The 2005 season

Hurricane Maria (2005)

Hurricane Maria reached Category 3 in the North Atlantic between September 1, 2005 and September 14, 2005, with a lowest pressure of 962 mb.

Track and intensity

The whole track of Hurricane Maria, colored by strength, with the other storms of the 2005 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 1, 2005 to September 14, 2005
Peak strength
Category 3, 100 kt (115 mph)
Lowest pressure
962 mb (28.41 inHg)
Landfall
No; closest approach 29 km (18 mi)
Accumulated cyclone energy
14.3
Tropical-storm-force wind reached
500 nmi (926 km, 575 mi) from the center at its widest
Hurricane-force wind reached
250 nmi (463 km, 288 mi) from the center at its widest
Eyewall radius at its peak
15 nmi (28 km, 17 mi)
Overall size
330 nmi (611 km, 380 mi) to the outermost closed isobar
Peak gust in the best track
115 kt (132 mph)
Fastest the center moved
48 kt (55 mph)
Identifier
AL142005

Deaths and damage

The sources count different things and are not added together.

National Hurricane Center

0 direct deathsnone recorded in the United States

The season table in NHC’s report archive, final report. Direct deaths are those caused by the storm’s own wind, water or surge, anywhere in the world.

Track

Time (UTC)PositionWindPressureStatus
Sep 1, 12:0018.8N 45.5W30 kt1008 mbTropical depression
Sep 1, 18:0019.3N 46.2W30 kt1008 mbTropical depression
Sep 2, 00:0019.9N 47.2W30 kt1008 mbTropical depression
Sep 2, 06:0020.5N 48.3W30 kt1008 mbTropical depression
Sep 2, 12:0021.1N 49.4W35 kt1006 mbTropical storm
Sep 2, 18:0021.5N 50.2W40 kt1003 mbTropical storm
Sep 3, 00:0022.0N 51.0W45 kt1001 mbTropical storm
Sep 3, 06:0023.0N 52.0W45 kt1000 mbTropical storm
Sep 3, 12:0024.4N 53.1W50 kt997 mbTropical storm
Sep 3, 18:0025.5N 54.0W55 kt994 mbTropical storm
Sep 4, 00:0026.5N 54.6W60 kt990 mbTropical storm
Sep 4, 06:0027.5N 55.1W65 kt987 mbHurricane
Sep 4, 12:0028.6N 55.5W65 kt987 mbHurricane
Sep 4, 18:0029.6N 56.0W75 kt980 mbHurricane
Sep 5, 00:0030.2N 56.5W75 kt980 mbHurricane
Sep 5, 06:0030.9N 56.8W80 kt977 mbHurricane
Sep 5, 12:0031.5N 56.8W85 kt975 mbHurricane
Sep 5, 18:0032.1N 56.7W90 kt970 mbHurricane
Sep 6, 00:0032.6N 56.6W100 kt962 mbHurricane
Sep 6, 06:0033.0N 56.5W90 kt970 mbHurricane
Sep 6, 12:0033.5N 56.0W80 kt975 mbHurricane
Sep 6, 18:0033.9N 55.4W75 kt980 mbHurricane
Sep 7, 00:0034.4N 54.6W65 kt987 mbHurricane
Sep 7, 06:0034.8N 53.3W70 kt983 mbHurricane
Sep 7, 12:0035.6N 51.8W75 kt980 mbHurricane
Sep 7, 18:0036.5N 50.8W75 kt980 mbHurricane
Sep 8, 00:0037.2N 49.9W70 kt982 mbHurricane
Sep 8, 06:0037.9N 49.0W65 kt985 mbHurricane
Sep 8, 12:0038.7N 48.0W65 kt985 mbHurricane
Sep 8, 18:0039.1N 47.2W65 kt985 mbHurricane
Sep 9, 00:0039.4N 46.4W60 kt987 mbTropical storm
Sep 9, 06:0039.8N 44.9W55 kt987 mbTropical storm
Sep 9, 12:0040.4N 43.4W55 kt988 mbTropical storm
Sep 9, 18:0041.1N 42.1W50 kt988 mbTropical storm
Sep 10, 00:0041.9N 40.6W50 kt988 mbTropical storm
Sep 10, 06:0042.9N 39.2W50 kt988 mbTropical storm
Sep 10, 12:0044.5N 37.7W50 kt980 mbExtratropical
Sep 10, 18:0046.0N 36.3W55 kt975 mbExtratropical
Sep 11, 00:0048.0N 35.0W60 kt975 mbExtratropical
Sep 11, 06:0050.0N 34.0W60 kt974 mbExtratropical
Sep 11, 12:0052.0N 32.9W65 kt971 mbExtratropical
Sep 11, 18:0054.0N 32.0W65 kt968 mbExtratropical
Sep 12, 00:0055.5N 31.0W65 kt962 mbExtratropical
Sep 12, 06:0057.0N 29.0W65 kt967 mbExtratropical
Sep 12, 12:0058.5N 26.0W65 kt970 mbExtratropical
Sep 12, 18:0061.0N 23.0W60 kt972 mbExtratropical
Sep 13, 00:0062.0N 21.0W55 kt974 mbExtratropical
Sep 13, 06:0062.9N 19.0W50 kt976 mbExtratropical
Sep 13, 12:0063.5N 16.0W45 kt980 mbExtratropical
Sep 13, 18:0063.0N 10.0W45 kt983 mbExtratropical
Sep 14, 00:0063.0N 0.0E45 kt984 mbExtratropical

Other North Atlantic storms of 2005

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.