Hurricane Gloria (1985)

Track map, landfall & timeline · Atlantic · September 16 – October 2, 1985

Peak wind

144 mph

232 km/h · Sep 25

Peak category

Cat 4

Saffir–Simpson

Lowest pressure

920 mb

Landfalls

North Carolina · New York

Lifetime

15.5 d

Sep 16 – Oct 2

Distance

6,917 mi

11,129 km

ACE

22.0

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 Gloria

Hurricane Gloria (1985) was a Category 4 hurricane of the 1985 Atlantic season. It formed on September 16, 1985, 113 mi S of Praia, Cabo Verde, reached its peak of 144 mph (232 km/h) and a minimum pressure of 920 mb on September 25, 1985, and made landfall 2 times — first at 35.2°N, 75.6°W on September 27, 1985 as a Category 2 hurricane (104 mph). Later landfalls: near Lindenhurst, New York on September 27, 1985 as a Category 1 hurricane (86 mph). It rapidly intensified by 40 mph in 24 hours (to 115 mph on September 24, 1985). The storm lasted 15.5 days and travelled about 6,917 miles (11,129 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
September 27, 1985 · 06:00 UTC	at 35.2°N, 75.6°W	Cat 2 104 mph	942 mb
September 27, 1985 · 16:00 UTC	near Lindenhurst, New York	Cat 1 86 mph	961 mb

Closest approach to major cities

City	Distance to center	When (UTC)	Storm strength then
Virginia Beach, Virginia	52 mi	Sep 27 · 08:00 UTC	Cat 2 102 mph
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	74 mi	Sep 27 · 14:00 UTC	Cat 1 92 mph
New York City, New York	38 mi	Sep 27 · 16:00 UTC	Cat 1 86 mph
Brooklyn, New York	34 mi	Sep 27 · 16:00 UTC	Cat 1 86 mph
Queens, New York	29 mi	Sep 27 · 16:00 UTC	Cat 1 86 mph
Manhattan, New York	37 mi	Sep 27 · 16:00 UTC	Cat 1 86 mph
The Bronx, New York	34 mi	Sep 27 · 16:00 UTC	Cat 1 86 mph
Staten Island, New York	44 mi	Sep 27 · 16:00 UTC	Cat 1 86 mph
South Boston, Massachusetts	67 mi	Sep 27 · 19:00 UTC	Cat 1 82 mph
Boston, Massachusetts	66 mi	Sep 27 · 20:00 UTC	Cat 1 77 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 65 positions

Date · UTC	Status	Wind	Pressure	Position	Nearest place
Sep 16 12:00	TD	29 mph	1009 mb	13.3°N 23.6°W	113 mi S of Praia, Cabo Verde
Sep 16 18:00	TD	29 mph	1008 mb	13.8°N 24.8°W	78 mi SSW of São Filipe, Cabo Verde
Sep 17 00:00	TD	35 mph	1008 mb	14.1°N 25.9°W	109 mi WSW of São Filipe, Cabo Verde
Sep 17 06:00	TD	35 mph	1008 mb	14.3°N 27.1°W	179 mi WSW of São Filipe, Cabo Verde
Sep 17 12:00	TS	40 mph	1007 mb	14.6°N 28.3°W	open ocean
Sep 17 18:00	TS	40 mph	1007 mb	14.7°N 29.6°W	open ocean
Sep 18 00:00	TS	40 mph	1006 mb	14.9°N 31.7°W	open ocean
Sep 18 06:00	TS	40 mph	1006 mb	15.0°N 33.8°W	open ocean
Sep 18 12:00	TS	40 mph	1006 mb	15.1°N 35.9°W	open ocean
Sep 18 18:00	TD	35 mph	1006 mb	15.4°N 38.1°W	open ocean
Sep 19 00:00	TD	35 mph	1006 mb	15.8°N 39.5°W	open ocean
Sep 19 06:00	TD	35 mph	1006 mb	16.2°N 40.9°W	open ocean
Sep 19 12:00	TD	35 mph	1006 mb	16.6°N 42.2°W	open ocean
Sep 19 18:00	TD	35 mph	1006 mb	17.0°N 43.8°W	open ocean
Sep 20 00:00	TS	40 mph	1005 mb	17.2°N 45.1°W	open ocean
Sep 20 06:00	TS	46 mph	1004 mb	17.4°N 46.7°W	open ocean
Sep 20 12:00	TS	52 mph	1003 mb	17.5°N 48.1°W	open ocean
Sep 20 18:00	TS	52 mph	1002 mb	17.6°N 49.8°W	open ocean
Sep 21 00:00	TS	58 mph	1001 mb	17.7°N 51.2°W	open ocean
Sep 21 06:00	TS	63 mph	1001 mb	17.7°N 52.8°W	open ocean
Sep 21 12:00	TS	69 mph	1000 mb	17.7°N 54.2°W	open ocean
Sep 21 18:00	Cat 1	75 mph	1000 mb	17.7°N 55.3°W	open ocean
Sep 22 00:00	Cat 1	75 mph	1000 mb	17.8°N 56.3°W	open ocean
Sep 22 06:00	Cat 1	81 mph	996 mb	17.8°N 57.1°W	open ocean
Sep 22 12:00	Cat 1	81 mph	992 mb	17.8°N 58.2°W	open ocean
Sep 22 18:00	Cat 1	75 mph	990 mb	18.4°N 59.0°W	open ocean
Sep 23 00:00	Cat 1	75 mph	990 mb	19.0°N 60.2°W	169 mi NE of Saint John’s, Antigua and Barbuda
Sep 23 06:00	Cat 1	75 mph	989 mb	19.7°N 61.5°W	180 mi N of Saint John’s, Antigua and Barbuda
Sep 23 12:00	Cat 1	75 mph	987 mb	20.4°N 62.9°W	open ocean
Sep 23 18:00	Cat 1	86 mph	980 mb	21.0°N 64.2°W	open ocean
Sep 24 00:00	Cat 2	109 mph	956 mb	21.5°N 65.5°W	open ocean
Sep 24 06:00	Cat 3	115 mph	952 mb	21.9°N 66.8°W	open ocean
Sep 24 12:00	Cat 3	115 mph	950 mb	22.5°N 67.9°W	open ocean
Sep 24 18:00	Cat 3	121 mph	935 mb	23.2°N 69.0°W	open ocean
Sep 25 00:00	Cat 4	138 mph	920 mb	24.2°N 70.0°W	open ocean
Sep 25 06:00	Cat 4	144 mph	920 mb	25.1°N 70.9°W	open ocean
Sep 25 12:00	Cat 4	132 mph	926 mb	26.1°N 72.0°W	open ocean
Sep 25 18:00	Cat 2	109 mph	933 mb	26.9°N 73.0°W	open ocean
Sep 26 00:00	Cat 2	98 mph	940 mb	27.8°N 74.0°W	open ocean
Sep 26 06:00	Cat 1	92 mph	944 mb	28.9°N 75.0°W	open ocean
Sep 26 12:00	Cat 1	92 mph	946 mb	30.0°N 75.5°W	open ocean
Sep 26 18:00	Cat 2	98 mph	944 mb	31.4°N 76.2°W	open ocean
Sep 27 00:00	Cat 2	104 mph	942 mb	33.2°N 76.0°W	126 mi ESE of Masonboro, North Carolina
Sep 27 06:00	Cat 2 LANDFALL	104 mph	942 mb	35.2°N 75.6°W	77 mi ENE of Havelock, North Carolina
Sep 27 06:00	Cat 2	104 mph	942 mb	35.5°N 75.5°W	69 mi SE of Elizabeth City, North Carolina
Sep 27 12:00	Cat 2	98 mph	951 mb	38.4°N 74.5°W	36 mi E of Ocean Pines, Maryland
Sep 27 16:00	Cat 1 LANDFALL	86 mph	961 mb	40.6°N 73.3°W	near Lindenhurst, New York
Sep 27 18:00	Cat 1	86 mph	964 mb	41.9°N 72.8°W	near Bloomfield, Connecticut
Sep 28 00:00	TS extratropical	58 mph	986 mb	45.5°N 70.0°W	53 mi SE of Saint-Georges, Quebec, Canada
Sep 28 06:00	TS extratropical	58 mph	987 mb	48.1°N 67.8°W	41 mi SE of Rimouski, Quebec, Canada
Sep 28 12:00	TS extratropical	58 mph	987 mb	49.5°N 64.5°W	46 mi N of Gaspé, Quebec, Canada
Sep 28 18:00	TS extratropical	58 mph	987 mb	50.8°N 61.2°W	open ocean
Sep 29 00:00	TS extratropical	58 mph	990 mb	51.5°N 57.5°W	177 mi N of Corner Brook, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada
Sep 29 06:00	TS extratropical	58 mph	990 mb	52.1°N 53.8°W	open ocean
Sep 29 12:00	TS extratropical	58 mph	990 mb	52.4°N 50.0°W	open ocean
Sep 29 18:00	TS extratropical	58 mph	990 mb	52.5°N 47.5°W	open ocean
Sep 30 00:00	TS extratropical	58 mph	990 mb	52.5°N 45.0°W	open ocean
Sep 30 06:00	TS extratropical	58 mph	990 mb	52.5°N 42.5°W	open ocean
Sep 30 12:00	TS extratropical	58 mph	990 mb	52.5°N 40.0°W	open ocean
Sep 30 18:00	TS extratropical	58 mph	990 mb	52.9°N 37.9°W	open ocean
Oct 1 00:00	TS extratropical	58 mph	990 mb	53.3°N 35.9°W	open ocean
Oct 1 06:00	TS extratropical	58 mph	990 mb	53.8°N 34.0°W	open ocean
Oct 1 12:00	TS extratropical	58 mph	990 mb	54.5°N 32.0°W	open ocean
Oct 1 18:00	TS extratropical	58 mph	990 mb	55.5°N 30.0°W	open ocean
Oct 2 00:00	TS extratropical	58 mph	960 mb	56.6°N 29.0°W	open ocean

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

Questions

Frequently asked questions

When and where did Gloria make landfall?

Gloria made landfall 2 times: at 35.2°N, 75.6°W on September 27, 1985 at 06:00 UTC, as a Category 2 hurricane with 104 mph winds; near Lindenhurst, New York on September 27, 1985 at 16:00 UTC, as a Category 1 hurricane with 86 mph winds.

What category was Gloria?

At its peak on September 25, 1985, Gloria was a Category 4 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 144 mph (232 km/h) and a central pressure of 920 mb. At its first landfall it was a Category 2 hurricane.

How long did Gloria last?

15.5 days, from September 16, 1985 to October 2, 1985, including 150 hours at hurricane strength (36 as a major hurricane). It travelled about 6,917 miles.

Where can I download the track data for Gloria?

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 Gloria

Year	Storm	Peak	Landfall
1976	Hurricane Gloria Atlantic	Cat 2 104 mph	—	→
1979	Hurricane Gloria Atlantic	Cat 2 98 mph	—	→
1985	Hurricane Gloria · this page Atlantic	Cat 4 144 mph	North Carolina, New York

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

Strongest storms of 1985

Year	Storm	Peak	Landfall
1985	Hurricane Rick Eastern Pacific	Cat 4 144 mph	—	→
1985	Hurricane Ignacio Eastern Pacific	Cat 4 132 mph	—	→
1985	Hurricane Jimena Eastern Pacific	Cat 4 132 mph	—	→
1985	Hurricane Elena Atlantic	Cat 3 127 mph	Mississippi	→
1985	Hurricane Sandra Eastern Pacific	Cat 3 127 mph	—	→
1985	Hurricane Kate Atlantic	Cat 3 121 mph	Florida	→
1985	Hurricane Blanca Eastern Pacific	Cat 3 121 mph	—	→
1985	Hurricane Dolores Eastern Pacific	Cat 3 115 mph	—	→

See every 1985 storm on one map →

Background reading: Hurricane Gloria on Wikipedia.

← Previous Atlantic stormHurricane Elena (1985)Next Atlantic storm →Tropical Storm Henri (1985)

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