Track map, landfall & timeline · Atlantic · August 18 – September 3, 1952
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
Hurricane Able (1952) was a Category 2 hurricane of the 1952 Atlantic season. It formed on August 18, 1952, 104 mi W of Dakar, Senegal, reached its peak of 98 mph (157 km/h) and a minimum pressure of 983 mb on August 31, 1952, and made landfall 11 mi ENE of Hilton Head, South Carolina on August 31, 1952 as a Category 2 hurricane (98 mph). The storm lasted 16.0 days and travelled about 5,953 miles (9,578 km).
02 · Intensity
03 · Impact
| Landfall (UTC) | Where | Strength | Pressure |
|---|---|---|---|
| August 31, 1952 · 03:00 UTC | 11 mi ENE of Hilton Head, South Carolina | Cat 2 98 mph | — |
| City | Distance to center | When (UTC) | Storm strength then |
|---|---|---|---|
| Charlotte, North Carolina | 11 mi | Aug 31 · 17:00 UTC | TS 47 mph |
| Washington, District of Columbia | 31 mi | Sep 1 · 11:00 UTC | TS 57 mph |
| Baltimore, Maryland | 30 mi | Sep 1 · 12:00 UTC | TS 58 mph |
| Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | 40 mi | Sep 1 · 16:00 UTC | TS 58 mph |
| New York City, New York | 40 mi | Sep 1 · 19:00 UTC | TS 57 mph |
| Brooklyn, New York | 45 mi | Sep 1 · 19:00 UTC | TS 57 mph |
| Queens, New York | 47 mi | Sep 1 · 20:00 UTC | TS 56 mph |
| Manhattan, New York | 38 mi | Sep 1 · 20:00 UTC | TS 56 mph |
| The Bronx, New York | 37 mi | Sep 1 · 20:00 UTC | TS 56 mph |
| Boston, Massachusetts | 49 mi | Sep 2 · 05:00 UTC | TD 37 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
| Date · UTC | Status | Wind | Pressure | Position | Nearest place |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 18 06:00 | TD | 29 mph | — | 14.6°N 19.0°W | 104 mi W of Dakar, Senegal |
| Aug 18 12:00 | TD | 29 mph | — | 14.4°N 19.6°W | 146 mi W of Dakar, Senegal |
| Aug 18 18:00 | TD | 29 mph | — | 14.3°N 20.5°W | open ocean |
| Aug 19 00:00 | TD | 29 mph | — | 14.1°N 21.5°W | 146 mi ESE of Praia, Cabo Verde |
| Aug 19 06:00 | TD | 29 mph | — | 13.9°N 22.6°W | 94 mi SE of Praia, Cabo Verde |
| Aug 19 12:00 | TD | 29 mph | — | 13.7°N 23.7°W | 86 mi S of Praia, Cabo Verde |
| Aug 19 18:00 | TD | 29 mph | — | 13.4°N 25.1°W | 111 mi SSW of São Filipe, Cabo Verde |
| Aug 20 00:00 | TD | 29 mph | — | 13.2°N 26.6°W | 183 mi SW of São Filipe, Cabo Verde |
| Aug 20 06:00 | TD | 29 mph | — | 13.0°N 28.2°W | open ocean |
| Aug 20 12:00 | TD | 29 mph | — | 12.8°N 29.8°W | open ocean |
| Aug 20 18:00 | TD | 29 mph | — | 12.6°N 31.4°W | open ocean |
| Aug 21 00:00 | TD | 29 mph | — | 12.4°N 33.1°W | open ocean |
| Aug 21 06:00 | TD | 29 mph | — | 12.3°N 34.8°W | open ocean |
| Aug 21 12:00 | TD | 29 mph | — | 12.3°N 36.6°W | open ocean |
| Aug 21 18:00 | TD | 29 mph | — | 12.3°N 38.4°W | open ocean |
| Aug 22 00:00 | TD | 29 mph | — | 12.3°N 40.1°W | open ocean |
| Aug 22 06:00 | TD | 29 mph | — | 12.6°N 41.8°W | open ocean |
| Aug 22 12:00 | TD | 29 mph | — | 13.0°N 43.4°W | open ocean |
| Aug 22 18:00 | TD | 29 mph | — | 13.5°N 45.0°W | open ocean |
| Aug 23 00:00 | TD | 29 mph | — | 14.0°N 46.6°W | open ocean |
| Aug 23 06:00 | TD | 29 mph | — | 14.5°N 48.2°W | open ocean |
| Aug 23 12:00 | TD | 29 mph | — | 15.0°N 49.8°W | open ocean |
| Aug 23 18:00 | TD | 29 mph | — | 15.5°N 51.2°W | open ocean |
| Aug 24 00:00 | TD | 29 mph | — | 16.0°N 52.4°W | open ocean |
| Aug 24 06:00 | TD | 29 mph | — | 16.5°N 53.6°W | open ocean |
| Aug 24 12:00 | TD | 35 mph | — | 17.0°N 54.8°W | open ocean |
| Aug 24 18:00 | TS | 40 mph | — | 17.5°N 55.8°W | open ocean |
| Aug 25 00:00 | TS | 40 mph | — | 18.0°N 56.7°W | open ocean |
| Aug 25 06:00 | TS | 40 mph | — | 18.6°N 57.6°W | open ocean |
| Aug 25 12:00 | TS | 40 mph | — | 19.3°N 58.4°W | open ocean |
| Aug 25 18:00 | TS | 46 mph | — | 19.8°N 59.1°W | open ocean |
| Aug 26 00:00 | TS | 46 mph | — | 20.0°N 59.9°W | open ocean |
| Aug 26 06:00 | TS | 52 mph | — | 20.3°N 60.8°W | open ocean |
| Aug 26 12:00 | TS | 52 mph | — | 20.7°N 61.7°W | open ocean |
| Aug 26 18:00 | TS | 58 mph | — | 21.1°N 62.4°W | open ocean |
| Aug 27 00:00 | TS | 58 mph | — | 21.4°N 63.1°W | open ocean |
| Aug 27 06:00 | TS | 63 mph | — | 21.7°N 63.8°W | open ocean |
| Aug 27 12:00 | TS | 63 mph | 1003 mb | 21.9°N 64.6°W | open ocean |
| Aug 27 18:00 | TS | 69 mph | 998 mb | 22.2°N 65.6°W | open ocean |
| Aug 28 00:00 | TS | 69 mph | — | 22.7°N 66.7°W | open ocean |
| Aug 28 06:00 | TS | 63 mph | — | 23.4°N 68.0°W | open ocean |
| Aug 28 12:00 | TS | 63 mph | 1002 mb | 24.2°N 69.3°W | open ocean |
| Aug 28 18:00 | TS | 58 mph | 1003 mb | 25.1°N 70.6°W | open ocean |
| Aug 29 00:00 | TS | 58 mph | — | 25.9°N 71.9°W | open ocean |
| Aug 29 06:00 | TS | 63 mph | — | 26.7°N 73.4°W | open ocean |
| Aug 29 12:00 | TS | 69 mph | 999 mb | 27.4°N 74.9°W | open ocean |
| Aug 29 18:00 | Cat 1 | 75 mph | — | 27.9°N 76.3°W | 173 mi ENE of Lucaya, Bahamas |
| Aug 30 00:00 | Cat 1 | 75 mph | — | 28.5°N 77.7°W | 148 mi NNE of Lucaya, Bahamas |
| Aug 30 06:00 | Cat 1 | 81 mph | — | 29.1°N 78.8°W | 122 mi ENE of Cocoa Beach, Florida |
| Aug 30 12:00 | Cat 1 | 81 mph | 992 mb | 29.8°N 79.5°W | 100 mi ENE of Daytona Beach, Florida |
| Aug 30 18:00 | Cat 1 | 92 mph | 983 mb | 30.7°N 79.9°W | 94 mi ENE of Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida |
| Aug 31 00:00 | Cat 2 | 98 mph | — | 31.7°N 80.4°W | 39 mi SSE of Hilton Head Island, South Carolina |
| Aug 31 03:00 | Cat 2 LANDFALL | 98 mph | — | 32.3°N 80.6°W | 11 mi ENE of Hilton Head, South Carolina |
| Aug 31 06:00 | Cat 1 | 75 mph | — | 32.9°N 80.8°W | 33 mi NNW of Beaufort, South Carolina |
| Aug 31 12:00 | TS | 52 mph | — | 34.2°N 80.9°W | 16 mi NNE of Columbia, South Carolina |
| Aug 31 18:00 | TS | 46 mph | — | 35.4°N 80.6°W | near Concord, North Carolina |
| Sep 1 00:00 | TS | 46 mph | — | 36.6°N 79.9°W | near Martinsville, Virginia |
| Sep 1 06:00 | TS | 52 mph | — | 38.1°N 78.6°W | near Charlottesville, Virginia |
| Sep 1 12:00 | TS | 58 mph | — | 39.5°N 77.1°W | near Westminster, Maryland |
| Sep 1 18:00 | TS | 58 mph | — | 40.8°N 75.0°W | 14 mi NE of Easton, Pennsylvania |
| Sep 2 00:00 | TS | 52 mph | — | 42.2°N 72.9°W | near Westfield, Massachusetts |
| Sep 2 06:00 | TD | 35 mph | — | 43.0°N 71.5°W | near Manchester, New Hampshire |
| Sep 2 12:00 | TD | 29 mph | — | 43.9°N 70.0°W | near Brunswick, Maine |
| Sep 2 18:00 | TD | 29 mph | — | 45.5°N 68.2°W | 56 mi NNE of Bangor, Maine |
| Sep 3 00:00 | TD | 29 mph | — | 47.2°N 65.8°W | 18 mi NW of Miramichi, New Brunswick, Canada |
| Sep 3 06:00 | TD | 23 mph | — | 48.5°N 63.5°W | 50 mi ESE of Gaspé, Quebec, Canada |
⬇ Download track data (CSV) · public-domain NOAA best track
Questions
Able made landfall once: 11 mi ENE of Hilton Head, South Carolina on August 31, 1952 at 03:00 UTC, as a Category 2 hurricane with 98 mph winds.
At its peak on August 31, 1952, Able was a Category 2 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 98 mph (157 km/h) and a central pressure of 983 mb. At its first landfall it was a Category 2 hurricane.
16.0 days, from August 18, 1952 to September 3, 1952, including 42 hours at hurricane strength. It travelled about 5,953 miles.
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.
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