Hurricane Gracie (1959)

Track map, landfall & timeline · Atlantic · September 20 – October 2, 1959

Peak wind
132 mph
213 km/h · Sep 29
Peak category
Cat 4
Saffir–Simpson
Lowest pressure
951 mb
Landfalls
1
South Carolina
Lifetime
12.0 d
Sep 20 – Oct 2
Distance
3,136 mi
5,045 km
ACE
16.6
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 Gracie

Hurricane Gracie (1959) was a Category 4 hurricane of the 1959 Atlantic season. It formed on September 20, 1959, 84 mi N of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, reached its peak of 132 mph (213 km/h) and a minimum pressure of 951 mb on September 29, 1959, and made landfall 16 mi ENE of Beaufort, South Carolina on September 29, 1959 as a Category 4 hurricane (132 mph). It rapidly intensified by 40 mph in 24 hours (to 75 mph on September 22, 1959). The storm lasted 12.0 days and travelled about 3,136 miles (5,045 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
September 29, 1959 · 17:00 UTC16 mi ENE of Beaufort, South CarolinaCat 4 132 mph951 mb

Closest approach to major cities

CityDistance to centerWhen (UTC)Storm strength then
Santiago de los Caballeros, Dominican Republic42 miSep 20 · 22:00 UTCTD 29 mph
Port-de-Paix, Haiti32 miSep 21 · 07:00 UTCTD 35 mph
Savannah, Georgia41 miSep 29 · 18:00 UTCCat 4 132 mph
Charlotte, North Carolina31 miSep 30 · 08:00 UTCTS 48 mph
Meads, Kentucky68 miSep 30 · 19:00 UTCTD 34 mph
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania23 miOct 1 · 04:00 UTCTD 29 mph
Springfield, Massachusetts49 miOct 1 · 22:00 UTCTD 29 mph
Worcester, Massachusetts45 miOct 2 · 00:00 UTCTD 29 mph
Boston, Massachusetts41 miOct 2 · 01:00 UTCTD 29 mph
South Boston, Massachusetts43 miOct 2 · 01:00 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 50 positions

Date · UTCStatusWindPressurePositionNearest place
Sep 20 12:00TD 29 mph1009 mb19.8°N 68.3°W84 mi N of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
Sep 20 18:00TD 29 mph1008 mb19.9°N 69.6°W39 mi NNE of Nagua, Dominican Republic
Sep 21 00:00TD 29 mph—20.1°N 71.0°W29 mi NW of Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic
Sep 21 06:00TD 35 mph—20.3°N 72.4°W37 mi NE of Port-de-Paix, Haiti
Sep 21 12:00TD 35 mph1011 mb20.6°N 73.7°W38 mi NE of Maisí, Guantánamo Province, Cuba
Sep 21 18:00TD 35 mph1009 mb21.2°N 74.1°W64 mi NNE of Baracoa, Guantánamo Province, Cuba
Sep 22 00:00TS 40 mph—21.8°N 74.1°W96 mi NE of Moa, Holguín Province, Cuba
Sep 22 06:00TS 52 mph—22.2°N 73.6°W91 mi WNW of Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Islands
Sep 22 12:00TS 63 mph—22.6°N 73.2°W83 mi NW of Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Islands
Sep 22 18:00Cat 1 75 mph997 mb23.2°N 73.0°W109 mi NNW of Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Islands
Sep 23 00:00Cat 1 75 mph1000 mb23.9°N 73.0°W154 mi NNW of Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Islands
Sep 23 06:00Cat 1 75 mph1002 mb24.4°N 73.2°Wopen ocean
Sep 23 12:00Cat 1 75 mph—24.9°N 73.5°Wopen ocean
Sep 23 18:00TS 69 mph—25.4°N 74.0°Wopen ocean
Sep 24 00:00TS 63 mph1001 mb25.8°N 74.6°W179 mi ENE of Nassau, Bahamas
Sep 24 06:00TS 63 mph—26.2°N 75.1°W160 mi ENE of Nassau, Bahamas
Sep 24 12:00TS 63 mph1000 mb26.5°N 75.4°W157 mi NE of Nassau, Bahamas
Sep 24 18:00TS 58 mph—26.9°N 75.5°W171 mi NE of Nassau, Bahamas
Sep 25 00:00TS 52 mph1004 mb27.4°N 75.4°Wopen ocean
Sep 25 06:00TS 52 mph1000 mb27.7°N 75.2°Wopen ocean
Sep 25 12:00TS 58 mph—27.9°N 75.0°Wopen ocean
Sep 25 18:00TS 58 mph997 mb28.0°N 74.8°Wopen ocean
Sep 26 00:00TS 52 mph1000 mb27.8°N 74.5°Wopen ocean
Sep 26 06:00TS 58 mph—27.8°N 74.1°Wopen ocean
Sep 26 12:00TS 63 mph—27.8°N 73.5°Wopen ocean
Sep 26 18:00TS 69 mph—27.9°N 73.0°Wopen ocean
Sep 27 00:00TS 69 mph997 mb28.0°N 73.0°Wopen ocean
Sep 27 06:00Cat 1 75 mph—28.2°N 73.5°Wopen ocean
Sep 27 12:00Cat 1 75 mph—28.4°N 74.0°Wopen ocean
Sep 27 18:00Cat 1 81 mph—28.5°N 74.5°Wopen ocean
Sep 28 00:00Cat 1 86 mph981 mb28.5°N 75.0°Wopen ocean
Sep 28 06:00Cat 1 92 mph979 mb28.7°N 75.5°Wopen ocean
Sep 28 12:00Cat 2 104 mph—28.9°N 76.3°Wopen ocean
Sep 28 18:00Cat 3 121 mph964 mb29.4°N 77.1°Wopen ocean
Sep 29 00:00Cat 3 127 mph957 mb30.0°N 78.1°W184 mi ENE of Daytona Beach, Florida
Sep 29 06:00Cat 4 132 mph951 mb30.6°N 79.1°W138 mi E of Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida
Sep 29 12:00Cat 4 132 mph—31.6°N 79.8°W69 mi SE of Hilton Head Island, South Carolina
Sep 29 17:00Cat 4 LANDFALL 132 mph951 mb32.5°N 80.4°W16 mi ENE of Beaufort, South Carolina
Sep 29 18:00Cat 4 132 mph951 mb32.5°N 80.6°Wnear Beaufort, South Carolina
Sep 30 00:00Cat 1 75 mph—33.7°N 80.9°W15 mi N of Orangeburg, South Carolina
Sep 30 06:00TS 52 mph—34.8°N 81.3°W18 mi WSW of Rock Hill, South Carolina
Sep 30 12:00TS 40 mph—36.0°N 81.6°Wnear Lenoir, North Carolina
Sep 30 18:00TD extratropical35 mph—37.7°N 81.7°W28 mi W of Beckley, West Virginia
Oct 1 00:00TD extratropical29 mph—39.3°N 81.0°W26 mi ESE of Marietta, Ohio
Oct 1 06:00TD extratropical29 mph—40.6°N 79.1°Wnear Indiana, Pennsylvania
Oct 1 12:00TD extratropical29 mph—41.7°N 77.0°W29 mi SSW of Elmira, New York
Oct 1 18:00TD extratropical29 mph—42.5°N 74.8°W14 mi ENE of Oneonta, New York
Oct 2 00:00TD extratropical29 mph—42.9°N 72.0°W14 mi E of Keene, New Hampshire
Oct 2 06:00TD extratropical29 mph—43.0°N 68.0°W117 mi ESE of Brunswick, Maine
Oct 2 12:00TD extratropical29 mph—43.0°N 63.4°W114 mi S of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada

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

Questions

Frequently asked questions

When and where did Gracie make landfall?

Gracie made landfall once: 16 mi ENE of Beaufort, South Carolina on September 29, 1959 at 17:00 UTC, as a Category 4 hurricane with 132 mph winds.

What category was Gracie?

At its peak on September 29, 1959, Gracie was a Category 4 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 132 mph (213 km/h) and a central pressure of 951 mb. At its first landfall it was a Category 4 hurricane.

How long did Gracie last?

12.0 days, from September 20, 1959 to October 2, 1959, including 96 hours at hurricane strength (30 as a major hurricane). It travelled about 3,136 miles.

Where can I download the track data for Gracie?

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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