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1955 Atlantic hurricane season
Season summary map |
| First storm formed: |
July 31, 1955 |
| Last storm dissipated: |
October 19, 1955 |
| Strongest storm: |
Janet - 914 mbar (26.99 inHg), 175 mph (280 km/h) |
| Total storms: |
12 |
| Major storms (Cat. 3+): |
6 |
| Total damage: |
$1.2 billion (1955 USD)
$8.2 billion (2005 USD) |
| Total fatalities: |
1,518 |
|
Atlantic hurricane seasons
1953, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1957 |
|
The 1955 Atlantic hurricane season officially began on June 15, 1955, and lasted until November 15, 1955.[1] These dates conventionally delimit the period of each year when most tropical cyclones form in the Atlantic basin. The 1955 season was active, with twelve tropical storms forming.
Three hurricanes hit North Carolina in 1955: Connie, Diane and Ione. Hurricane Connie swamped the Outer Banks and Hurricane Diane caused millions of dollars in damages. Hurricane Janet was one of the most intense storms ever recorded in the Atlantic basin; it struck Belize as a Category 5 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale, killing hundreds and causing catastrophic damage.
[edit] Storms
[edit] Hurricane Alice (1954)
| Category 1 hurricane (SSHS) |
|
|
| Duration |
December 30—January 6 |
| Intensity |
80 mph (130 km/h) (1-min), 987 mbar (hPa) |
-
The second Hurricane Alice of 1954 was originally believed to have developed in early January 1955 and thus have been the first storm of the 1955 season; however, it was later discovered to have developed in late December 1954 and was reclassified as a storm of the 1954 season. Nonetheless, it had already been named Alice as the first storm of the 1955 season. The decision was eventually made to keep the name, and, as a result, the 1955 season had no storm name beginning with 'A'.
[edit] Tropical Storm Brenda
| Tropical storm (SSHS) |
|
|
| Duration |
July 31—August 3 |
| Intensity |
70 mph (110 km/h) (1-min) |
Tropical Storm Brenda formed on July 31 in the northern Gulf of Mexico. It moved northwestward, and hit near New Orleans on the 1st as a 70 mph tropical storm. Brenda dissipated on the 3rd as it moved westward over Texas, after causing two deaths in Mobile, Alabama, but little damage.
[edit] Hurricane Connie
| Category 4 hurricane (SSHS) |
|
|
| Duration |
August 3—August 15 |
| Intensity |
145 mph (230 km/h) (1-min), 936 mbar (hPa) |
-
Hurricane Connie was the first of three hurricanes that hit North Carolina in 1955. It hit as a Category Three hurricane, having weakened from a Category 4 hurricane, and caused massive flooding in the northeast. As noted in the Best Track database from the National Hurricane Center. [1]
[edit] Hurricane Diane
| Category 3 hurricane (SSHS) |
|
|
| Duration |
August 7—August 21 |
| Intensity |
120 mph (195 km/h) (1-min), 969 mbar (hPa) |
-
Hurricane Diane was the second of three hurricanes that hit North Carolina this season. It hit as a minimal hurricane, and added significant flooding to the northeast; an area that received heavy rain from Hurricane Connie only 5 days before.
[edit] Hurricane Edith
| Category 2 hurricane (SSHS) |
|
|
| Duration |
August 21—September 3 |
| Intensity |
100 mph (155 km/h) (1-min) |
A tropical wave developed into a tropical depression on August 21 in the Tropical Atlantic. It moved northwestward and strengthened; first to a tropical storm on the 23rd, then a hurricane on the 25th, and Edith reached a peak of 95 mph winds on the 28th. The hurricane curved out to sea without affecting land, and became extratropical on the 31st south of Newfoundland. The extratropical low looped back to the west and dissipated on the 3rd.
[edit] Tropical Storm Five
| Tropical storm (SSHS) |
|
|
| Duration |
August 23—August 30 |
| Intensity |
45 mph (75 km/h) (1-min) |
A tropical storm formed just west of Jamaica on August 23, likely from a tropical wave. It moved northwestward, crossed the western tip of Cuba, and hit southeastern Louisiana near New Orleans on the 27th. The storm dissipated three days later over Missouri, and caused little damage.
[edit] Hurricane Flora
| Category 2 hurricane (SSHS) |
|
|
| Duration |
September 2—September 9 |
| Intensity |
105 mph (165 km/h) (1-min), 967 mbar (hPa) |
The precursor to Hurricane Flora was a tropical wave that moved through the Cape Verde islands on August 30 and developed on September 2. Flora moved on a smooth curving track, reaching a peak intensity of 100 mph winds as it reached the westernmost point. As Flora moved northeastward, it weakened, becoming extratropical on the 9th.
[edit] Hurricane Gladys
| Category 1 hurricane (SSHS) |
|
|
| Duration |
September 4—September 6 |
| Intensity |
90 mph (150 km/h) (1-min) |
A tropical depression formed in the Bay of Campeche on September 4. It moved northwestward, becoming a tropical storm and later a hurricane on the 5th. Gladys turned southward, and hit the Mexican coast north of Tampico on the 6th, dissipating later that day. The storm caused some damage and deaths, though exact numbers are unknown.
On September 5, an offshoot of Hurricane Gladys with cyclonic turning formed in the Northern Gulf of Mexico. It hit Texas on the 6th, and caused about $500,000 in damage. It is possible this was a separate tropical storm from Gladys.[citation needed]
[edit] Hurricane Hilda
| Category 3 hurricane (SSHS) |
|
|
| Duration |
September 10—September 20 |
| Intensity |
125 mph (205 km/h) (1-min), 952 mbar (hPa) |
-
Hurricane Hilda developed from a tropical wave on September 10 over the northern Lesser Antilles. It moved northwestward, and gradually strengthening to a 95 mph hurricane before hitting eastern Cuba on the 14th. Hilda weakened to a tropical storm while moving across the island, but quickly re-strengthened to a 115 mph hurricane while over the Caribbean Sea before hitting the sparsely populated eastern Yucatan peninsula between Chetumal and Cozumel. After weakening over land, Hilda rapidly intensified to a 130 mph Category 3 hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico, and hit Tampico, Mexico as a weakened Category 2 hurricane on the 19th, dissipating the next day over Mexico.
Hilda killed 300 people and caused $120,000,000 in damage (1955 dollars), mostly from flooding. Despite its destruction, Hilda was not retired, though the name was later retired in the Hurricane Hilda of 1964.
[edit] Hurricane Ione
| Category 3 hurricane (SSHS) |
|
|
| Duration |
September 10—September 24 |
| Intensity |
120 mph (195 km/h) (1-min), 938 mbar (hPa) |
-
Main article: Hurricane Ione
Hurricane Ione was the final of three hurricanes to hit North Carolina this season. Ione was the least damaging of the three, as it only affected North Carolina and southeastern Virginia, whereas Connie and Diane caused damage throughout the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic. A tropical wave moved through Cape Verde on September 6. It became a tropical depression on September 10, and a tropical storm later that day. Ione remained weak for the next 3 days, but it steadily strengthened as it moved north of the Lesser Antilles, reaching hurricane strength on the 15th. Conditions were favorable for additional development, and Ione reached her peak of 120 mph winds on the 18th while north of the Bahamas.
Dry and cooler air was gradually entrained in Ione's circulation, and the hurricane weakened to a minimal hurricane at the time of its Wilmington, North Carolina landfall on September 19, the third hurricane to hit the state in 6 weeks and fourth in 11 months. The storm weakened to a tropical storm over land, but restrengthened to a Category 2 hurricane over the northwestern Atlantic. Ione continued northeastward, and became extratropical on the 21st. The extratropical storm crossed over Newfoundland, and was last seen on September 24 over the North Atlantic.
[edit] Hurricane Janet
| Category 5 hurricane (SSHS) |
|
|
| Duration |
September 21—September 30 |
| Intensity |
175 mph (280 km/h) (1-min), 914 mbar (hPa) |
-
Janet formed as a small tropical storm on September 21 east of the Lesser Antilles. It moved west and became a Category 3 hurricane while crossing the Windward Islands, but weakened to a minimal hurricane as it moved into the Caribbean Sea. Conditions for tropical development improved, and Janet strengthened steadily to a Category 5 hurricane, peaking at 175 mph (280 km/h) winds; the pressure reading of 914 mbar (hPa) taken well before peak strength remains one of the lowest central pressures ever measured in an Atlantic hurricane. The hurricane struck the Yucatán Peninsula in British Honduras (now Belize), weakening to a Category 2 storm as it emerged into the Bay of Campeche. A second landfall was made at that intensity in Veracruz, Mexico, and the hurricane dissipated soon after.
Janet caused extensive destruction throughout its path, amounting to 680 deaths and nearly $50 million ($340 million in 2005 USD) in damage. It was the only Atlantic hurricane to cause the loss of a Hurricane Hunter aircraft.
[edit] Tropical Storm Eleven
| Tropical storm (SSHS) |
|
|
| Duration |
October 10—October 14 |
| Intensity |
65 mph (100 km/h) (1-min) |
A tropical wave developed into a tropical storm on October 10, having moved northward from Cape Verde. It moved westward, then recurved to the northeast where it reached its peak of 65 mph winds. It became extratropical over the cool northeast Atlantic waters on the 14th, and was absorbed by a larger extratropical storm later that day.
[edit] Hurricane Katie
| Category 3 hurricane (SSHS) |
|
|
| Duration |
October 14—October 20 |
| Intensity |
115 mph (185 km/h) (1-min), 984 mbar (hPa) |
The Intertropical Convergence Zone developed a tropical depression on October 14 in the southern Caribbean Sea. It moved northeastward, and became a tropical storm the next day. Conditions were favorable for intensification, and Katie rapidly intensified to a 115 mph major hurricane on the 16th. Soon after, the hurricane hit southern Hispaniola, greatly disrupting the circulation. Over the Atlantic, it reorganized and reached a secondary peak of 70 mph winds, but it was gradually absorbed by an old frontal zone. Katie became extratropical on the 19th, after causing seven deaths and $200,000-$300,000 (1955 dollars) in damage.
[edit] Storm names
The following names were used for named storms (tropical storms and hurricanes) that formed in the North Atlantic in 1955. Storms were named Brenda, Connie, Diane, Edith, Flora, Gladys, Hilda, Ione, Janet and Katie for the first time in 1955.
|
|
- Ione
- Janet
- Katie
- Linda (unused)
- Martha (unused)
- Nelly (unused)
- Orva (unused)
- Peggy (unused)
|
- Queena (unused)
- Rosa (unused)
- Stella (unused)
- Trudy (unused)
- Ursa (unused)
- Verna (unused)
- Wilma (unused)
- Xenia (unused)
|
- Yvonne (unused)
- Zelda (unused)
|
[edit] Retirement
- See also: List of retired Atlantic hurricane names
Connie, Diane, Ione, and Janet would later be retired. The 1955 season was tied with the 1995 season and 2004 season for the most storm names retired after a single season until the 2005 season, when five names were retired.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
[edit] External links
