1933 Chesapeake–Potomac Hurricane

Track map, landfall & timeline · Atlantic · August 13–28, 1933

Peak wind

138 mph

222 km/h · Aug 19

Peak category

Cat 4

Saffir–Simpson

Lowest pressure

948 mb

Landfalls

North Carolina

Lifetime

15.0 d

Aug 13 – Aug 28

Distance

5,688 mi

9,152 km

ACE

33.7

storm energy

TD TS Cat 1 2 3 4 5 · dashed = post-tropical / remnant low. Click any point or table row to jump there.

01 · The story

What happened with 1933 Chesapeake–Potomac Hurricane

The 1933 Chesapeake–Potomac Hurricane was a Category 4 hurricane of the 1933 Atlantic season. It formed on August 13, 1933, 227 mi SE of Praia, Cabo Verde, reached its peak of 138 mph (222 km/h) and a minimum pressure of 948 mb on August 19, 1933, and made landfall 2 times — first 17 mi SSE of Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina on August 23, 1933 as a Category 1 hurricane (92 mph). Later landfalls: near Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina on August 23, 1933 as a Category 1 hurricane (86 mph). It rapidly intensified by 35 mph in 24 hours (to 121 mph on August 18, 1933). The storm lasted 15.0 days and travelled about 5,688 miles (9,152 km).

02 · Intensity

Wind and pressure, hour by hour

Maximum sustained wind (mph) — hover or drag to scrub the map

03 · Impact

Landfalls and cities in the path

Landfall (UTC)	Where	Strength	Pressure
August 23, 1933 · 10:00 UTC	17 mi SSE of Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina	Cat 1 92 mph	963 mb
August 23, 1933 · 12:00 UTC	near Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina	Cat 1 86 mph	966 mb

Closest approach to major cities

City	Distance to center	When (UTC)	Storm strength then
Virginia Beach, Virginia	17 mi	Aug 23 · 15:00 UTC	Cat 1 81 mph
Norfolk, Virginia	direct hit	Aug 23 · 15:00 UTC	Cat 1 81 mph
Chesapeake, Virginia	direct hit	Aug 23 · 15:00 UTC	Cat 1 81 mph
Richmond, Virginia	37 mi	Aug 23 · 19:00 UTC	TS 73 mph
Washington, District of Columbia	11 mi	Aug 24 · 01:00 UTC	TS 61 mph
Arlington, Virginia	10 mi	Aug 24 · 01:00 UTC	TS 61 mph
Baltimore, Maryland	28 mi	Aug 24 · 02:00 UTC	TS 59 mph
Montréal, Quebec, Canada	45 mi	Aug 25 · 12:00 UTC	TD 35 mph
Laval, Quebec, Canada	52 mi	Aug 25 · 12:00 UTC	TD 35 mph
Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada	31 mi	Aug 27 · 12:00 UTC	TD 35 mph

Distance from the city to the storm’s center, interpolated hourly between official fixes. Damaging winds, surge and rain reach far beyond the center.

04 · Timeline

Every official fix 62 positions

Date · UTC	Status	Wind	Pressure	Position	Nearest place
Aug 13 12:00	TD	35 mph	—	12.3°N 21.5°W	open ocean
Aug 13 18:00	TS	40 mph	—	12.5°N 22.9°W	173 mi SSE of Praia, Cabo Verde
Aug 14 00:00	TS	46 mph	—	12.8°N 24.3°W	145 mi S of São Filipe, Cabo Verde
Aug 14 06:00	TS	46 mph	—	13.1°N 25.7°W	148 mi SSW of São Filipe, Cabo Verde
Aug 14 12:00	TS	52 mph	—	13.3°N 27.2°W	open ocean
Aug 14 18:00	TS	52 mph	—	13.5°N 28.9°W	open ocean
Aug 15 00:00	TS	52 mph	—	13.7°N 30.7°W	open ocean
Aug 15 06:00	TS	58 mph	—	13.9°N 32.5°W	open ocean
Aug 15 12:00	TS	58 mph	—	14.2°N 34.4°W	open ocean
Aug 15 18:00	TS	58 mph	—	14.5°N 36.2°W	open ocean
Aug 16 00:00	TS	63 mph	—	14.8°N 38.0°W	open ocean
Aug 16 06:00	TS	63 mph	—	15.1°N 39.8°W	open ocean
Aug 16 12:00	TS	69 mph	—	15.5°N 41.6°W	open ocean
Aug 16 18:00	Cat 1	75 mph	—	16.0°N 43.4°W	open ocean
Aug 17 00:00	Cat 1	81 mph	—	16.6°N 45.2°W	open ocean
Aug 17 06:00	Cat 1	86 mph	—	17.3°N 47.0°W	open ocean
Aug 17 12:00	Cat 2	98 mph	—	18.1°N 48.7°W	open ocean
Aug 17 18:00	Cat 2	104 mph	—	19.0°N 50.1°W	open ocean
Aug 18 00:00	Cat 2	109 mph	—	20.1°N 51.4°W	open ocean
Aug 18 06:00	Cat 3	121 mph	—	21.3°N 52.7°W	open ocean
Aug 18 12:00	Cat 3	127 mph	—	22.4°N 53.9°W	open ocean
Aug 18 18:00	Cat 4	132 mph	948 mb	23.4°N 55.2°W	open ocean
Aug 19 00:00	Cat 4	132 mph	—	24.4°N 56.5°W	open ocean
Aug 19 06:00	Cat 4	138 mph	—	25.4°N 57.8°W	open ocean
Aug 19 12:00	Cat 4	138 mph	—	26.4°N 59.0°W	open ocean
Aug 19 18:00	Cat 4	138 mph	—	27.3°N 59.9°W	open ocean
Aug 20 00:00	Cat 4	138 mph	—	28.0°N 60.8°W	open ocean
Aug 20 06:00	Cat 4	132 mph	—	28.5°N 61.7°W	open ocean
Aug 20 12:00	Cat 4	132 mph	—	29.1°N 62.5°W	open ocean
Aug 20 18:00	Cat 4	132 mph	—	29.7°N 63.5°W	open ocean
Aug 21 00:00	Cat 3	127 mph	—	30.2°N 64.6°W	146 mi S of Pembroke Parish, Bermuda
Aug 21 06:00	Cat 3	127 mph	—	30.7°N 65.8°W	126 mi SSW of Pembroke Parish, Bermuda
Aug 21 12:00	Cat 3	127 mph	—	31.2°N 67.0°W	150 mi WSW of Pembroke Parish, Bermuda
Aug 21 18:00	Cat 3	127 mph	—	31.6°N 68.0°W	open ocean
Aug 22 00:00	Cat 3	121 mph	—	32.0°N 69.0°W	open ocean
Aug 22 06:00	Cat 3	121 mph	—	32.4°N 70.0°W	open ocean
Aug 22 12:00	Cat 3	121 mph	—	32.8°N 71.1°W	open ocean
Aug 22 18:00	Cat 3	115 mph	—	33.4°N 72.4°W	open ocean
Aug 23 00:00	Cat 2	104 mph	—	34.1°N 73.7°W	open ocean
Aug 23 06:00	Cat 2	98 mph	—	35.1°N 74.9°W	112 mi SE of Elizabeth City, North Carolina
Aug 23 10:00	Cat 1 LANDFALL	92 mph	963 mb	35.8°N 75.6°W	50 mi SE of Elizabeth City, North Carolina
Aug 23 12:00	Cat 1 LANDFALL	86 mph	966 mb	36.1°N 75.8°W	29 mi ESE of Elizabeth City, North Carolina
Aug 23 18:00	Cat 1	75 mph	971 mb	37.4°N 76.7°W	near Williamsburg, Virginia
Aug 24 00:00	TS	63 mph	978 mb	38.7°N 77.2°W	near Lorton, Virginia
Aug 24 06:00	TS	52 mph	—	40.6°N 77.0°W	23 mi NNW of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Aug 24 12:00	TS	40 mph	—	42.4°N 76.3°W	10 mi ESE of Ithaca, New York
Aug 24 18:00	TD	35 mph	—	43.4°N 75.3°W	15 mi NNE of Rome, New York
Aug 25 00:00	TD	35 mph	—	44.0°N 74.4°W	58 mi NW of Queensbury, New York
Aug 25 06:00	TD	35 mph	—	44.5°N 73.7°W	18 mi SW of Plattsburgh, New York
Aug 25 12:00	TD	35 mph	—	45.0°N 73.0°W	18 mi SW of Cowansville, Quebec, Canada
Aug 25 18:00	TD extratropical	35 mph	—	44.9°N 71.9°W	28 mi SSE of Magog, Quebec, Canada
Aug 26 00:00	TD extratropical	35 mph	—	44.5°N 70.4°W	29 mi NNW of Lewiston, Maine
Aug 26 06:00	TD extratropical	35 mph	—	44.1°N 68.8°W	48 mi S of Bangor, Maine
Aug 26 12:00	TD extratropical	35 mph	—	44.0°N 67.2°W	95 mi SE of Bangor, Maine
Aug 26 18:00	TS extratropical	40 mph	—	44.0°N 66.2°W	88 mi S of Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada
Aug 27 00:00	TS extratropical	40 mph	—	44.1°N 65.4°W	81 mi SSW of Kentville, Nova Scotia, Canada
Aug 27 06:00	TS extratropical	40 mph	—	44.1°N 64.5°W	59 mi SW of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
Aug 27 12:00	TD extratropical	35 mph	—	44.2°N 63.5°W	31 mi S of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
Aug 27 18:00	TD extratropical	35 mph	—	44.2°N 61.7°W	98 mi ESE of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
Aug 28 00:00	TD extratropical	35 mph	—	44.3°N 59.1°W	137 mi SSE of Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada
Aug 28 06:00	TD extratropical	35 mph	—	44.4°N 55.8°W	open ocean
Aug 28 12:00	TD extratropical	35 mph	—	44.5°N 52.5°W	open ocean

⬇ Download track data (CSV) · public-domain NOAA best track

Questions

Frequently asked questions

When and where did 1933 Chesapeake–Potomac Hurricane make landfall?

1933 Chesapeake–Potomac Hurricane made landfall 2 times: 17 mi SSE of Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina on August 23, 1933 at 10:00 UTC, as a Category 1 hurricane with 92 mph winds; near Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina on August 23, 1933 at 12:00 UTC, as a Category 1 hurricane with 86 mph winds.

What category was 1933 Chesapeake–Potomac Hurricane?

At its peak on August 19, 1933, 1933 Chesapeake–Potomac Hurricane was a Category 4 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 138 mph (222 km/h) and a central pressure of 948 mb. At its first landfall it was a Category 1 hurricane.

How long did 1933 Chesapeake–Potomac Hurricane last?

15.0 days, from August 13, 1933 to August 28, 1933, including 174 hours at hurricane strength (114 as a major hurricane). It travelled about 5,688 miles.

Where can I download the track data for 1933 Chesapeake–Potomac Hurricane?

The 6-hourly positions, winds, pressure and wind radii are available as CSV on this page (track.csv) — they come from the NOAA National Hurricane Center's HURDAT2 database and are in the public domain.

Related storms

Keep exploring

Strongest storms of 1933

Year	Storm	Peak	Landfall
1933	1933 Cuba–Brownsville Hurricane Atlantic	Cat 5 161 mph	Texas	→
1933	1933 Tampico Hurricane Atlantic	Cat 5 161 mph	—	→
1933	1933 Treasure Coast Hurricane Atlantic	Cat 4 138 mph	Florida	→
1933	1933 Outer Banks Hurricane Atlantic	Cat 4 138 mph	—	→
1933	1933 Trinidad Hurricane Atlantic	Cat 2 109 mph	—	→
1933	1933 Florida–Mexico Hurricane Atlantic	TS 58 mph	—	→
1933	1933 Texas tropical Storm Atlantic	TS 52 mph	Texas	→
1933	1933 Cuba–Bahamas Hurricane Atlantic	TS 46 mph	—	→

See every 1933 storm on one map →

Background reading: 1933 Chesapeake–Potomac hurricane on Wikipedia.

← Previous Atlantic storm1933 Florida–Mexico Hurricane (1933)Next Atlantic storm →1933 Cuba–Brownsville Hurricane (1933)

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