Hurricane Carol (1954)

Track map, landfall & timeline · Atlantic · August 25 – September 1, 1954

Peak wind

115 mph

185 km/h · Aug 31

Peak category

Cat 3

Saffir–Simpson

Lowest pressure

955 mb

Landfalls

New York · Connecticut

Lifetime

6.8 d

Aug 25 – Sep 1

Distance

1,865 mi

3,001 km

ACE

13.4

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 Carol

Hurricane Carol (1954) was a Category 3 hurricane of the 1954 Atlantic season. It formed on August 25, 1954, 171 mi ESE of Nassau, Bahamas, reached its peak of 115 mph (185 km/h) and a minimum pressure of 955 mb on August 31, 1954, and made landfall 2 times — first near Springs, New York on August 31, 1954 as a Category 3 hurricane (115 mph). Later landfalls: near New London, Connecticut on August 31, 1954 as a Category 3 hurricane (115 mph). It rapidly intensified by 40 mph in 24 hours (to 92 mph on August 28, 1954). The storm lasted 6.8 days and travelled about 1,865 miles (3,001 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 31, 1954 · 14:00 UTC	near Springs, New York	Cat 3 115 mph	955 mb
August 31, 1954 · 15:00 UTC	near New London, Connecticut	Cat 3 115 mph	957 mb

Closest approach to major cities

City	Distance to center	When (UTC)	Storm strength then
Bridgeport, Connecticut	55 mi	Aug 31 · 14:00 UTC	Cat 3 115 mph
New Haven, Connecticut	47 mi	Aug 31 · 14:00 UTC	Cat 3 115 mph
Stamford, Connecticut	71 mi	Aug 31 · 14:00 UTC	Cat 3 115 mph
North Stamford, Connecticut	72 mi	Aug 31 · 14:00 UTC	Cat 3 115 mph
Providence, Rhode Island	21 mi	Aug 31 · 16:00 UTC	Cat 2 107 mph
Springfield, Massachusetts	43 mi	Aug 31 · 16:00 UTC	Cat 2 107 mph
Boston, Massachusetts	29 mi	Aug 31 · 17:00 UTC	Cat 2 100 mph
South Boston, Massachusetts	30 mi	Aug 31 · 17:00 UTC	Cat 2 100 mph
Worcester, Massachusetts	19 mi	Aug 31 · 17:00 UTC	Cat 2 100 mph
Québec, Quebec, Canada	24 mi	Sep 1 · 02:00 UTC	TS 54 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 30 positions

Date · UTC	Status	Wind	Pressure	Position	Nearest place
Aug 25 12:00	TD	35 mph	—	23.8°N 75.0°W	171 mi ESE of Nassau, Bahamas
Aug 25 18:00	TD	35 mph	—	25.0°N 75.5°W	115 mi E of Nassau, Bahamas
Aug 26 00:00	TS	40 mph	—	26.1°N 76.0°W	110 mi NE of Nassau, Bahamas
Aug 26 06:00	TS	46 mph	—	27.0°N 76.3°W	149 mi NNE of Nassau, Bahamas
Aug 26 12:00	TS	52 mph	—	27.8°N 76.4°W	165 mi ENE of Lucaya, Bahamas
Aug 26 18:00	TS	52 mph	1002 mb	28.5°N 76.3°W	open ocean
Aug 27 00:00	TS	52 mph	—	29.0°N 76.2°W	open ocean
Aug 27 06:00	TS	58 mph	1002 mb	29.3°N 76.3°W	open ocean
Aug 27 12:00	TS	69 mph	995 mb	29.6°N 76.4°W	open ocean
Aug 27 18:00	Cat 1	81 mph	984 mb	29.8°N 76.5°W	open ocean
Aug 28 00:00	Cat 1	92 mph	981 mb	30.0°N 76.7°W	open ocean
Aug 28 06:00	Cat 2	98 mph	—	30.2°N 76.9°W	open ocean
Aug 28 12:00	Cat 2	98 mph	975 mb	30.3°N 77.2°W	open ocean
Aug 28 18:00	Cat 2	98 mph	—	30.4°N 77.4°W	open ocean
Aug 29 00:00	Cat 2	98 mph	—	30.4°N 77.5°W	open ocean
Aug 29 06:00	Cat 1	92 mph	—	30.3°N 77.6°W	open ocean
Aug 29 12:00	Cat 1	92 mph	—	30.5°N 77.7°W	open ocean
Aug 29 18:00	Cat 1	92 mph	—	30.8°N 77.8°W	183 mi SE of Mount Pleasant, South Carolina
Aug 30 00:00	Cat 1	92 mph	—	31.1°N 77.8°W	168 mi SE of Mount Pleasant, South Carolina
Aug 30 06:00	Cat 2	98 mph	—	31.6°N 77.7°W	151 mi ESE of Mount Pleasant, South Carolina
Aug 30 12:00	Cat 2	104 mph	—	32.2°N 77.6°W	127 mi SE of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
Aug 30 18:00	Cat 2	109 mph	962 mb	33.0°N 77.2°W	90 mi SSE of Masonboro, North Carolina
Aug 31 00:00	Cat 2	109 mph	960 mb	34.2°N 76.1°W	65 mi SE of Havelock, North Carolina
Aug 31 06:00	Cat 3	115 mph	—	36.6°N 74.1°W	105 mi E of Virginia Beach, Virginia
Aug 31 12:00	Cat 3	115 mph	955 mb	39.5°N 72.8°W	81 mi ESE of Toms River, New Jersey
Aug 31 14:00	Cat 3 LANDFALL	115 mph	955 mb	40.9°N 72.2°W	17 mi E of Hampton Bays, New York
Aug 31 15:00	Cat 3 LANDFALL	115 mph	957 mb	41.3°N 72.0°W	near New London, Connecticut
Aug 31 18:00	Cat 1 extratropical	92 mph	970 mb	43.1°N 71.4°W	near Manchester, New Hampshire
Sep 1 00:00	TS extratropical	58 mph	987 mb	46.2°N 70.9°W	13 mi WNW of Saint-Georges, Quebec, Canada
Sep 1 06:00	TS extratropical	46 mph	992 mb	48.5°N 70.5°W	27 mi ENE of Saguenay, Quebec, Canada

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

Questions

Frequently asked questions

When and where did Carol make landfall?

Carol made landfall 2 times: near Springs, New York on August 31, 1954 at 14:00 UTC, as a Category 3 hurricane with 115 mph winds; near New London, Connecticut on August 31, 1954 at 15:00 UTC, as a Category 3 hurricane with 115 mph winds.

What category was Carol?

At its peak on August 31, 1954, Carol was a Category 3 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 115 mph (185 km/h) and a central pressure of 955 mb. At its first landfall it was a Category 3 hurricane.

How long did Carol last?

6.8 days, from August 25, 1954 to September 1, 1954, including 96 hours at hurricane strength (12 as a major hurricane). It travelled about 1,865 miles.

Where can I download the track data for Carol?

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 Carol

Year	Storm	Peak	Landfall
1953	Hurricane Carol Atlantic	Cat 5 161 mph	Nova Scotia, Canada, New Brunswick, Canada	→
1954	Hurricane Carol · this page Atlantic	Cat 3 115 mph	New York, Connecticut
1965	Hurricane Carol Atlantic	Cat 1 92 mph	—	→

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

Strongest storms of 1954

Year	Storm	Peak	Landfall
1954	Hurricane Hazel Atlantic	Cat 4 132 mph	South Carolina, Haiti	→
1954	Hurricane Edna Atlantic	Cat 3 127 mph	Massachusetts	→
1954	Hurricane Alice Atlantic	Cat 2 109 mph	Tamaulipas, Mexico	→
1954	Hurricane Alice Atlantic	Cat 1 92 mph	Sint Maarten	→
1954	Hurricane Dolly Atlantic	Cat 1 86 mph	—	→
1954	Tropical Storm Gilda Atlantic	TS 69 mph	Belize	→
1954	Tropical Storm Florence Atlantic	TS 63 mph	Veracruz, Mexico	→
1954	Tropical Storm Barbara Atlantic	TS 58 mph	Louisiana	→

See every 1954 storm on one map →

Background reading: Hurricane Carol on Wikipedia.

← Previous Atlantic stormTropical Storm Barbara (1954)Next Atlantic storm →Hurricane Dolly (1954)

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