Hurricane Debra (1959)

Track map, landfall & timeline · Atlantic · July 22–27, 1959

Peak wind
86 mph
139 km/h · Jul 25
Peak category
Cat 1
Saffir–Simpson
Lowest pressure
980 mb
Landfalls
1
Texas
Lifetime
5.0 d
Jul 22 – Jul 27
Distance
879 mi
1,415 km
ACE
3.0
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 Debra

Hurricane Debra (1959) was a Category 1 hurricane of the 1959 Atlantic season. It formed on July 22, 1959, 148 mi SSW of Houma, Louisiana, reached its peak of 86 mph (139 km/h) and a minimum pressure of 980 mb on July 25, 1959, and made landfall 15 mi ENE of Lake Jackson, Texas on July 25, 1959 as a Category 1 hurricane (86 mph). It rapidly intensified by 40 mph in 24 hours (to 75 mph on July 24, 1959). The storm lasted 5.0 days and travelled about 879 miles (1,415 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)WhereStrengthPressure
July 25, 1959 · 05:00 UTC15 mi ENE of Lake Jackson, TexasCat 1 86 mph980 mb

Closest approach to major cities

CityDistance to centerWhen (UTC)Storm strength then
Pasadena, Texasdirect hitJul 25 · 14:00 UTCTS 61 mph
Houston, Texas16 miJul 25 · 15:00 UTCTS 60 mph
Cypress, Texas36 miJul 25 · 18:00 UTCTS 58 mph
Mesquite, Texas61 miJul 26 · 17:00 UTCTD 30 mph
Dallas, Texas72 miJul 26 · 19:00 UTCTD 29 mph
Garland, Texas60 miJul 26 · 19:00 UTCTD 29 mph
Plano, Texas59 miJul 26 · 20:00 UTCTD 29 mph
McKinney, Texas50 miJul 26 · 21:00 UTCTD 29 mph
Frisco, Texas62 miJul 26 · 21:00 UTCTD 29 mph
Oklahoma City, Oklahomadirect hitJul 27 · 09:00 UTCTD 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 22 positions

Date · UTCStatusWindPressurePositionNearest place
Jul 22 18:00TD 29 mph—27.5°N 91.2°W148 mi SSW of Houma, Louisiana
Jul 23 00:00TD 29 mph—27.6°N 91.7°W150 mi SSW of Houma, Louisiana
Jul 23 06:00TD 35 mph—27.9°N 92.3°W141 mi SSW of Morgan City, Louisiana
Jul 23 12:00TD 35 mph—28.2°N 92.9°W132 mi SSE of Port Arthur, Texas
Jul 23 18:00TD 35 mph—28.5°N 93.5°W96 mi SE of Galveston, Texas
Jul 24 00:00TS 40 mph—28.5°N 94.1°W70 mi SE of Galveston, Texas
Jul 24 06:00TS 58 mph—28.3°N 94.6°W65 mi SE of Freeport, Texas
Jul 24 12:00Cat 1 75 mph—28.3°N 95.0°W50 mi SSE of Freeport, Texas
Jul 24 18:00Cat 1 75 mph985 mb28.4°N 95.2°W40 mi SSE of Freeport, Texas
Jul 25 00:00Cat 1 81 mph984 mb28.7°N 95.2°W20 mi SSE of Freeport, Texas
Jul 25 05:00Cat 1 LANDFALL 86 mph980 mb29.1°N 95.2°W15 mi ENE of Lake Jackson, Texas
Jul 25 06:00Cat 1 86 mph980 mb29.2°N 95.2°W14 mi E of Angleton, Texas
Jul 25 12:00TS 63 mph986 mb29.5°N 95.1°Wnear League City, Texas
Jul 25 18:00TS 58 mph—30.0°N 95.1°Wnear Atascocita, Texas
Jul 26 00:00TS 46 mph—30.6°N 95.1°W29 mi NE of Conroe, Texas
Jul 26 06:00TD 35 mph—31.3°N 95.2°W28 mi W of Lufkin, Texas
Jul 26 12:00TD 35 mph—32.1°N 95.4°W12 mi NW of Jacksonville, Texas
Jul 26 18:00TD 29 mph—33.1°N 95.6°Wnear Sulphur Springs, Texas
Jul 27 00:00TD 29 mph—34.1°N 96.2°W12 mi NE of Durant, Oklahoma
Jul 27 06:00TD 29 mph—35.0°N 97.1°W25 mi SE of Norman, Oklahoma
Jul 27 12:00TD 29 mph—35.8°N 98.0°W19 mi N of El Reno, Oklahoma
Jul 27 18:00TD 29 mph—36.2°N 98.8°W37 mi ESE of Woodward, Oklahoma

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

Questions

Frequently asked questions

When and where did Debra make landfall?

Debra made landfall once: 15 mi ENE of Lake Jackson, Texas on July 25, 1959 at 05:00 UTC, as a Category 1 hurricane with 86 mph winds.

What category was Debra?

At its peak on July 25, 1959, Debra was a Category 1 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 86 mph (139 km/h) and a central pressure of 980 mb. At its first landfall it was a Category 1 hurricane.

How long did Debra last?

5.0 days, from July 22, 1959 to July 27, 1959, including 24 hours at hurricane strength. It travelled about 879 miles.

Where can I download the track data for Debra?

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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