Hurricane Ethel (1960)

Track map, landfall & timeline · Atlantic · September 12–17, 1960

Peak wind

115 mph

185 km/h · Sep 14

Peak category

Cat 3

Saffir–Simpson

Lowest pressure

974 mb

Landfalls

Mississippi

Lifetime

5.0 d

Sep 12 – Sep 17

Distance

1,146 mi

1,844 km

ACE

5.6

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 Ethel

Hurricane Ethel (1960) was a Category 3 hurricane of the 1960 Atlantic season. It formed on September 12, 1960, 212 mi WNW of Hunucmá, Yucatán, Mexico, reached its peak of 115 mph (185 km/h) and a minimum pressure of 974 mb on September 14, 1960, and made landfall near West Gulfport, Mississippi on September 15, 1960 as a Category 1 hurricane (81 mph). It rapidly intensified by 69 mph in 24 hours (to 115 mph on September 14, 1960). The storm lasted 5.0 days and travelled about 1,146 miles (1,844 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 15, 1960 · 21:00 UTC	near West Gulfport, Mississippi	Cat 1 81 mph	980 mb

Closest approach to major cities

City	Distance to center	When (UTC)	Storm strength then
Mobile, Alabama	60 mi	Sep 15 · 20:00 UTC	Cat 1 81 mph
New Orleans, Louisiana	71 mi	Sep 15 · 21:00 UTC	Cat 1 81 mph
Tuscaloosa, Alabama	58 mi	Sep 16 · 21:00 UTC	TD 29 mph
Murfreesboro, Tennessee	48 mi	Sep 17 · 14:00 UTC	TD 23 mph
Nashville, Tennessee	17 mi	Sep 17 · 15:00 UTC	TD 23 mph
Clarksville, Tennessee	24 mi	Sep 17 · 15:00 UTC	TD 23 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 · UTC	Status	Wind	Pressure	Position	Nearest place
Sep 12 18:00	TD	29 mph	—	22.0°N 93.0°W	open ocean
Sep 13 00:00	TD	29 mph	—	22.3°N 92.7°W	open ocean
Sep 13 06:00	TD	35 mph	—	22.4°N 92.4°W	open ocean
Sep 13 12:00	TS	40 mph	—	22.6°N 92.1°W	181 mi WNW of Progreso, Yucatán, Mexico
Sep 13 18:00	TS	46 mph	—	22.8°N 91.9°W	178 mi NW of Progreso, Yucatán, Mexico
Sep 14 00:00	TS	52 mph	—	23.1°N 91.7°W	181 mi NW of Progreso, Yucatán, Mexico
Sep 14 06:00	TS	69 mph	—	23.4°N 91.3°W	180 mi NW of Progreso, Yucatán, Mexico
Sep 14 12:00	Cat 1	92 mph	—	23.9°N 90.8°W	open ocean
Sep 14 18:00	Cat 3	115 mph	974 mb	25.6°N 90.0°W	open ocean
Sep 15 00:00	Cat 3	115 mph	976 mb	27.1°N 89.2°W	open ocean
Sep 15 06:00	Cat 1	92 mph	981 mb	28.4°N 88.8°W	132 mi SE of New Orleans, Louisiana
Sep 15 12:00	Cat 1	86 mph	985 mb	29.4°N 88.7°W	67 mi S of Pascagoula, Mississippi
Sep 15 18:00	Cat 1	81 mph	984 mb	30.1°N 88.8°W	21 mi SSE of Biloxi, Mississippi
Sep 15 21:00	Cat 1 LANDFALL	81 mph	980 mb	30.4°N 89.0°W	near West Gulfport, Mississippi
Sep 16 00:00	TS	63 mph	—	30.6°N 89.1°W	14 mi N of West Gulfport, Mississippi
Sep 16 06:00	TS	46 mph	—	31.2°N 89.0°W	19 mi ESE of Hattiesburg, Mississippi
Sep 16 12:00	TD	35 mph	1007 mb	32.0°N 88.9°W	25 mi NNE of Laurel, Mississippi
Sep 16 18:00	TD	29 mph	1010 mb	32.9°N 88.7°W	37 mi N of Meridian, Mississippi
Sep 17 00:00	TD	29 mph	1011 mb	33.9°N 88.4°W	25 mi NE of West Point, Mississippi
Sep 17 06:00	TD	23 mph	1012 mb	34.9°N 88.0°W	20 mi WNW of Florence, Alabama
Sep 17 12:00	TD	23 mph	1013 mb	35.9°N 87.4°W	12 mi S of Dickson, Tennessee
Sep 17 18:00	TD	23 mph	1015 mb	36.8°N 86.6°W	16 mi SSW of Bowling Green, Kentucky

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

Questions

Frequently asked questions

When and where did Ethel make landfall?

Ethel made landfall once: near West Gulfport, Mississippi on September 15, 1960 at 21:00 UTC, as a Category 1 hurricane with 81 mph winds.

What category was Ethel?

At its peak on September 14, 1960, Ethel was a Category 3 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 115 mph (185 km/h) and a central pressure of 974 mb. At its first landfall it was a Category 1 hurricane.

How long did Ethel last?

5.0 days, from September 12, 1960 to September 17, 1960, including 36 hours at hurricane strength (12 as a major hurricane). It travelled about 1,146 miles.

Where can I download the track data for Ethel?

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 Ethel

Year	Storm	Peak	Landfall
1956	Tropical Storm Ethel Atlantic	TS 58 mph	—
1960	Hurricane Ethel · this page Atlantic	Cat 3 115 mph	Mississippi
1964	Hurricane Ethel Atlantic	Cat 2 104 mph	—	→

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

Strongest storms of 1960

Year	Storm	Peak	Landfall
1960	Hurricane Donna Atlantic	Cat 4 144 mph	Florida, Antigua and Barbuda	→
1960	Hurricane Cleo Atlantic	Cat 1 86 mph	—	→
1960	Hurricane Celeste Eastern Pacific	Cat 1 86 mph	—	→
1960	Hurricane Diana Eastern Pacific	Cat 1 86 mph	—	→
1960	Hurricane Estelle Eastern Pacific	Cat 1 86 mph	—	→
1960	Hurricane Fernanda Eastern Pacific	Cat 1 86 mph	—	→
1960	Hurricane Hyacinth Eastern Pacific	Cat 1 86 mph	—	→
1960	Hurricane Abby Atlantic	Cat 1 81 mph	Honduras, Belize	→

See every 1960 storm on one map →

Background reading: Hurricane Ethel on Wikipedia.

← Previous Atlantic stormHurricane Donna (1960)Next Atlantic storm →Tropical Storm Florence (1960)

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