Hurricane Debbie (1961)

Track map, landfall & timeline · Atlantic · September 5–18, 1961

Peak wind

92 mph

148 km/h · Sep 11

Peak category

Cat 1

Saffir–Simpson

Lowest pressure

961 mb

Landfalls

Cabo Verde

Lifetime

13.3 d

Sep 5 – Sep 18

Distance

6,883 mi

11,074 km

ACE

17.3

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 Debbie

Hurricane Debbie (1961) was a Category 1 hurricane of the 1961 Atlantic season. It formed on September 5, 1961, 69 mi W of Serekunda, Gambia, reached its peak of 92 mph (148 km/h) and a minimum pressure of 961 mb on September 11, 1961, and made landfall near Praia, Cabo Verde on September 6, 1961 as a tropical storm (46 mph). It rapidly intensified by 40 mph in 24 hours (to 75 mph on September 7, 1961). The storm lasted 13.3 days and travelled about 6,883 miles (11,074 km).

02 · Intensity

Wind and pressure, hour by hour

Maximum sustained wind (mph) — hover or drag to scrub the map

03 · Impact

Landfall and cities in the path

Landfall (UTC)	Where	Strength	Pressure
September 6, 1961 · 13:00 UTC	near Praia, Cabo Verde	TS 46 mph	—

Closest approach to major cities

City	Distance to center	When (UTC)	Storm strength then
Serekunda, Gambia	69 mi	Sep 5 · 12:00 UTC	TD 35 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 55 positions

Date · UTC	Status	Wind	Pressure	Position	Nearest place
Sep 5 12:00	TD	35 mph	—	13.5°N 17.7°W	69 mi W of Serekunda, Gambia
Sep 5 18:00	TD	35 mph	—	14.1°N 19.3°W	131 mi WSW of Dakar, Senegal
Sep 6 00:00	TD	35 mph	—	14.6°N 20.7°W	184 mi SE of Sal Rei, Cabo Verde
Sep 6 06:00	TS	40 mph	—	14.9°N 22.0°W	101 mi E of Praia, Cabo Verde
Sep 6 12:00	TS	46 mph	—	15.0°N 23.2°W	21 mi ENE of Praia, Cabo Verde
Sep 6 13:00	TS LANDFALL	46 mph	—	15.0°N 23.4°W	near Praia, Cabo Verde
Sep 6 18:00	TS	58 mph	—	15.1°N 24.4°W	15 mi NNE of São Filipe, Cabo Verde
Sep 7 00:00	Cat 1	75 mph	—	15.2°N 25.6°W	77 mi WNW of São Filipe, Cabo Verde
Sep 7 06:00	Cat 1	81 mph	—	15.4°N 26.8°W	159 mi SW of Mindelo, Cabo Verde
Sep 7 12:00	Cat 1	81 mph	—	15.7°N 28.1°W	open ocean
Sep 7 18:00	Cat 1	81 mph	—	16.1°N 29.4°W	open ocean
Sep 8 00:00	Cat 1	81 mph	—	16.5°N 30.7°W	open ocean
Sep 8 06:00	Cat 1	81 mph	—	17.0°N 32.0°W	open ocean
Sep 8 12:00	Cat 1	81 mph	—	17.5°N 33.2°W	open ocean
Sep 8 18:00	Cat 1	81 mph	—	18.0°N 34.5°W	open ocean
Sep 9 00:00	Cat 1	81 mph	—	18.5°N 35.7°W	open ocean
Sep 9 06:00	Cat 1	81 mph	—	19.1°N 37.0°W	open ocean
Sep 9 12:00	Cat 1	81 mph	—	19.7°N 38.2°W	open ocean
Sep 9 18:00	Cat 1	81 mph	—	20.4°N 39.4°W	open ocean
Sep 10 00:00	Cat 1	81 mph	—	21.2°N 40.6°W	open ocean
Sep 10 06:00	Cat 1	81 mph	—	22.0°N 41.8°W	open ocean
Sep 10 12:00	Cat 1	86 mph	—	22.8°N 43.0°W	open ocean
Sep 10 18:00	Cat 1	86 mph	—	23.8°N 44.1°W	open ocean
Sep 11 00:00	Cat 1	86 mph	—	25.0°N 45.0°W	open ocean
Sep 11 06:00	Cat 1	86 mph	—	26.5°N 45.7°W	open ocean
Sep 11 12:00	Cat 1	92 mph	—	27.9°N 46.0°W	open ocean
Sep 11 18:00	Cat 1	92 mph	976 mb	29.2°N 46.1°W	open ocean
Sep 12 00:00	Cat 1	92 mph	—	30.4°N 46.1°W	open ocean
Sep 12 06:00	Cat 1	92 mph	—	31.5°N 46.0°W	open ocean
Sep 12 12:00	Cat 1	92 mph	975 mb	32.3°N 45.8°W	open ocean
Sep 12 18:00	Cat 1	86 mph	—	33.1°N 45.6°W	open ocean
Sep 13 00:00	Cat 1	86 mph	—	33.9°N 45.4°W	open ocean
Sep 13 06:00	Cat 1	81 mph	980 mb	34.6°N 45.0°W	open ocean
Sep 13 12:00	Cat 1	81 mph	—	35.1°N 44.2°W	open ocean
Sep 13 18:00	Cat 1	81 mph	—	35.5°N 43.0°W	open ocean
Sep 14 00:00	Cat 1	81 mph	—	35.9°N 41.3°W	open ocean
Sep 14 06:00	Cat 1	81 mph	—	36.2°N 39.4°W	open ocean
Sep 14 12:00	Cat 1	81 mph	—	36.5°N 37.0°W	open ocean
Sep 14 18:00	Cat 1	81 mph	—	37.0°N 34.4°W	open ocean
Sep 15 00:00	Cat 1 extratropical	81 mph	—	37.8°N 31.0°W	open ocean
Sep 15 06:00	Cat 1 extratropical	81 mph	—	39.5°N 26.4°W	73 mi NE of Angra do Heroísmo, Portugal
Sep 15 12:00	Cat 1 extratropical	81 mph	—	41.7°N 22.2°W	open ocean
Sep 15 18:00	Cat 1 extratropical	81 mph	—	44.6°N 18.2°W	open ocean
Sep 16 00:00	Cat 1 extratropical	81 mph	—	48.0°N 14.8°W	open ocean
Sep 16 06:00	Cat 1 extratropical	86 mph	—	51.7°N 11.6°W	90 mi WSW of Tralee, Ireland
Sep 16 12:00	Cat 1 extratropical	86 mph	961 mb	56.0°N 8.5°W	79 mi NNW of Letterkenny, Ireland
Sep 16 18:00	Cat 1 extratropical	86 mph	—	60.5°N 5.8°W	109 mi SSE of Tórshavn, Faroe Islands
Sep 17 00:00	Cat 1 extratropical	81 mph	—	64.0°N 3.0°W	181 mi NE of Tórshavn, Faroe Islands
Sep 17 06:00	Cat 1 extratropical	75 mph	—	66.0°N 0.0°E	open ocean
Sep 17 12:00	TS extratropical	63 mph	—	67.0°N 2.0°E	open ocean
Sep 17 18:00	TS extratropical	52 mph	—	67.5°N 6.0°E	open ocean
Sep 18 00:00	TS extratropical	46 mph	—	68.0°N 12.0°E	80 mi NW of Bodø, Norway
Sep 18 06:00	TS extratropical	40 mph	—	68.5°N 18.0°E	15 mi ENE of Narvik, Norway
Sep 18 12:00	TS extratropical	40 mph	—	69.0°N 25.0°E	79 mi SSE of Alta, Norway
Sep 18 18:00	TD extratropical	35 mph	—	69.5°N 33.0°E	open ocean

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

Questions

Frequently asked questions

When and where did Debbie make landfall?

Debbie made landfall once: near Praia, Cabo Verde on September 6, 1961 at 13:00 UTC, as a tropical storm with 46 mph winds.

What category was Debbie?

At its peak on September 11, 1961, Debbie was a Category 1 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 92 mph (148 km/h) and a central pressure of 961 mb. At its first landfall it was a tropical storm.

How long did Debbie last?

13.3 days, from September 5, 1961 to September 18, 1961, including 192 hours at hurricane strength. It travelled about 6,883 miles.

Where can I download the track data for Debbie?

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 Debbie

Year	Storm	Peak	Landfall
1957	Tropical Storm Debbie Atlantic	TS 40 mph	Florida	→
1961	Hurricane Debbie · this page Atlantic	Cat 1 92 mph	Cabo Verde
1965	Tropical Storm Debbie Atlantic	TS 58 mph	Louisiana	→
1969	Hurricane Debbie Atlantic	Cat 3 127 mph	—	→

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

Strongest storms of 1961

Year	Storm	Peak	Landfall
1961	Hurricane Hattie Atlantic	Cat 5 167 mph	Belize	→
1961	Hurricane Esther Atlantic	Cat 5 161 mph	Massachusetts, Maine	→
1961	Hurricane Carla Atlantic	Cat 4 144 mph	Texas	→
1961	Hurricane Betsy Atlantic	Cat 4 132 mph	—	→
1961	Hurricane Frances Atlantic	Cat 4 132 mph	Guadeloupe, Dominican Republic	→
1961	Hurricane Anna Atlantic	Cat 2 104 mph	Honduras, Belize	→
1961	Hurricane Iva Eastern Pacific	Cat 1 86 mph	—	→
1961	Hurricane Tara Eastern Pacific	Cat 1 86 mph	—	→

See every 1961 storm on one map →

Background reading: Hurricane Debbie on Wikipedia.

← Previous Atlantic stormHurricane Carla (1961)Next Atlantic storm →Hurricane Esther (1961)

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