1948 Miami Hurricane

Track map, landfall & timeline · Atlantic · October 3–16, 1948

Peak wind

127 mph

204 km/h · Oct 5

Peak category

Cat 3

Saffir–Simpson

Lowest pressure

971 mb

Landfalls

Pinar del Río, Cuba · Florida

Lifetime

13.0 d

Oct 3 – Oct 16

Distance

5,206 mi

8,376 km

ACE

20.6

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 1948 Miami Hurricane

The 1948 Miami Hurricane was a Category 3 hurricane of the 1948 Atlantic season. It formed on October 3, 1948, 117 mi ENE of Iriona, Honduras, reached its peak of 127 mph (204 km/h) and a minimum pressure of 971 mb on October 5, 1948, and made landfall 4 times — first 13 mi SSE of Los Palacios, Pinar del Río, Cuba on October 5, 1948 as a Category 3 hurricane (127 mph). Later landfalls: near Marathon, Florida on October 5, 1948 as a Category 2 hurricane (104 mph); 21 mi NW of Islamorada, Florida on October 5, 1948 as a Category 2 hurricane (104 mph); near Sandys Parish, Bermuda on October 7, 1948 as a Category 2 hurricane (104 mph). It rapidly intensified by 75 mph in 24 hours (to 127 mph on October 5, 1948). The storm lasted 13.0 days and travelled about 5,206 miles (8,376 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
October 5, 1948 · 07:00 UTC	13 mi SSE of Los Palacios, Pinar del Río, Cuba	Cat 3 127 mph	—
October 5, 1948 · 18:00 UTC	near Marathon, Florida	Cat 2 104 mph	—
October 5, 1948 · 20:00 UTC	21 mi NW of Islamorada, Florida	Cat 2 104 mph	—
October 7, 1948 · 22:00 UTC	near Sandys Parish, Bermuda	Cat 2 104 mph	—

Closest approach to major cities

City	Distance to center	When (UTC)	Storm strength then
Havana, Havana, Cuba	12 mi	Oct 5 · 11:00 UTC	Cat 3 122 mph
Miami, Florida	direct hit	Oct 6 · 00:00 UTC	Cat 1 92 mph
Hialeah, Florida	direct hit	Oct 6 · 00:00 UTC	Cat 1 92 mph
Miami Gardens, Florida	10 mi	Oct 6 · 00:00 UTC	Cat 1 92 mph
Fort Lauderdale, Florida	13 mi	Oct 6 · 01:00 UTC	Cat 1 93 mph
Pembroke Pines, Florida	12 mi	Oct 6 · 01:00 UTC	Cat 1 93 mph
Hollywood, Florida	direct hit	Oct 6 · 01:00 UTC	Cat 1 93 mph
Miramar, Florida	12 mi	Oct 6 · 01:00 UTC	Cat 1 93 mph
Coral Springs, Florida	26 mi	Oct 6 · 01:00 UTC	Cat 1 93 mph
West Palm Beach, Florida	36 mi	Oct 6 · 03:00 UTC	Cat 1 95 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 56 positions

Date · UTC	Status	Wind	Pressure	Position	Nearest place
Oct 3 12:00	TD	35 mph	—	16.7°N 83.5°W	93 mi NE of Brus Laguna, Honduras
Oct 3 18:00	TD	35 mph	—	17.4°N 84.3°W	112 mi NNE of Iriona, Honduras
Oct 4 00:00	TS	40 mph	—	18.1°N 84.7°W	150 mi N of Iriona, Honduras
Oct 4 06:00	TS	52 mph	—	18.8°N 85.0°W	173 mi SE of Cozumel, Quintana Roo, Mexico
Oct 4 12:00	TS	63 mph	—	19.5°N 85.2°W	133 mi ESE of Cozumel, Quintana Roo, Mexico
Oct 4 18:00	Cat 1	81 mph	991 mb	20.2°N 85.0°W	128 mi E of Cozumel, Quintana Roo, Mexico
Oct 5 00:00	Cat 2	104 mph	—	21.2°N 84.2°W	70 mi S of Guane, Pinar del Río, Cuba
Oct 5 06:00	Cat 3	127 mph	—	22.3°N 83.3°W	20 mi SE of Consolación del Sur, Pinar del Río, Cuba
Oct 5 07:00	Cat 3 LANDFALL	127 mph	—	22.4°N 83.2°W	13 mi SSE of Los Palacios, Pinar del Río, Cuba
Oct 5 12:00	Cat 3	121 mph	—	23.5°N 82.3°W	26 mi NNE of Havana, Havana, Cuba
Oct 5 18:00	Cat 2 LANDFALL	104 mph	—	24.7°N 81.2°W	38 mi ENE of Key West, Florida
Oct 5 20:00	Cat 2 LANDFALL	104 mph	—	25.1°N 80.9°W	28 mi W of Key Largo, Florida
Oct 6 00:00	Cat 1	92 mph	979 mb	25.8°N 80.2°W	near Miami, Florida
Oct 6 06:00	Cat 2	98 mph	—	26.8°N 79.2°W	16 mi WNW of West End, Bahamas
Oct 6 12:00	Cat 2	98 mph	—	27.7°N 77.9°W	93 mi NNE of Lucaya, Bahamas
Oct 6 18:00	Cat 2	98 mph	—	28.7°N 76.4°W	open ocean
Oct 7 00:00	Cat 2	98 mph	—	29.7°N 74.7°W	open ocean
Oct 7 06:00	Cat 2	98 mph	—	30.7°N 72.8°W	open ocean
Oct 7 12:00	Cat 2	104 mph	—	31.4°N 70.0°W	open ocean
Oct 7 18:00	Cat 2	104 mph	—	31.9°N 67.0°W	132 mi WSW of Pembroke Parish, Bermuda
Oct 7 22:00	Cat 2 LANDFALL	104 mph	—	32.3°N 64.9°W	near Pembroke Parish, Bermuda
Oct 8 00:00	Cat 2	104 mph	971 mb	32.4°N 63.6°W	70 mi E of Pembroke Parish, Bermuda
Oct 8 06:00	Cat 1	92 mph	—	32.5°N 60.1°W	open ocean
Oct 8 12:00	Cat 1	86 mph	—	32.4°N 56.6°W	open ocean
Oct 8 18:00	Cat 1	81 mph	—	32.1°N 53.2°W	open ocean
Oct 9 00:00	Cat 1	75 mph	—	31.8°N 51.0°W	open ocean
Oct 9 06:00	TS	69 mph	—	31.4°N 49.2°W	open ocean
Oct 9 12:00	TS	63 mph	—	31.0°N 47.5°W	open ocean
Oct 9 18:00	TS	63 mph	—	31.0°N 45.8°W	open ocean
Oct 10 00:00	TS	58 mph	—	31.2°N 44.1°W	open ocean
Oct 10 06:00	TS	58 mph	—	31.5°N 42.4°W	open ocean
Oct 10 12:00	TS	52 mph	—	31.8°N 41.0°W	open ocean
Oct 10 18:00	TS	58 mph	—	31.8°N 40.0°W	open ocean
Oct 11 00:00	TS	58 mph	—	32.0°N 39.3°W	open ocean
Oct 11 06:00	TS	58 mph	—	31.8°N 38.7°W	open ocean
Oct 11 12:00	TS	52 mph	—	31.5°N 38.2°W	open ocean
Oct 11 18:00	TS	52 mph	—	31.0°N 38.0°W	open ocean
Oct 12 00:00	TS	52 mph	—	30.6°N 38.2°W	open ocean
Oct 12 06:00	TS	52 mph	—	30.3°N 38.5°W	open ocean
Oct 12 12:00	TS	52 mph	—	30.2°N 39.0°W	open ocean
Oct 12 18:00	TS	46 mph	—	30.2°N 39.6°W	open ocean
Oct 13 00:00	TS	46 mph	—	30.3°N 40.3°W	open ocean
Oct 13 06:00	TS	40 mph	—	30.5°N 40.7°W	open ocean
Oct 13 12:00	TS	40 mph	—	30.8°N 41.3°W	open ocean
Oct 13 18:00	TS	46 mph	—	31.2°N 42.6°W	open ocean
Oct 14 00:00	TS	52 mph	—	31.6°N 43.9°W	open ocean
Oct 14 06:00	TS	58 mph	—	32.1°N 45.2°W	open ocean
Oct 14 12:00	TS	63 mph	—	32.6°N 46.4°W	open ocean
Oct 14 18:00	TS	69 mph	—	33.4°N 47.0°W	open ocean
Oct 15 00:00	TS	69 mph	989 mb	34.4°N 47.5°W	open ocean
Oct 15 06:00	TS	63 mph	—	35.4°N 47.8°W	open ocean
Oct 15 12:00	TS	63 mph	—	36.4°N 47.7°W	open ocean
Oct 15 18:00	TS	58 mph	—	38.0°N 47.9°W	open ocean
Oct 16 00:00	TS	58 mph	—	40.7°N 46.6°W	open ocean
Oct 16 06:00	TS extratropical	52 mph	—	43.7°N 43.0°W	open ocean
Oct 16 12:00	TS extratropical	46 mph	—	46.5°N 37.5°W	open ocean

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

Questions

Frequently asked questions

When and where did 1948 Miami Hurricane make landfall?

1948 Miami Hurricane made landfall 4 times: 13 mi SSE of Los Palacios, Pinar del Río, Cuba on October 5, 1948 at 07:00 UTC, as a Category 3 hurricane with 127 mph winds; near Marathon, Florida on October 5, 1948 at 18:00 UTC, as a Category 2 hurricane with 104 mph winds; 21 mi NW of Islamorada, Florida on October 5, 1948 at 20:00 UTC, as a Category 2 hurricane with 104 mph winds; near Sandys Parish, Bermuda on October 7, 1948 at 22:00 UTC, as a Category 2 hurricane with 104 mph winds.

What category was 1948 Miami Hurricane?

At its peak on October 5, 1948, 1948 Miami Hurricane was a Category 3 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 127 mph (204 km/h) and a central pressure of 971 mb. At its first landfall it was a Category 3 hurricane.

How long did 1948 Miami Hurricane last?

13.0 days, from October 3, 1948 to October 16, 1948, including 108 hours at hurricane strength (12 as a major hurricane). It travelled about 5,206 miles.

Where can I download the track data for 1948 Miami 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 1948

Year	Storm	Peak	Landfall
1948	1948 Bermuda–Newfoundland Hurricane Atlantic	Cat 4 132 mph	—	→
1948	September 1948 Florida Hurricane Atlantic	Cat 4 132 mph	Florida, Mayabeque, Cuba	→

See every 1948 storm on one map →

Background reading: 1948 Miami hurricane on Wikipedia.

← Previous Atlantic stormSeptember 1948 Florida Hurricane (1948)Next Atlantic storm →1949 Florida Hurricane (1949)

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