The 1996 season

Hurricane Edouard (1996)

Hurricane Edouard reached Category 4 in the North Atlantic between August 19, 1996 and September 6, 1996, with a lowest pressure of 933 mb. It killed 2 people in the United States, by the National Weather Service’s record.

Radar

Reflectivity now over Hurricane Edouard. Open it to see storms, cones and warnings on the map.

Open the live radar with storms, cones and warnings

Radar mosaic and map layers from NOAA MRMS. Boundaries from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet.

The storm

Basin
North Atlantic
Dates
August 19, 1996 to September 6, 1996
Peak strength
Category 4, 125 kt (144 mph)
Lowest pressure
933 mb (27.55 inHg)
Landfall
No; closest approach 113 km (70 mi)
Accumulated cyclone energy
49.3
Fastest the center moved
25 kt (29 mph)
Identifier
AL051996

Radar at KBOX as it neared land, Sep 2, 06:00 UTC

Deaths and damage

The sources count different things and are not added together.

NOAA Storm Events

2 deaths (2 direct, 0 indirect)none recorded

What National Weather Service offices recorded county by county in 6 states and marine areas, in the United States only. Property and crop damage as each office estimated it, which is not a national loss total.

In the United States

NOAA’s Storm Events database, the record National Weather Service offices compile months after a storm, as compiled March 2026.

Deaths
2 (2 direct, 0 indirect)
Injuries
3
Property damage
none recorded
Crop damage
none recorded
Events recorded
21 in 6 reports from 6 states and marine areas

State by state

State or marine areaDeathsInjuriesDamageEvents
New Jersey214
Maine028
Massachusetts004
New York003
New Hampshire001
Delaware001

What was recorded

9 hurricane (typhoon), 5 high surf, 4 high wind, 3 coastal flood.

Rainfall

The Weather Prediction Center attributes 130 rain gauge totals over the contiguous United States to this storm. The wettest reached 6.37 inches (162 mm).

StationTotalPosition
WEST DENNIS6.37 in (162 mm)42.12N 70.27W
HATCHVILLE4.48 in (114 mm)41.62N 70.53W
EDGARTOWN4.14 in (105 mm)41.38N 70.52W
HYANNIS3.99 in (101 mm)41.67N 70.30W
CHATHAM WSMO3.31 in (84 mm)41.67N 69.97W
EAST WAREHAM3.26 in (83 mm)41.77N 70.67W
PLYMOUTH-KINGSTON3.19 in (81 mm)41.98N 70.70W
MIDDLEBORO2.67 in (68 mm)41.88N 70.92W
ROCHESTER2.67 in (68 mm)41.78N 70.92W
NEW BEDFORD1.82 in (46 mm)41.63N 70.93W
ACADIA NATIONAL PARK1.82 in (46 mm)44.37N 68.27W
JONESBORO1.82 in (46 mm)44.65N 67.65W

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

Wind reports

The strongest winds National Weather Service offices recorded with this storm. An estimated figure is a forecaster’s judgment from the damage, not an instrument reading.

WindHowWhereStateTime (UTC)
74 kt (85 mph)EstimatedNantucketMassachusettsSep 2, 07:00
67 kt (77 mph)EstimatedBarnstableMassachusettsSep 2, 07:00

Track

Time (UTC)PositionWindPressureStatus
Aug 19, 18:0012.4N 19.9W25 kt1007 mbTropical depression
Aug 20, 00:0012.4N 20.7W25 kt1007 mbTropical depression
Aug 20, 06:0012.4N 21.6W25 kt1007 mbTropical depression
Aug 20, 12:0012.5N 22.6W25 kt1007 mbTropical depression
Aug 20, 18:0012.6N 23.8W25 kt1007 mbTropical depression
Aug 21, 00:0012.6N 25.3W25 kt1007 mbTropical depression
Aug 21, 06:0012.8N 26.7W25 kt1007 mbTropical depression
Aug 21, 12:0012.9N 27.9W25 kt1007 mbTropical depression
Aug 21, 18:0013.0N 29.2W25 kt1006 mbTropical depression
Aug 22, 00:0013.1N 30.3W30 kt1006 mbTropical depression
Aug 22, 06:0013.2N 31.6W35 kt1005 mbTropical storm
Aug 22, 12:0013.4N 32.9W40 kt1003 mbTropical storm
Aug 22, 18:0013.5N 34.4W40 kt1002 mbTropical storm
Aug 23, 00:0013.7N 35.8W45 kt1000 mbTropical storm
Aug 23, 06:0013.8N 37.0W50 kt996 mbTropical storm
Aug 23, 12:0013.9N 38.3W65 kt988 mbHurricane
Aug 23, 18:0014.0N 39.8W65 kt986 mbHurricane
Aug 24, 00:0014.1N 41.1W70 kt983 mbHurricane
Aug 24, 06:0014.1N 42.4W75 kt980 mbHurricane
Aug 24, 12:0014.4N 43.6W90 kt970 mbHurricane
Aug 24, 18:0014.6N 44.7W100 kt960 mbHurricane
Aug 25, 00:0015.0N 45.8W120 kt942 mbHurricane
Aug 25, 06:0015.4N 47.0W125 kt933 mbHurricane
Aug 25, 12:0015.9N 48.3W125 kt934 mbHurricane
Aug 25, 18:0016.5N 49.6W125 kt935 mbHurricane
Aug 26, 00:0017.0N 50.9W125 kt936 mbHurricane
Aug 26, 06:0017.5N 52.0W125 kt936 mbHurricane
Aug 26, 12:0017.9N 53.2W125 kt937 mbHurricane
Aug 26, 18:0018.4N 54.5W125 kt938 mbHurricane
Aug 27, 00:0018.9N 55.6W125 kt942 mbHurricane
Aug 27, 06:0019.5N 56.9W120 kt948 mbHurricane
Aug 27, 12:0020.0N 58.1W115 kt952 mbHurricane
Aug 27, 18:0020.4N 59.3W115 kt951 mbHurricane
Aug 28, 00:0020.9N 60.4W125 kt944 mbHurricane
Aug 28, 06:0021.3N 61.7W115 kt952 mbHurricane
Aug 28, 12:0021.9N 63.2W110 kt960 mbHurricane
Aug 28, 18:0022.3N 64.6W110 kt956 mbHurricane
Aug 29, 00:0022.9N 65.9W110 kt957 mbHurricane
Aug 29, 06:0023.4N 67.1W110 kt961 mbHurricane
Aug 29, 12:0024.0N 68.1W115 kt950 mbHurricane
Aug 29, 18:0024.7N 69.0W120 kt948 mbHurricane
Aug 30, 00:0025.5N 69.5W120 kt941 mbHurricane
Aug 30, 06:0026.4N 69.9W120 kt939 mbHurricane
Aug 30, 12:0027.4N 70.2W120 kt938 mbHurricane
Aug 30, 18:0028.5N 70.5W120 kt934 mbHurricane
Aug 31, 00:0029.5N 70.5W110 kt944 mbHurricane
Aug 31, 06:0030.4N 70.6W105 kt950 mbHurricane
Aug 31, 12:0031.6N 70.3W105 kt952 mbHurricane
Aug 31, 18:0032.7N 70.1W100 kt953 mbHurricane
Sep 1, 00:0034.0N 70.1W100 kt959 mbHurricane
Sep 1, 06:0035.2N 70.1W100 kt958 mbHurricane
Sep 1, 12:0036.5N 70.2W95 kt958 mbHurricane
Sep 1, 18:0037.5N 70.0W85 kt960 mbHurricane
Sep 2, 00:0038.7N 69.5W80 kt964 mbHurricane
Sep 2, 06:0039.8N 69.4W70 kt961 mbHurricane
Sep 2, 12:0040.5N 68.3W70 kt962 mbHurricane
Sep 2, 18:0041.3N 67.3W65 kt972 mbHurricane
Sep 3, 00:0042.0N 66.8W60 kt978 mbTropical storm
Sep 3, 06:0042.2N 66.0W55 kt985 mbExtratropical
Sep 3, 12:0042.5N 65.0W50 kt992 mbExtratropical
Sep 3, 18:0042.7N 63.0W50 kt995 mbExtratropical
Sep 4, 00:0043.2N 59.8W50 kt997 mbExtratropical
Sep 4, 06:0043.3N 57.5W50 kt994 mbExtratropical
Sep 4, 12:0043.4N 55.5W50 kt994 mbExtratropical
Sep 4, 18:0043.5N 53.5W50 kt995 mbExtratropical
Sep 5, 00:0043.5N 51.5W50 kt995 mbExtratropical
Sep 5, 06:0043.5N 50.0W45 kt994 mbExtratropical
Sep 5, 12:0043.5N 48.5W45 kt994 mbExtratropical
Sep 5, 18:0043.7N 47.5W45 kt995 mbExtratropical
Sep 6, 00:0044.5N 46.0W40 kt995 mbExtratropical
Sep 6, 06:0046.0N 44.0W40 kt994 mbExtratropical
Sep 6, 12:0048.0N 43.0W40 kt992 mbExtratropical
Sep 6, 18:0050.0N 41.0W40 kt990 mbExtratropical

Other North Atlantic storms of 1996

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.