (58 mm) | 34.00N 78.45W |
| ORANGEBURG 2 | 2.22 in (56 mm) | 33.48N 80.87W |
| SPRINGFIELD | 2.21 in (56 mm) | 33.50N 81.28W |
WPC’s storm rainfall file, 1900 to 2020, compiled by David Roth.
Track
| Time (UTC) | Position | Wind | Pressure | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 4, 12:00 | 33.5N 75.5W | 25 kt | Tropical depression | |
| Jul 4, 18:00 | 34.0N 75.2W | 25 kt | Tropical depression | |
| Jul 5, 00:00 | 34.5N 74.8W | 25 kt | Tropical depression | |
| Jul 5, 06:00 | 35.2N 74.3W | 30 kt | Tropical depression | |
| Jul 5, 12:00 | 35.9N 73.7W | 30 kt | Tropical depression | |
| Jul 5, 18:00 | 36.7N 72.9W | 45 kt | 1001 mb | Tropical storm |
| Jul 6, 00:00 | 37.6N 71.8W | 45 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Jul 6, 06:00 | 38.5N 70.1W | 45 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Jul 6, 12:00 | 39.6N 68.3W | 50 kt | 1003 mb | Tropical storm |
| Jul 6, 18:00 | 40.7N 65.9W | 55 kt | 1000 mb | Tropical storm |
| Jul 7, 00:00 | 41.8N 63.0W | 50 kt | 1000 mb | Tropical storm |
| Jul 7, 06:00 | 43.1N 59.5W | 45 kt | 1002 mb | Tropical storm |
| Jul 7, 12:00 | 44.7N 56.3W | 45 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Jul 7, 18:00 | 46.5N 53.0W | 45 kt | Extratropical | |
| Jul 8, 00:00 | 47.6N 49.6W | 35 kt | Extratropical |
Other North Atlantic storms of 1971
- Unnamed tropical depressionNorth Atlantic · 1971
- Unnamed tropical depressionNorth Atlantic · 1971
- Unnamed hurricaneNorth Atlantic · 1971
- Unnamed tropical depressionNorth Atlantic · 1971
- Hurricane BethNorth Atlantic · 1971
- Unnamed tropical depressionNorth Atlantic · 1971
- Tropical Storm ChloeNorth Atlantic · 1971
- Tropical Storm DoriaNorth Atlantic · 1971
- Unnamed tropical depressionNorth Atlantic · 1971
- Unnamed tropical depressionNorth Atlantic · 1971
- Hurricane FernNorth Atlantic · 1971
- Hurricane EdithNorth Atlantic · 1971
- Hurricane GingerNorth Atlantic · 1971
- Unnamed tropical depressionNorth Atlantic · 1971
- Unnamed tropical depressionNorth Atlantic · 1971
- Tropical Storm HeidiNorth Atlantic · 1971
- Hurricane Irene:OliviaNorth Atlantic · 1971 · $1.0 million
- Tropical Storm JaniceNorth Atlantic · 1971
- Unnamed tropical depressionNorth Atlantic · 1971
- Tropical Storm KristyNorth Atlantic · 1971
- Tropical Storm LauraNorth Atlantic · 1971
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.