Hurricane Abby (1968)

Track map, landfall & timeline · Atlantic · June 1–13, 1968

Peak wind

75 mph

120 km/h · Jun 5

Peak category

Cat 1

Saffir–Simpson

Lowest pressure

992 mb

Landfalls

Florida · Pinar del Río, Cuba

Lifetime

12.3 d

Jun 1 – Jun 13

Distance

2,155 mi

3,467 km

ACE

5.3

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 Abby

Hurricane Abby (1968) was a Category 1 hurricane of the 1968 Atlantic season. It formed on June 1, 1968, 76 mi NNW of Iriona, Honduras, reached its peak of 75 mph (120 km/h) and a minimum pressure of 992 mb on June 5, 1968, and made landfall 3 times — first 30 mi SSW of Mantua, Pinar del Río, Cuba on June 2, 1968 as a tropical storm (52 mph). Later landfalls: 13 mi S of Rotonda West, Florida on June 4, 1968 as a tropical storm (63 mph); 16 mi ENE of Jacksonville, Florida on June 6, 1968 as a tropical storm (63 mph). The storm lasted 12.3 days and travelled about 2,155 miles (3,467 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
June 2, 1968 · 23:00 UTC	30 mi SSW of Mantua, Pinar del Río, Cuba	TS 52 mph	997 mb
June 4, 1968 · 12:00 UTC	13 mi S of Rotonda West, Florida	TS 63 mph	992 mb
June 6, 1968 · 22:00 UTC	16 mi ENE of Jacksonville, Florida	TS 63 mph	—

Closest approach to major cities

City	Distance to center	When (UTC)	Storm strength then
St. Petersburg, Florida	59 mi	Jun 4 · 17:00 UTC	TS 54 mph
Tampa, Florida	55 mi	Jun 4 · 18:00 UTC	TS 52 mph
Orlando, Florida	40 mi	Jun 5 · 02:00 UTC	TS 52 mph
Jacksonville, Florida	16 mi	Jun 6 · 22:00 UTC	TS 63 mph
Charlotte, North Carolina	73 mi	Jun 9 · 17:00 UTC	TD 29 mph
Greensboro, North Carolina	direct hit	Jun 9 · 22:00 UTC	TD 29 mph
Durham, North Carolina	23 mi	Jun 10 · 04:00 UTC	TD 29 mph
Raleigh, North Carolina	19 mi	Jun 10 · 06:00 UTC	TD 29 mph
West Raleigh, North Carolina	19 mi	Jun 10 · 06:00 UTC	TD 29 mph
Virginia Beach, Virginia	61 mi	Jun 13 · 09:00 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 52 positions

Date · UTC	Status	Wind	Pressure	Position	Nearest place
Jun 1 06:00	TD	29 mph	—	17.0°N 85.5°W	76 mi NNW of Iriona, Honduras
Jun 1 12:00	TD	29 mph	—	17.2°N 85.5°W	89 mi NNW of Iriona, Honduras
Jun 1 18:00	TD	29 mph	—	17.8°N 85.7°W	133 mi NNW of Iriona, Honduras
Jun 2 00:00	TD	35 mph	1005 mb	18.5°N 85.8°W	148 mi ENE of San Pedro, Belize
Jun 2 06:00	TD	35 mph	—	19.5°N 85.7°W	106 mi SE of Cozumel, Quintana Roo, Mexico
Jun 2 12:00	TS	40 mph	—	20.5°N 85.3°W	110 mi ESE of Cancún, Quintana Roo, Mexico
Jun 2 18:00	TS	46 mph	1002 mb	21.4°N 84.8°W	70 mi SSW of Mantua, Pinar del Río, Cuba
Jun 2 23:00	TS LANDFALL	52 mph	997 mb	21.9°N 84.5°W	30 mi SSW of Mantua, Pinar del Río, Cuba
Jun 3 00:00	TS	52 mph	997 mb	22.1°N 84.4°W	15 mi SSW of Mantua, Pinar del Río, Cuba
Jun 3 06:00	TS	52 mph	999 mb	23.0°N 84.0°W	29 mi N of Minas de Matahambre, Pinar del Río, Cuba
Jun 3 12:00	TS	52 mph	999 mb	24.0°N 83.7°W	83 mi NNW of Bahía Honda, Artemisa, Cuba
Jun 3 18:00	TS	52 mph	997 mb	24.5°N 83.6°W	122 mi NW of Havana, Havana, Cuba
Jun 4 00:00	TS	58 mph	994 mb	25.0°N 83.4°W	106 mi WNW of Key West, Florida
Jun 4 06:00	TS	63 mph	993 mb	25.8°N 82.9°W	73 mi WSW of Naples, Florida
Jun 4 12:00	TS LANDFALL	63 mph	992 mb	26.7°N 82.3°W	24 mi WNW of Cape Coral, Florida
Jun 4 18:00	TS	52 mph	—	27.4°N 81.8°W	23 mi SW of Avon Park, Florida
Jun 5 00:00	TS	52 mph	—	28.0°N 81.1°W	20 mi SSE of Saint Cloud, Florida
Jun 5 06:00	TS	52 mph	—	28.2°N 80.8°W	near Viera East, Florida
Jun 5 12:00	TS	63 mph	—	28.2°N 80.5°W	10 mi NE of Melbourne, Florida
Jun 5 18:00	Cat 1	75 mph	994 mb	28.2°N 80.2°W	26 mi ENE of Palm Bay, Florida
Jun 6 00:00	Cat 1	75 mph	—	28.3°N 80.1°W	35 mi ENE of Palm Bay, Florida
Jun 6 06:00	Cat 1	75 mph	—	28.6°N 80.4°W	25 mi E of Titusville, Florida
Jun 6 12:00	TS	69 mph	992 mb	29.2°N 80.8°W	13 mi ENE of Port Orange, Florida
Jun 6 18:00	TS	63 mph	—	29.9°N 81.2°W	near Saint Augustine, Florida
Jun 6 22:00	TS LANDFALL	63 mph	—	30.4°N 81.4°W	16 mi ENE of Jacksonville, Florida
Jun 7 00:00	TS	58 mph	997 mb	30.6°N 81.5°W	near Fernandina Beach, Florida
Jun 7 06:00	TS	46 mph	999 mb	31.4°N 81.8°W	25 mi NW of Brunswick, Georgia
Jun 7 12:00	TS	40 mph	1002 mb	32.0°N 82.0°W	26 mi WNW of Hinesville, Georgia
Jun 7 18:00	TD	35 mph	1003 mb	32.6°N 82.1°W	21 mi WNW of Statesboro, Georgia
Jun 8 00:00	TD	35 mph	—	33.0°N 82.2°W	31 mi S of Grovetown, Georgia
Jun 8 06:00	TD	35 mph	—	33.5°N 82.2°W	near Evans, Georgia
Jun 8 12:00	TD	29 mph	—	34.1°N 82.3°W	10 mi SW of Greenwood, South Carolina
Jun 8 18:00	TD	29 mph	—	34.8°N 82.3°W	near Mauldin, South Carolina
Jun 9 00:00	TD	29 mph	—	35.6°N 82.1°W	26 mi E of Asheville, North Carolina
Jun 9 06:00	TD	29 mph	—	36.3°N 81.8°W	near Boone, North Carolina
Jun 9 12:00	TD	29 mph	—	36.4°N 81.1°W	28 mi WSW of Mount Airy, North Carolina
Jun 9 18:00	TD	29 mph	—	36.2°N 80.3°W	near Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Jun 10 00:00	TD low/wave	29 mph	—	35.9°N 79.5°W	14 mi SSW of Burlington, North Carolina
Jun 10 06:00	TD low/wave	29 mph	—	35.6°N 78.9°W	near Holly Springs, North Carolina
Jun 10 12:00	TD low/wave	29 mph	—	34.9°N 78.7°W	15 mi SE of Fayetteville, North Carolina
Jun 10 18:00	TD low/wave	29 mph	—	34.2°N 78.7°W	27 mi N of North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
Jun 11 00:00	TD low/wave	29 mph	—	33.5°N 78.7°W	17 mi SE of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
Jun 11 06:00	TD low/wave	29 mph	—	33.2°N 78.7°W	35 mi SSE of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
Jun 11 12:00	TD	29 mph	—	33.3°N 78.7°W	29 mi SSE of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
Jun 11 18:00	TD	29 mph	—	33.4°N 78.5°W	30 mi SE of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
Jun 12 00:00	TD	35 mph	—	33.6°N 78.2°W	31 mi ESE of North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
Jun 12 06:00	TD	35 mph	—	33.8°N 78.0°W	30 mi S of Wilmington, North Carolina
Jun 12 12:00	TD	35 mph	—	34.0°N 77.8°W	13 mi SSE of Masonboro, North Carolina
Jun 12 18:00	TD	35 mph	—	34.5°N 77.3°W	19 mi SSE of Jacksonville, North Carolina
Jun 13 00:00	TD	35 mph	—	35.2°N 76.6°W	26 mi ENE of New Bern, North Carolina
Jun 13 06:00	TD	35 mph	—	35.9°N 75.7°W	41 mi SE of Elizabeth City, North Carolina
Jun 13 12:00	TD	35 mph	—	36.5°N 74.8°W	70 mi ESE of Virginia Beach, Virginia

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

Questions

Frequently asked questions

When and where did Abby make landfall?

Abby made landfall 3 times: 30 mi SSW of Mantua, Pinar del Río, Cuba on June 2, 1968 at 23:00 UTC, as a tropical storm with 52 mph winds; 13 mi S of Rotonda West, Florida on June 4, 1968 at 12:00 UTC, as a tropical storm with 63 mph winds; 16 mi ENE of Jacksonville, Florida on June 6, 1968 at 22:00 UTC, as a tropical storm with 63 mph winds.

What category was Abby?

At its peak on June 5, 1968, Abby was a Category 1 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 75 mph (120 km/h) and a central pressure of 992 mb. At its first landfall it was a tropical storm.

How long did Abby last?

12.3 days, from June 1, 1968 to June 13, 1968, including 18 hours at hurricane strength. It travelled about 2,155 miles.

Where can I download the track data for Abby?

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

Every storm named Abby

Year	Storm	Peak	Landfall
1960	Hurricane Abby Atlantic	Cat 1 81 mph	Honduras, Belize	→
1964	Tropical Storm Abby Atlantic	TS 69 mph	Texas	→
1968	Hurricane Abby · this page Atlantic	Cat 1 75 mph	Florida, Pinar del Río, Cuba

Names are recycled every six years unless a storm is so deadly or costly that the name is retired.

Strongest storms of 1968

Year	Storm	Peak	Landfall
1968	Hurricane Gladys Atlantic	Cat 2 98 mph	Florida, Pinar del Río, Cuba	→
1968	Hurricane Dolly Atlantic	Cat 1 86 mph	—	→
1968	Hurricane Fernanda Eastern Pacific	Cat 1 86 mph	—	→
1968	Hurricane Joanne Eastern Pacific	Cat 1 86 mph	—	→
1968	Hurricane Liza Eastern Pacific	Cat 1 86 mph	—	→
1968	Hurricane Naomi Eastern Pacific	Cat 1 86 mph	—	→
1968	Hurricane Pauline Eastern Pacific	Cat 1 86 mph	—	→
1968	Hurricane Rebecca Eastern Pacific	Cat 1 86 mph	—	→

See every 1968 storm on one map →

Background reading: Hurricane Abby on Wikipedia.

← Previous Atlantic stormHurricane Heidi (1967)Next Atlantic storm →Hurricane Brenda (1968)

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