Track map, landfall & timeline · Atlantic · July 5–17, 1996
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 Bertha (1996) was a Category 3 hurricane of the 1996 Atlantic season. It formed on July 5, 1996, reached its peak of 115 mph (185 km/h) and a minimum pressure of 960 mb on July 9, 1996, and made landfall near Murraysville, North Carolina on July 12, 1996 as a Category 2 hurricane (104 mph). It rapidly intensified by 34 mph in 24 hours (to 115 mph on July 9, 1996). The storm lasted 12.3 days and travelled about 6,393 miles (10,287 km).
02 · Intensity
03 · Impact
| Landfall (UTC) | Where | Strength | Pressure |
|---|---|---|---|
| July 12, 1996 · 20:00 UTC | near Murraysville, North Carolina | Cat 2 104 mph | 974 mb |
| City | Distance to center | When (UTC) | Storm strength then |
|---|---|---|---|
| Washington, District of Columbia | 65 mi | Jul 13 · 12:00 UTC | TS 69 mph |
| Baltimore, Maryland | 61 mi | Jul 13 · 14:00 UTC | TS 69 mph |
| Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | 22 mi | Jul 13 · 17:00 UTC | TS 69 mph |
| New York City, New York | 14 mi | Jul 13 · 19:00 UTC | TS 69 mph |
| Brooklyn, New York | 11 mi | Jul 13 · 19:00 UTC | TS 69 mph |
| Queens, New York | 15 mi | Jul 13 · 20:00 UTC | TS 69 mph |
| Manhattan, New York | 18 mi | Jul 13 · 20:00 UTC | TS 69 mph |
| The Bronx, New York | 12 mi | Jul 13 · 20:00 UTC | TS 69 mph |
| Boston, Massachusetts | 19 mi | Jul 14 · 01:00 UTC | TS 68 mph |
| South Boston, Massachusetts | 20 mi | Jul 14 · 01:00 UTC | TS 68 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 5 00:00 | TD | 35 mph | 1009 mb | 9.8°N 34.0°W | open ocean |
| Jul 5 06:00 | TD | 35 mph | 1008 mb | 10.2°N 36.3°W | open ocean |
| Jul 5 12:00 | TS | 40 mph | 1007 mb | 11.0°N 39.0°W | open ocean |
| Jul 5 18:00 | TS | 40 mph | 1006 mb | 12.0°N 41.2°W | open ocean |
| Jul 6 00:00 | TS | 40 mph | 1005 mb | 12.7°N 43.9°W | open ocean |
| Jul 6 06:00 | TS | 40 mph | 1004 mb | 13.1°N 46.6°W | open ocean |
| Jul 6 12:00 | TS | 46 mph | 1002 mb | 13.7°N 48.7°W | open ocean |
| Jul 6 18:00 | TS | 52 mph | 1000 mb | 14.2°N 51.0°W | open ocean |
| Jul 7 00:00 | TS | 58 mph | 999 mb | 14.9°N 52.9°W | open ocean |
| Jul 7 06:00 | TS | 63 mph | 997 mb | 15.6°N 54.8°W | open ocean |
| Jul 7 12:00 | TS | 69 mph | 995 mb | 16.4°N 56.9°W | open ocean |
| Jul 7 18:00 | Cat 1 | 81 mph | 992 mb | 16.5°N 58.4°W | open ocean |
| Jul 8 00:00 | Cat 1 | 86 mph | 988 mb | 17.0°N 60.1°W | 95 mi ENE of Le Moule, Guadeloupe |
| Jul 8 06:00 | Cat 1 | 86 mph | 985 mb | 17.5°N 61.8°W | 26 mi N of Saint John’s, Antigua and Barbuda |
| Jul 8 12:00 | Cat 1 | 81 mph | 983 mb | 18.0°N 63.5°W | 71 mi NW of Basseterre, Saint Kitts and Nevis |
| Jul 8 18:00 | Cat 1 | 86 mph | 978 mb | 18.6°N 64.9°W | 18 mi N of Charlotte Amalie, U.S. Virgin Islands |
| Jul 9 00:00 | Cat 1 | 92 mph | 970 mb | 19.4°N 66.1°W | 65 mi N of San Juan, Puerto Rico |
| Jul 9 06:00 | Cat 3 | 115 mph | 960 mb | 20.3°N 67.7°W | 127 mi NNE of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic |
| Jul 9 12:00 | Cat 3 | 115 mph | 965 mb | 21.4°N 69.4°W | 139 mi NE of Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic |
| Jul 9 18:00 | Cat 2 | 104 mph | 967 mb | 22.5°N 71.1°W | 89 mi NE of Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Islands |
| Jul 10 00:00 | Cat 2 | 98 mph | 969 mb | 23.6°N 72.6°W | 128 mi N of Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Islands |
| Jul 10 06:00 | Cat 1 | 92 mph | 971 mb | 24.5°N 74.0°W | open ocean |
| Jul 10 12:00 | Cat 1 | 92 mph | 968 mb | 25.4°N 75.3°W | 130 mi E of Nassau, Bahamas |
| Jul 10 18:00 | Cat 1 | 92 mph | 966 mb | 26.4°N 75.8°W | 134 mi NE of Nassau, Bahamas |
| Jul 11 00:00 | Cat 1 | 86 mph | 968 mb | 27.5°N 76.4°W | 155 mi ENE of Lucaya, Bahamas |
| Jul 11 06:00 | Cat 1 | 86 mph | 972 mb | 28.3°N 76.8°W | 167 mi NE of Lucaya, Bahamas |
| Jul 11 12:00 | Cat 1 | 86 mph | 977 mb | 29.2°N 77.5°W | open ocean |
| Jul 11 18:00 | Cat 1 | 81 mph | 980 mb | 30.0°N 78.0°W | open ocean |
| Jul 12 00:00 | Cat 1 | 81 mph | 982 mb | 30.7°N 78.3°W | 173 mi SE of Charleston, South Carolina |
| Jul 12 06:00 | Cat 1 | 81 mph | 984 mb | 31.2°N 78.6°W | 133 mi SE of Mount Pleasant, South Carolina |
| Jul 12 12:00 | Cat 2 | 98 mph | 975 mb | 32.2°N 78.4°W | 95 mi ESE of Mount Pleasant, South Carolina |
| Jul 12 18:00 | Cat 2 | 104 mph | 974 mb | 33.6°N 78.1°W | 37 mi ESE of North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina |
| Jul 12 20:00 | Cat 2 LANDFALL | 104 mph | 974 mb | 34.3°N 77.8°W | near Murraysville, North Carolina |
| Jul 13 00:00 | Cat 1 | 75 mph | 993 mb | 35.0°N 77.6°W | 20 mi NNW of Jacksonville, North Carolina |
| Jul 13 06:00 | TS | 69 mph | 993 mb | 36.7°N 77.0°W | 23 mi W of South Suffolk, Virginia |
| Jul 13 12:00 | TS | 69 mph | 994 mb | 38.3°N 76.1°W | 18 mi ESE of Chesapeake Ranch Estates-Drum Point, Maryland |
| Jul 13 18:00 | TS | 69 mph | 994 mb | 40.2°N 74.5°W | 9 mi ESE of Mercerville-Hamilton Square, New Jersey |
| Jul 14 00:00 | TS | 69 mph | 994 mb | 42.1°N 71.9°W | near Webster, Massachusetts |
| Jul 14 06:00 | TS | 63 mph | 995 mb | 44.1°N 69.0°W | 41 mi ESE of Augusta, Maine |
| Jul 14 12:00 | TS extratropical | 58 mph | 995 mb | 46.0°N 66.0°W | 32 mi E of Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada |
| Jul 14 18:00 | TS extratropical | 58 mph | 995 mb | 47.0°N 62.0°W | 27 mi SSW of Cap-aux-Meules, Quebec, Canada |
| Jul 15 00:00 | TS extratropical | 58 mph | 995 mb | 48.0°N 57.0°W | 79 mi SE of Corner Brook, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada |
| Jul 15 06:00 | TS extratropical | 52 mph | 996 mb | 49.0°N 52.0°W | 104 mi NNE of St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada |
| Jul 15 12:00 | TS extratropical | 46 mph | 996 mb | 51.0°N 47.0°W | open ocean |
| Jul 15 18:00 | TS extratropical | 46 mph | 996 mb | 54.0°N 44.0°W | open ocean |
| Jul 16 00:00 | TS extratropical | 46 mph | 991 mb | 57.5°N 42.5°W | open ocean |
| Jul 16 06:00 | TS extratropical | 46 mph | 988 mb | 58.5°N 42.5°W | open ocean |
| Jul 16 12:00 | TS extratropical | 52 mph | 988 mb | 59.5°N 42.0°W | open ocean |
| Jul 16 18:00 | TS extratropical | 52 mph | 985 mb | 59.8°N 41.0°W | open ocean |
| Jul 17 00:00 | TS extratropical | 46 mph | 993 mb | 60.0°N 40.0°W | open ocean |
| Jul 17 06:00 | TS extratropical | 40 mph | 1001 mb | 60.5°N 39.0°W | open ocean |
⬇ Download track data (CSV) · public-domain NOAA best track
Questions
Bertha made landfall once: near Murraysville, North Carolina on July 12, 1996 at 20:00 UTC, as a Category 2 hurricane with 104 mph winds.
At its peak on July 9, 1996, Bertha was a Category 3 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 115 mph (185 km/h) and a central pressure of 960 mb. At its first landfall it was a Category 2 hurricane.
12.3 days, from July 5, 1996 to July 17, 1996, including 132 hours at hurricane strength (12 as a major hurricane). It travelled about 6,393 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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