Track map & timeline · Atlantic · May 17–27, 1970
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 Alma (1970) was a Category 1 hurricane of the 1970 Atlantic season. It formed on May 17, 1970, 160 mi NNE of Colón, Panama, reached its peak of 75 mph (120 km/h) and a minimum pressure of 993 mb on May 20, 1970, and never made landfall. It rapidly intensified by 40 mph in 24 hours (to 75 mph on May 20, 1970). The storm lasted 9.3 days and travelled about 2,237 miles (3,600 km).
02 · Intensity
03 · Impact
| City | Distance to center | When (UTC) | Storm strength then |
|---|---|---|---|
| St. Petersburg, Florida | 47 mi | May 25 · 00:00 UTC | TD 35 mph |
| Tampa, Florida | 56 mi | May 25 · 01:00 UTC | TD 35 mph |
| Jacksonville, Florida | 43 mi | May 25 · 11:00 UTC | TD 35 mph |
| Charlotte, North Carolina | 69 mi | May 26 · 12:00 UTC | TS 46 mph |
| Greensboro, North Carolina | 63 mi | May 26 · 17:00 UTC | TS 41 mph |
| Raleigh, North Carolina | direct hit | May 26 · 18:00 UTC | TS 40 mph |
| West Raleigh, North Carolina | direct hit | May 26 · 18:00 UTC | TS 40 mph |
| Durham, North Carolina | 23 mi | May 26 · 18:00 UTC | TS 40 mph |
| Virginia Beach, Virginia | 62 mi | May 27 · 00:00 UTC | TS 40 mph |
| Norfolk, Virginia | 46 mi | May 27 · 00:00 UTC | TS 40 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 17 18:00 | TD | 29 mph | — | 11.5°N 79.0°W | 160 mi NNE of Colón, Panama |
| May 18 00:00 | TD | 29 mph | — | 11.8°N 79.3°W | 171 mi ESE of San Andrés, Colombia |
| May 18 06:00 | TD | 29 mph | — | 12.1°N 79.7°W | 139 mi ESE of San Andrés, Colombia |
| May 18 12:00 | TD | 29 mph | — | 12.3°N 80.1°W | 110 mi E of San Andrés, Colombia |
| May 18 18:00 | TD | 29 mph | — | 12.6°N 80.5°W | 81 mi E of San Andrés, Colombia |
| May 19 00:00 | TD | 29 mph | — | 13.0°N 81.0°W | 55 mi ENE of San Andrés, Colombia |
| May 19 06:00 | TD | 29 mph | — | 13.5°N 81.5°W | 65 mi NNE of San Andrés, Colombia |
| May 19 12:00 | TD | 29 mph | 1005 mb | 14.0°N 81.9°W | 99 mi N of San Andrés, Colombia |
| May 19 18:00 | TD | 35 mph | — | 14.7°N 82.1°W | 98 mi ENE of Puerto Cabezas, Nicaragua |
| May 20 00:00 | TS | 40 mph | — | 15.5°N 82.2°W | 129 mi NE of Puerto Cabezas, Nicaragua |
| May 20 06:00 | TS | 52 mph | — | 16.3°N 82.0°W | 169 mi ENE of Brus Laguna, Honduras |
| May 20 12:00 | TS | 63 mph | — | 16.9°N 81.7°W | 166 mi S of George Town, Cayman Islands |
| May 20 18:00 | Cat 1 | 75 mph | 993 mb | 17.4°N 81.4°W | 130 mi S of George Town, Cayman Islands |
| May 21 00:00 | TS | 69 mph | — | 17.8°N 81.0°W | 103 mi S of Bodden Town, Cayman Islands |
| May 21 06:00 | TS | 58 mph | — | 18.2°N 80.6°W | 86 mi SSE of Bodden Town, Cayman Islands |
| May 21 12:00 | TS | 52 mph | 1002 mb | 18.5°N 80.2°W | 85 mi SE of Frank Sound, Cayman Islands |
| May 21 18:00 | TS | 52 mph | 1003 mb | 19.0°N 80.0°W | 80 mi ESE of Frank Sound, Cayman Islands |
| May 22 00:00 | TS | 52 mph | 1004 mb | 19.5°N 80.1°W | 72 mi E of Frank Sound, Cayman Islands |
| May 22 06:00 | TS | 46 mph | 1005 mb | 19.3°N 80.6°W | 38 mi E of Frank Sound, Cayman Islands |
| May 22 12:00 | TS | 40 mph | 1007 mb | 19.1°N 81.1°W | 15 mi SSE of Breakers, Cayman Islands |
| May 22 18:00 | TD | 35 mph | — | 19.0°N 81.8°W | 34 mi SW of George Town, Cayman Islands |
| May 23 00:00 | TD | 35 mph | — | 19.2°N 82.6°W | 80 mi W of George Town, Cayman Islands |
| May 23 06:00 | TD | 29 mph | — | 19.8°N 83.5°W | 140 mi WNW of West Bay, Cayman Islands |
| May 23 12:00 | TD | 29 mph | — | 20.8°N 84.1°W | 97 mi S of Guane, Pinar del Río, Cuba |
| May 23 18:00 | TD | 29 mph | — | 21.8°N 84.4°W | 34 mi SW of Guane, Pinar del Río, Cuba |
| May 24 00:00 | TD | 29 mph | — | 22.9°N 84.5°W | 41 mi WNW of Minas de Matahambre, Pinar del Río, Cuba |
| May 24 06:00 | TD | 35 mph | 1008 mb | 23.9°N 84.3°W | 93 mi NNW of Minas de Matahambre, Pinar del Río, Cuba |
| May 24 12:00 | TD | 35 mph | 1008 mb | 24.9°N 84.1°W | 147 mi W of Key West, Florida |
| May 24 18:00 | TD | 35 mph | — | 26.3°N 83.9°W | 105 mi WSW of Venice, Florida |
| May 25 00:00 | TD | 35 mph | — | 28.0°N 83.4°W | 37 mi W of Clearwater, Florida |
| May 25 06:00 | TD | 35 mph | — | 29.5°N 82.9°W | 36 mi WSW of Gainesville, Florida |
| May 25 12:00 | TD | 35 mph | — | 30.8°N 82.2°W | 30 mi W of Kingsland, Georgia |
| May 25 18:00 | TS | 40 mph | 1003 mb | 31.8°N 81.6°W | near Hinesville, Georgia |
| May 26 00:00 | TS | 46 mph | — | 32.6°N 81.2°W | 36 mi N of Savannah, Georgia |
| May 26 06:00 | TS | 46 mph | — | 33.5°N 80.7°W | near Orangeburg, South Carolina |
| May 26 12:00 | TS | 46 mph | — | 34.6°N 79.9°W | 29 mi NNW of Florence, South Carolina |
| May 26 18:00 | TS | 40 mph | — | 35.7°N 78.7°W | near Raleigh, North Carolina |
| May 27 00:00 | TS | 40 mph | 1003 mb | 36.5°N 77.0°W | 27 mi WSW of South Suffolk, Virginia |
⬇ Download track data (CSV) · public-domain NOAA best track
Questions
No — the NOAA best-track record shows no landfall for Alma. Its closest approach to a major city was 6 miles from Raleigh, North Carolina.
At its peak on May 20, 1970, Alma was a Category 1 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 75 mph (120 km/h) and a central pressure of 993 mb.
9.3 days, from May 17, 1970 to May 27, 1970, including 6 hours at hurricane strength. It travelled about 2,237 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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