Hurricane Gladys (1968)

Track map, landfall & timeline · Atlantic · October 13–21, 1968

Peak wind

98 mph

157 km/h · Oct 19

Peak category

Cat 2

Saffir–Simpson

Lowest pressure

977 mb

Landfalls

Florida · Pinar del Río, Cuba

Lifetime

8.3 d

Oct 13 – Oct 21

Distance

2,852 mi

4,589 km

ACE

10.2

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 Gladys

Hurricane Gladys (1968) was a Category 2 hurricane of the 1968 Atlantic season. It formed on October 13, 1968, 127 mi NE of San Andrés, Colombia, reached its peak of 98 mph (157 km/h) and a minimum pressure of 977 mb on October 19, 1968, and made landfall 2 times — first 24 mi SE of Pinar del Río, Pinar del Río, Cuba on October 16, 1968 as a tropical storm (63 mph). Later landfalls: 10 mi SW of Homosassa Springs, Florida on October 19, 1968 as a Category 2 hurricane (98 mph). The storm lasted 8.3 days and travelled about 2,852 miles (4,589 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
October 16, 1968 · 15:00 UTC	24 mi SE of Pinar del Río, Pinar del Río, Cuba	TS 63 mph	994 mb
October 19, 1968 · 04:00 UTC	10 mi SW of Homosassa Springs, Florida	Cat 2 98 mph	978 mb

Closest approach to major cities

City	Distance to center	When (UTC)	Storm strength then
Havana, Havana, Cuba	59 mi	Oct 16 · 19:00 UTC	TS 64 mph
St. Petersburg, Florida	44 mi	Oct 18 · 23:00 UTC	Cat 2 97 mph
Clearwater, Florida	29 mi	Oct 19 · 00:00 UTC	Cat 2 98 mph
Tampa, Florida	45 mi	Oct 19 · 01:00 UTC	Cat 2 98 mph
Orlando, Florida	59 mi	Oct 19 · 08:00 UTC	Cat 1 88 mph
Gainesville, Florida	37 mi	Oct 19 · 08:00 UTC	Cat 1 88 mph
Jacksonville, Florida	44 mi	Oct 19 · 11:00 UTC	Cat 1 82 mph
Charleston, South Carolina	74 mi	Oct 19 · 21:00 UTC	Cat 1 86 mph
Wilmington, North Carolina	54 mi	Oct 20 · 03:00 UTC	Cat 1 86 mph
Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada	56 mi	Oct 21 · 13:00 UTC	TS 67 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 36 positions

Date · UTC	Status	Wind	Pressure	Position	Nearest place
Oct 13 12:00	TD	29 mph	—	14.0°N 80.5°W	127 mi NE of San Andrés, Colombia
Oct 13 18:00	TD	29 mph	—	14.6°N 81.3°W	142 mi N of San Andrés, Colombia
Oct 14 00:00	TD	29 mph	—	15.6°N 82.0°W	142 mi NE of Puerto Cabezas, Nicaragua
Oct 14 06:00	TD	29 mph	—	16.5°N 82.5°W	142 mi ENE of Brus Laguna, Honduras
Oct 14 12:00	TD	35 mph	—	17.2°N 82.6°W	160 mi NE of Brus Laguna, Honduras
Oct 14 18:00	TS	40 mph	1002 mb	17.7°N 82.5°W	132 mi SW of George Town, Cayman Islands
Oct 15 00:00	TS	40 mph	1003 mb	18.3°N 82.7°W	110 mi SW of George Town, Cayman Islands
Oct 15 06:00	TS	46 mph	—	18.9°N 83.0°W	109 mi WSW of George Town, Cayman Islands
Oct 15 12:00	TS	52 mph	999 mb	19.4°N 83.3°W	126 mi W of George Town, Cayman Islands
Oct 15 18:00	TS	58 mph	998 mb	19.9°N 83.4°W	135 mi WNW of West Bay, Cayman Islands
Oct 16 00:00	TS	63 mph	994 mb	20.5°N 83.5°W	106 mi SSW of Nueva Gerona, Isla de la Juventud, Cuba
Oct 16 06:00	TS	63 mph	—	21.1°N 83.6°W	75 mi SW of Nueva Gerona, Isla de la Juventud, Cuba
Oct 16 12:00	TS	63 mph	996 mb	21.7°N 83.5°W	51 mi SSE of Pinar del Río, Pinar del Río, Cuba
Oct 16 15:00	TS LANDFALL	63 mph	994 mb	22.2°N 83.4°W	24 mi SE of Pinar del Río, Pinar del Río, Cuba
Oct 16 18:00	TS	63 mph	—	23.0°N 83.3°W	11 mi NW of Bahía Honda, Artemisa, Cuba
Oct 17 00:00	TS	69 mph	990 mb	24.3°N 83.3°W	99 mi NW of Havana, Havana, Cuba
Oct 17 06:00	Cat 1	75 mph	—	25.1°N 83.7°W	126 mi WNW of Key West, Florida
Oct 17 12:00	Cat 1	81 mph	986 mb	25.8°N 84.0°W	130 mi SW of Englewood, Florida
Oct 17 18:00	Cat 1	81 mph	986 mb	26.3°N 84.1°W	116 mi WSW of Venice, Florida
Oct 18 00:00	Cat 1	81 mph	985 mb	26.7°N 84.2°W	112 mi WSW of Sarasota, Florida
Oct 18 06:00	Cat 1	86 mph	—	27.0°N 84.2°W	107 mi WSW of St. Petersburg, Florida
Oct 18 12:00	Cat 1	92 mph	980 mb	27.4°N 84.1°W	91 mi WSW of St. Petersburg, Florida
Oct 18 18:00	Cat 1	92 mph	—	27.8°N 83.7°W	56 mi WSW of Clearwater, Florida
Oct 19 00:00	Cat 2	98 mph	977 mb	28.3°N 83.1°W	26 mi NW of Palm Harbor, Florida
Oct 19 04:00	Cat 2 LANDFALL	98 mph	978 mb	28.7°N 82.7°W	10 mi SW of Homosassa Springs, Florida
Oct 19 06:00	Cat 1	92 mph	—	28.8°N 82.5°W	near Homosassa Springs, Florida
Oct 19 12:00	Cat 1	81 mph	987 mb	30.0°N 81.0°W	20 mi ENE of Saint Augustine, Florida
Oct 19 18:00	Cat 1	86 mph	981 mb	31.3°N 79.7°W	87 mi SE of Hilton Head Island, South Carolina
Oct 20 00:00	Cat 1	86 mph	—	32.9°N 78.2°W	67 mi SE of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
Oct 20 06:00	Cat 1	86 mph	985 mb	34.3°N 76.6°W	44 mi SSE of Havelock, North Carolina
Oct 20 12:00	Cat 1	81 mph	983 mb	35.5°N 74.6°W	108 mi ESE of Elizabeth City, North Carolina
Oct 20 18:00	Cat 1 extratropical	81 mph	981 mb	37.0°N 72.0°W	open ocean
Oct 21 00:00	Cat 1 extratropical	75 mph	—	38.6°N 68.3°W	open ocean
Oct 21 06:00	Cat 1 extratropical	75 mph	—	40.7°N 64.9°W	open ocean
Oct 21 12:00	TS extratropical	69 mph	—	43.9°N 62.9°W	61 mi SSE of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
Oct 21 18:00	TS extratropical	58 mph	—	46.0°N 61.0°W	40 mi WSW of Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada

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

Questions

Frequently asked questions

When and where did Gladys make landfall?

Gladys made landfall 2 times: 24 mi SE of Pinar del Río, Pinar del Río, Cuba on October 16, 1968 at 15:00 UTC, as a tropical storm with 63 mph winds; 10 mi SW of Homosassa Springs, Florida on October 19, 1968 at 04:00 UTC, as a Category 2 hurricane with 98 mph winds.

What category was Gladys?

At its peak on October 19, 1968, Gladys was a Category 2 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 98 mph (157 km/h) and a central pressure of 977 mb. At its first landfall it was a tropical storm.

How long did Gladys last?

8.3 days, from October 13, 1968 to October 21, 1968, including 84 hours at hurricane strength. It travelled about 2,852 miles.

Where can I download the track data for Gladys?

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 Gladys

Year	Storm	Peak	Landfall
1955	Hurricane Gladys Atlantic	Cat 1 75 mph	Tamaulipas, Mexico	→
1964	Hurricane Gladys Atlantic	Cat 4 132 mph	—	→
1968	Hurricane Gladys · this page Atlantic	Cat 2 98 mph	Florida, Pinar del Río, Cuba
1975	Hurricane Gladys Atlantic	Cat 4 150 mph	—	→

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

Strongest storms of 1968

Year	Storm	Peak	Landfall
1968	Hurricane Dolly Atlantic	Cat 1 86 mph	—	→
1968	Hurricane Fernanda Eastern Pacific	Cat 1 86 mph	—	→
1968	Hurricane Joanne Eastern Pacific	Cat 1 86 mph	—	→
1968	Hurricane Liza Eastern Pacific	Cat 1 86 mph	—	→
1968	Hurricane Naomi Eastern Pacific	Cat 1 86 mph	—	→
1968	Hurricane Pauline Eastern Pacific	Cat 1 86 mph	—	→
1968	Hurricane Rebecca Eastern Pacific	Cat 1 86 mph	—	→
1968	Hurricane Brenda Atlantic	Cat 1 81 mph	—	→

See every 1968 storm on one map →

Background reading: Hurricane Gladys on Wikipedia.

← Previous Atlantic stormHurricane Dolly (1968)Next Atlantic storm →Hurricane Blanche (1969)

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