Hurricane Barbara (1953)

Track map, landfall & timeline · Atlantic · August 11–16, 1953

Peak wind

92 mph

148 km/h · Aug 14

Peak category

Cat 1

Saffir–Simpson

Lowest pressure

973 mb

Landfalls

North Carolina

Lifetime

5.5 d

Aug 11 – Aug 16

Distance

2,565 mi

4,128 km

ACE

7.4

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 Barbara

Hurricane Barbara (1953) was a Category 1 hurricane of the 1953 Atlantic season. It formed on August 11, 1953, 152 mi NNE of Moa, Holguín Province, Cuba, reached its peak of 92 mph (148 km/h) and a minimum pressure of 973 mb on August 14, 1953, and made landfall 3 times — first 40 mi ENE of Morehead City, North Carolina on August 14, 1953 as a Category 1 hurricane (92 mph). Later landfalls: 50 mi SSW of Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina on August 14, 1953 as a Category 1 hurricane (86 mph); 13 mi WNW of Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina on August 14, 1953 as a Category 1 hurricane (81 mph). It rapidly intensified by 34 mph in 24 hours (to 63 mph on August 12, 1953). The storm lasted 5.5 days and travelled about 2,565 miles (4,128 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 14, 1953 · 03:00 UTC	40 mi ENE of Morehead City, North Carolina	Cat 1 92 mph	—
August 14, 1953 · 05:00 UTC	50 mi SSW of Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina	Cat 1 86 mph	—
August 14, 1953 · 09:00 UTC	13 mi WNW of Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina	Cat 1 81 mph	—

Closest approach to major cities

City	Distance to center	When (UTC)	Storm strength then
Virginia Beach, Virginia	23 mi	Aug 14 · 12:00 UTC	Cat 1 86 mph
Norfolk, Virginia	37 mi	Aug 14 · 12:00 UTC	Cat 1 86 mph
Chesapeake, Virginia	35 mi	Aug 14 · 12:00 UTC	Cat 1 86 mph
Newport News, Virginia	48 mi	Aug 14 · 12:00 UTC	Cat 1 86 mph
East Hampton, Virginia	46 mi	Aug 14 · 12:00 UTC	Cat 1 86 mph
Hampton, Virginia	46 mi	Aug 14 · 12:00 UTC	Cat 1 86 mph
Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada	52 mi	Aug 15 · 20:00 UTC	TS 67 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 26 positions

Date · UTC	Status	Wind	Pressure	Position	Nearest place
Aug 11 06:00	TD	29 mph	—	22.8°N 74.4°W	152 mi NNE of Moa, Holguín Province, Cuba
Aug 11 12:00	TD	35 mph	—	23.8°N 74.6°W	open ocean
Aug 11 18:00	TS	46 mph	—	25.2°N 74.8°W	159 mi E of Nassau, Bahamas
Aug 12 00:00	TS	52 mph	—	26.6°N 75.0°W	181 mi NE of Nassau, Bahamas
Aug 12 06:00	TS	63 mph	—	27.9°N 75.3°W	open ocean
Aug 12 12:00	TS	69 mph	1005 mb	29.1°N 75.6°W	open ocean
Aug 12 18:00	Cat 1	75 mph	—	29.8°N 75.9°W	open ocean
Aug 13 00:00	Cat 1	75 mph	1002 mb	30.5°N 76.1°W	open ocean
Aug 13 06:00	Cat 1	75 mph	—	31.3°N 76.3°W	open ocean
Aug 13 12:00	Cat 1	75 mph	995 mb	32.3°N 76.5°W	151 mi SSE of Masonboro, North Carolina
Aug 13 18:00	Cat 1	81 mph	987 mb	33.4°N 76.4°W	99 mi ESE of Masonboro, North Carolina
Aug 14 00:00	Cat 1	92 mph	—	34.6°N 76.2°W	44 mi ESE of Havelock, North Carolina
Aug 14 03:00	Cat 1 LANDFALL	92 mph	—	35.0°N 76.1°W	46 mi E of Havelock, North Carolina
Aug 14 05:00	Cat 1 LANDFALL	86 mph	—	35.4°N 76.1°W	57 mi ENE of New Bern, North Carolina
Aug 14 06:00	Cat 1	86 mph	—	35.6°N 76.0°W	50 mi SSE of Elizabeth City, North Carolina
Aug 14 09:00	Cat 1 LANDFALL	81 mph	—	36.1°N 75.9°W	24 mi SE of Elizabeth City, North Carolina
Aug 14 12:00	Cat 1	86 mph	—	36.6°N 75.7°W	23 mi SE of Virginia Beach, Virginia
Aug 14 18:00	Cat 1	92 mph	973 mb	37.6°N 74.9°W	57 mi SSE of Ocean Pines, Maryland
Aug 15 00:00	Cat 1	86 mph	—	38.7°N 73.0°W	89 mi ESE of Atlantic City, New Jersey
Aug 15 06:00	Cat 1	81 mph	—	40.1°N 70.5°W	108 mi SSE of New Bedford, Massachusetts
Aug 15 12:00	TS	69 mph	—	41.5°N 67.7°W	123 mi E of Harwich, Massachusetts
Aug 15 18:00	TS	69 mph	—	43.1°N 64.1°W	110 mi SSW of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
Aug 16 00:00	TS extratropical	63 mph	—	46.0°N 60.5°W	18 mi WSW of Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada
Aug 16 06:00	TS extratropical	58 mph	—	49.0°N 59.3°W	61 mi W of Corner Brook, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada
Aug 16 12:00	TS extratropical	52 mph	—	52.8°N 59.1°W	open ocean
Aug 16 18:00	TS extratropical	52 mph	—	54.0°N 59.0°W	open ocean

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

Questions

Frequently asked questions

When and where did Barbara make landfall?

Barbara made landfall 3 times: 40 mi ENE of Morehead City, North Carolina on August 14, 1953 at 03:00 UTC, as a Category 1 hurricane with 92 mph winds; 50 mi SSW of Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina on August 14, 1953 at 05:00 UTC, as a Category 1 hurricane with 86 mph winds; 13 mi WNW of Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina on August 14, 1953 at 09:00 UTC, as a Category 1 hurricane with 81 mph winds.

What category was Barbara?

At its peak on August 14, 1953, Barbara was a Category 1 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 92 mph (148 km/h) and a central pressure of 973 mb. At its first landfall it was a Category 1 hurricane.

How long did Barbara last?

5.5 days, from August 11, 1953 to August 16, 1953, including 66 hours at hurricane strength. It travelled about 2,565 miles.

Where can I download the track data for Barbara?

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 Barbara

Year	Storm	Peak	Landfall
1953	Hurricane Barbara · this page Atlantic	Cat 1 92 mph	North Carolina
1954	Tropical Storm Barbara Atlantic	TS 58 mph	Louisiana	→
1983	Hurricane Barbara Eastern Pacific	Cat 4 132 mph	—	→
1989	Hurricane Barbara Eastern Pacific	Cat 1 81 mph	—	→
1995	Hurricane Barbara Eastern Pacific	Cat 4 138 mph	—	→
2001	Tropical Storm Barbara Eastern Pacific	TS 58 mph	—
2007	Tropical Storm Barbara Eastern Pacific	TS 52 mph	Chiapas, Mexico	→
2013	Hurricane Barbara Eastern Pacific	Cat 1 81 mph	Chiapas, Mexico	→
2019	Hurricane Barbara Eastern Pacific	Cat 4 155 mph	—	→
2025	Hurricane Barbara Eastern Pacific	Cat 1 75 mph	—	→

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

Strongest storms of 1953

Year	Storm	Peak	Landfall
1953	Hurricane Carol Atlantic	Cat 5 161 mph	Nova Scotia, Canada, New Brunswick, Canada	→
1953	Hurricane Edna Atlantic	Cat 3 115 mph	—	→
1953	Hurricane Florence Atlantic	Cat 3 115 mph	Florida	→
1953	Hurricane Hazel Atlantic	Cat 1 86 mph	Florida	→
1953	Hurricane Gail Atlantic	Cat 1 81 mph	—	→
1953	Hurricane Dolly Atlantic	Cat 1 75 mph	Bermuda	→
1953	Tropical Storm Alice Atlantic	TS 69 mph	Pinar del Río, Cuba, Florida	→

See every 1953 storm on one map →

Background reading: Hurricane Barbara on Wikipedia.

← Previous Atlantic stormTropical Storm Alice (1953)Next Atlantic storm →Hurricane Carol (1953)

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