Track map & timeline · Atlantic · September 5–12, 1977
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 Clara (1977) was a Category 1 hurricane of the 1977 Atlantic season. It formed on September 5, 1977, near Charleston, South Carolina, reached its peak of 75 mph (120 km/h) and a minimum pressure of 993 mb on September 8, 1977, and never made landfall. It rapidly intensified by 40 mph in 24 hours (to 75 mph on September 8, 1977). The storm lasted 6.5 days and travelled about 1,812 miles (2,915 km).
02 · Intensity
03 · Impact
| City | Distance to center | When (UTC) | Storm strength then |
|---|---|---|---|
| Charleston, South Carolina | direct hit | Sep 5 · 12:00 UTC | TD 23 mph |
| North Charleston, South Carolina | direct hit | Sep 5 · 12:00 UTC | TD 23 mph |
| Wilmington, North Carolina | 35 mi | Sep 6 · 05:00 UTC | TD 28 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 5 12:00 | TD | 23 mph | 1015 mb | 32.8°N 80.0°W | near Charleston, South Carolina |
| Sep 5 18:00 | TD | 23 mph | 1014 mb | 33.2°N 79.0°W | 34 mi S of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina |
| Sep 6 00:00 | TD | 23 mph | 1013 mb | 33.6°N 78.2°W | 31 mi ESE of North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina |
| Sep 6 06:00 | TD | 29 mph | 1012 mb | 33.8°N 77.6°W | 30 mi SSE of Masonboro, North Carolina |
| Sep 6 12:00 | TD | 29 mph | 1011 mb | 34.0°N 77.0°W | 50 mi ESE of Masonboro, North Carolina |
| Sep 6 18:00 | TD | 29 mph | 1010 mb | 34.2°N 76.4°W | 55 mi SSE of Havelock, North Carolina |
| Sep 7 00:00 | TD | 35 mph | 1010 mb | 34.4°N 75.8°W | 71 mi ESE of Havelock, North Carolina |
| Sep 7 06:00 | TD | 35 mph | 1010 mb | 34.6°N 75.0°W | 110 mi E of Havelock, North Carolina |
| Sep 7 12:00 | TD | 35 mph | 1010 mb | 34.7°N 74.3°W | 148 mi E of Havelock, North Carolina |
| Sep 7 18:00 | TD | 35 mph | 1010 mb | 34.9°N 73.0°W | open ocean |
| Sep 8 00:00 | TS | 40 mph | 1006 mb | 35.1°N 71.7°W | open ocean |
| Sep 8 06:00 | TS | 52 mph | 1001 mb | 35.3°N 69.7°W | open ocean |
| Sep 8 12:00 | Cat 1 | 75 mph | 993 mb | 35.5°N 67.7°W | open ocean |
| Sep 8 18:00 | Cat 1 | 75 mph | 994 mb | 35.6°N 66.2°W | open ocean |
| Sep 9 00:00 | Cat 1 | 75 mph | 998 mb | 35.5°N 64.6°W | open ocean |
| Sep 9 06:00 | TS | 69 mph | 1000 mb | 34.8°N 63.5°W | open ocean |
| Sep 9 12:00 | TS | 63 mph | 999 mb | 34.0°N 62.8°W | 165 mi NE of Pembroke Parish, Bermuda |
| Sep 9 18:00 | TS | 58 mph | 1001 mb | 33.4°N 62.8°W | 138 mi NE of Pembroke Parish, Bermuda |
| Sep 10 00:00 | TS | 52 mph | 1000 mb | 32.8°N 63.2°W | 99 mi ENE of Pembroke Parish, Bermuda |
| Sep 10 06:00 | TS | 46 mph | 1000 mb | 32.8°N 63.6°W | 78 mi ENE of Pembroke Parish, Bermuda |
| Sep 10 12:00 | TS | 52 mph | 1001 mb | 33.0°N 63.8°W | 75 mi NE of Pembroke Parish, Bermuda |
| Sep 10 18:00 | TS | 52 mph | 1001 mb | 33.5°N 63.7°W | 104 mi NE of Pembroke Parish, Bermuda |
| Sep 11 00:00 | TS | 52 mph | 1002 mb | 34.2°N 63.2°W | 160 mi NE of Pembroke Parish, Bermuda |
| Sep 11 06:00 | TS | 52 mph | 1002 mb | 34.8°N 62.5°W | open ocean |
| Sep 11 12:00 | TS extratropical | 52 mph | 1001 mb | 36.0°N 61.5°W | open ocean |
| Sep 11 18:00 | TS extratropical | 52 mph | 1001 mb | 38.0°N 59.8°W | open ocean |
| Sep 12 00:00 | TS extratropical | 52 mph | 1001 mb | 40.5°N 57.5°W | open ocean |
⬇ Download track data (CSV) · public-domain NOAA best track
Questions
No — the NOAA best-track record shows no landfall for Clara. Its closest approach to a major city was 4 miles from North Charleston, South Carolina.
At its peak on September 8, 1977, Clara was a Category 1 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 75 mph (120 km/h) and a central pressure of 993 mb.
6.5 days, from September 5, 1977 to September 12, 1977, including 18 hours at hurricane strength. It travelled about 1,812 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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