Hurricane Celia (1970)

Track map, landfall & timeline · Atlantic · July 31 – August 5, 1970

Peak wind

138 mph

222 km/h · Aug 3

Peak category

Cat 4

Saffir–Simpson

Lowest pressure

944 mb

Landfalls

Texas · Pinar del Río, Cuba

Lifetime

5.8 d

Jul 31 – Aug 5

Distance

1,846 mi

2,971 km

ACE

8.3

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 Celia

Hurricane Celia (1970) was a Category 4 hurricane of the 1970 Atlantic season. It formed on July 31, 1970, 91 mi SW of George Town, Cayman Islands, reached its peak of 138 mph (222 km/h) and a minimum pressure of 944 mb on August 3, 1970, and made landfall 2 times — first 25 mi SSW of Guane, Pinar del Río, Cuba on August 1, 1970 as a tropical storm (40 mph). Later landfalls: near Aransas Pass, Texas on August 3, 1970 as a Category 4 hurricane (138 mph). It rapidly intensified by 52 mph in 24 hours (to 92 mph on August 2, 1970). The storm lasted 5.8 days and travelled about 1,846 miles (2,971 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 1, 1970 · 00:00 UTC	25 mi SSW of Guane, Pinar del Río, Cuba	TS 40 mph	1006 mb
August 3, 1970 · 21:00 UTC	near Aransas Pass, Texas	Cat 4 138 mph	944 mb

Closest approach to major cities

City	Distance to center	When (UTC)	Storm strength then
Corpus Christi, Texas	direct hit	Aug 3 · 22:00 UTC	Cat 3 129 mph
San Antonio, Texas	71 mi	Aug 4 · 04:00 UTC	Cat 1 86 mph
Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, Mexico	13 mi	Aug 5 · 15:00 UTC	TD 29 mph
El Paso, Texas	11 mi	Aug 5 · 15:00 UTC	TD 29 mph
Las Cruces, New Mexico	10 mi	Aug 5 · 17:00 UTC	TD 29 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 25 positions

Date · UTC	Status	Wind	Pressure	Position	Nearest place
Jul 31 00:00	TD	29 mph	1008 mb	18.5°N 82.5°W	91 mi SW of George Town, Cayman Islands
Jul 31 06:00	TD	29 mph	—	19.5°N 82.9°W	99 mi W of West Bay, Cayman Islands
Jul 31 12:00	TD	29 mph	—	20.3°N 83.3°W	114 mi SSW of Nueva Gerona, Isla de la Juventud, Cuba
Jul 31 18:00	TD	35 mph	—	21.1°N 83.8°W	79 mi SSE of Guane, Pinar del Río, Cuba
Aug 1 00:00	TS LANDFALL	40 mph	1006 mb	21.9°N 84.3°W	25 mi SSW of Guane, Pinar del Río, Cuba
Aug 1 06:00	TS	52 mph	—	22.7°N 85.0°W	54 mi WNW of Mantua, Pinar del Río, Cuba
Aug 1 12:00	TS	69 mph	993 mb	23.3°N 85.8°W	119 mi NW of Mantua, Pinar del Río, Cuba
Aug 1 18:00	Cat 1	75 mph	990 mb	23.9°N 86.5°W	179 mi NW of Mantua, Pinar del Río, Cuba
Aug 2 00:00	Cat 1	92 mph	—	24.2°N 87.2°W	open ocean
Aug 2 06:00	Cat 1	92 mph	—	24.7°N 88.3°W	open ocean
Aug 2 12:00	Cat 1	86 mph	986 mb	25.3°N 89.6°W	open ocean
Aug 2 18:00	Cat 1	86 mph	984 mb	25.7°N 90.8°W	open ocean
Aug 3 00:00	Cat 1	86 mph	983 mb	26.2°N 92.0°W	open ocean
Aug 3 06:00	Cat 1	81 mph	988 mb	26.6°N 93.5°W	open ocean
Aug 3 12:00	Cat 2	104 mph	971 mb	27.0°N 94.9°W	138 mi SSE of Freeport, Texas
Aug 3 18:00	Cat 3	127 mph	953 mb	27.5°N 96.3°W	59 mi SE of Rockport, Texas
Aug 3 21:00	Cat 4 LANDFALL	138 mph	944 mb	27.8°N 97.1°W	18 mi E of Corpus Christi, Texas
Aug 4 00:00	Cat 2	109 mph	—	28.1°N 97.8°W	21 mi S of Beeville, Texas
Aug 4 06:00	Cat 1	75 mph	977 mb	28.6°N 99.3°W	51 mi SE of Uvalde, Texas
Aug 4 12:00	TS	63 mph	—	29.1°N 100.8°W	18 mi SSE of Ciudad Acuña, Coahuila, Mexico
Aug 4 18:00	TS	40 mph	—	29.7°N 102.1°W	74 mi WNW of Ciudad Acuña, Coahuila, Mexico
Aug 5 00:00	TD	35 mph	—	30.3°N 103.3°W	84 mi NE of Manuel Ojinaga, Chihuahua, Mexico
Aug 5 06:00	TD	35 mph	—	30.9°N 104.6°W	92 mi N of Ojinaga, Chihuahua, Mexico
Aug 5 12:00	TD	29 mph	—	31.5°N 105.8°W	27 mi ESE of Horizon City, Texas
Aug 5 18:00	TD	29 mph	—	32.3°N 107.0°W	13 mi W of Las Cruces, New Mexico

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

Questions

Frequently asked questions

When and where did Celia make landfall?

Celia made landfall 2 times: 25 mi SSW of Guane, Pinar del Río, Cuba on August 1, 1970 at 00:00 UTC, as a tropical storm with 40 mph winds; near Aransas Pass, Texas on August 3, 1970 at 21:00 UTC, as a Category 4 hurricane with 138 mph winds.

What category was Celia?

At its peak on August 3, 1970, Celia was a Category 4 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 138 mph (222 km/h) and a central pressure of 944 mb. At its first landfall it was a tropical storm.

How long did Celia last?

5.8 days, from July 31, 1970 to August 5, 1970, including 66 hours at hurricane strength (6 as a major hurricane). It travelled about 1,846 miles.

Where can I download the track data for Celia?

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 Celia

Year	Storm	Peak	Landfall
1962	Tropical Storm Celia Atlantic	TS 69 mph	—
1966	Hurricane Celia Atlantic	Cat 1 75 mph	—	→
1970	Hurricane Celia · this page Atlantic	Cat 4 138 mph	Texas, Pinar del Río, Cuba
1980	Hurricane Celia Eastern Pacific	Cat 1 75 mph	—	→
1986	Hurricane Celia Eastern Pacific	Cat 1 86 mph	—	→
1992	Hurricane Celia Eastern Pacific	Cat 4 144 mph	—	→
1998	Tropical Storm Celia Eastern Pacific	TS 58 mph	—
2004	Hurricane Celia Eastern Pacific	Cat 1 86 mph	—	→
2010	Hurricane Celia Eastern Pacific	Cat 5 161 mph	—	→
2016	Hurricane Celia Eastern Pacific	Cat 2 98 mph	—	→
2022	Tropical Storm Celia Eastern Pacific	TS 58 mph	—

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

Strongest storms of 1970

Year	Storm	Peak	Landfall
1970	Hurricane Ella Atlantic	Cat 3 127 mph	Tamaulipas, Mexico, Quintana Roo, Mexico	→
1970	Hurricane Patricia Eastern Pacific	Cat 2 109 mph	—	→
1970	1970 Canada Hurricane Atlantic	Cat 2 98 mph	—	→
1970	Hurricane Francesca Eastern Pacific	Cat 2 98 mph	—	→
1970	Hurricane Lorraine Eastern Pacific	Cat 2 98 mph	—	→
1970	Hurricane Adele Eastern Pacific	Cat 1 86 mph	—	→
1970	Hurricane Dot Central Pacific	Cat 1 81 mph	—	→
1970	Hurricane Alma Atlantic	Cat 1 75 mph	—	→

See every 1970 storm on one map →

Background reading: Hurricane Celia on Wikipedia.

← Previous Atlantic stormTropical Storm Becky (1970)Next Atlantic storm →Tropical Storm Dorothy (1970)

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