Hurricane Hazel (1953)

Track map, landfall & timeline · Atlantic · October 7–16, 1953

Peak wind

86 mph

139 km/h · Oct 9

Peak category

Cat 1

Saffir–Simpson

Lowest pressure

989 mb

Landfalls

Florida

Lifetime

9.3 d

Oct 7 – Oct 16

Distance

4,293 mi

6,908 km

ACE

3.2

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 Hazel

Hurricane Hazel (1953) was a Category 1 hurricane of the 1953 Atlantic season. It formed on October 7, 1953, 35 mi E of Cozumel, Quintana Roo, Mexico, reached its peak of 86 mph (139 km/h) and a minimum pressure of 989 mb on October 9, 1953, and made landfall 2 times — first 18 mi WNW of Cape Coral, Florida on October 9, 1953 as a Category 1 hurricane (86 mph). Later landfalls: 13 mi NW of Cape Coral, Florida on October 9, 1953 as a Category 1 hurricane (86 mph). It rapidly intensified by 34 mph in 24 hours (to 86 mph on October 9, 1953). The storm lasted 9.3 days and travelled about 4,293 miles (6,908 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 9, 1953 · 15:00 UTC	18 mi WNW of Cape Coral, Florida	Cat 1 86 mph	—
October 9, 1953 · 16:00 UTC	13 mi NW of Cape Coral, Florida	Cat 1 86 mph	—

Closest approach to major cities

City	Distance to center	When (UTC)	Storm strength then
Cancún, Quintana Roo, Mexico	39 mi	Oct 7 · 14:00 UTC	TD 36 mph
Cape Coral, Florida	13 mi	Oct 9 · 16:00 UTC	Cat 1 86 mph
Lakeland, Florida	73 mi	Oct 9 · 18:00 UTC	Cat 1 75 mph
Port Saint Lucie, Florida	26 mi	Oct 9 · 20:00 UTC	TS 73 mph
West Palm Beach, Florida	69 mi	Oct 9 · 20:00 UTC	TS 73 mph
Palm Bay, Florida	26 mi	Oct 9 · 21:00 UTC	TS 72 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 40 positions

Date · UTC	Status	Wind	Pressure	Position	Nearest place
Oct 7 06:00	TD	29 mph	—	20.5°N 86.4°W	35 mi E of Cozumel, Quintana Roo, Mexico
Oct 7 12:00	TD	35 mph	—	20.9°N 86.3°W	40 mi ESE of Cancún, Quintana Roo, Mexico
Oct 7 18:00	TS	40 mph	—	21.3°N 86.2°W	43 mi ENE of Cancún, Quintana Roo, Mexico
Oct 8 00:00	TS	40 mph	—	21.7°N 86.1°W	60 mi NE of Cancún, Quintana Roo, Mexico
Oct 8 06:00	TS	46 mph	—	22.2°N 86.1°W	86 mi NE of Cancún, Quintana Roo, Mexico
Oct 8 12:00	TS	52 mph	—	22.7°N 86.0°W	119 mi NNE of Cancún, Quintana Roo, Mexico
Oct 8 18:00	TS	52 mph	1002 mb	23.2°N 85.7°W	110 mi NW of Mantua, Pinar del Río, Cuba
Oct 9 00:00	TS	63 mph	—	24.1°N 85.2°W	131 mi NW of Minas de Matahambre, Pinar del Río, Cuba
Oct 9 06:00	Cat 1	75 mph	—	25.2°N 84.4°W	170 mi WNW of Key West, Florida
Oct 9 12:00	Cat 1	86 mph	—	26.2°N 83.3°W	79 mi SW of Englewood, Florida
Oct 9 15:00	Cat 1 LANDFALL	86 mph	—	26.7°N 82.2°W	18 mi WNW of Cape Coral, Florida
Oct 9 16:00	Cat 1 LANDFALL	86 mph	—	26.7°N 82.1°W	13 mi NW of Cape Coral, Florida
Oct 9 18:00	Cat 1	75 mph	—	27.1°N 81.4°W	27 mi S of Sebring, Florida
Oct 10 00:00	TS	69 mph	—	28.5°N 79.1°W	96 mi ENE of Palm Bay, Florida
Oct 10 06:00	TS	69 mph	—	30.0°N 76.2°W	open ocean
Oct 10 12:00	TS extratropical	69 mph	—	31.4°N 73.6°W	open ocean
Oct 10 18:00	TS extratropical	69 mph	989 mb	32.6°N 71.4°W	open ocean
Oct 11 00:00	TS extratropical	63 mph	—	33.8°N 69.8°W	open ocean
Oct 11 06:00	TS extratropical	58 mph	—	35.0°N 68.1°W	open ocean
Oct 11 12:00	TS extratropical	58 mph	—	36.2°N 65.5°W	open ocean
Oct 11 18:00	TS extratropical	58 mph	—	37.8°N 62.6°W	open ocean
Oct 12 00:00	TS extratropical	58 mph	—	39.3°N 59.7°W	open ocean
Oct 12 06:00	TS extratropical	58 mph	—	40.9°N 56.5°W	open ocean
Oct 12 12:00	TS extratropical	58 mph	—	43.0°N 53.0°W	open ocean
Oct 12 18:00	TS extratropical	63 mph	—	46.0°N 49.0°W	open ocean
Oct 13 00:00	TS extratropical	69 mph	—	49.0°N 45.5°W	open ocean
Oct 13 06:00	Cat 1 extratropical	75 mph	—	51.5°N 42.7°W	open ocean
Oct 13 12:00	Cat 1 extratropical	75 mph	—	53.0°N 42.0°W	open ocean
Oct 13 18:00	Cat 1 extratropical	75 mph	—	54.0°N 41.7°W	open ocean
Oct 14 00:00	Cat 1 extratropical	75 mph	—	54.9°N 41.2°W	open ocean
Oct 14 06:00	Cat 1 extratropical	75 mph	—	55.5°N 40.5°W	open ocean
Oct 14 12:00	Cat 1 extratropical	75 mph	—	56.0°N 39.5°W	open ocean
Oct 14 18:00	Cat 1 extratropical	75 mph	—	56.5°N 38.0°W	open ocean
Oct 15 00:00	Cat 1 extratropical	75 mph	—	57.0°N 36.0°W	open ocean
Oct 15 06:00	Cat 1 extratropical	75 mph	—	57.5°N 33.5°W	open ocean
Oct 15 12:00	Cat 1 extratropical	75 mph	—	58.2°N 32.0°W	open ocean
Oct 15 18:00	TS extratropical	69 mph	—	59.3°N 30.8°W	open ocean
Oct 16 00:00	TS extratropical	63 mph	—	60.8°N 30.0°W	open ocean
Oct 16 06:00	TS extratropical	58 mph	—	61.9°N 29.3°W	open ocean
Oct 16 12:00	TS extratropical	52 mph	—	62.5°N 28.1°W	open ocean

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

Questions

Frequently asked questions

When and where did Hazel make landfall?

Hazel made landfall 2 times: 18 mi WNW of Cape Coral, Florida on October 9, 1953 at 15:00 UTC, as a Category 1 hurricane with 86 mph winds; 13 mi NW of Cape Coral, Florida on October 9, 1953 at 16:00 UTC, as a Category 1 hurricane with 86 mph winds.

What category was Hazel?

At its peak on October 9, 1953, Hazel was a Category 1 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 86 mph (139 km/h) and a central pressure of 989 mb. At its first landfall it was a Category 1 hurricane.

How long did Hazel last?

9.3 days, from October 7, 1953 to October 16, 1953, including 18 hours at hurricane strength. It travelled about 4,293 miles.

Where can I download the track data for Hazel?

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 Hazel

Year	Storm	Peak	Landfall
1953	Hurricane Hazel · this page Atlantic	Cat 1 86 mph	Florida
1954	Hurricane Hazel Atlantic	Cat 4 132 mph	South Carolina, Haiti	→
1965	Tropical Storm Hazel Eastern Pacific	TS 52 mph	—

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

Strongest storms of 1953

Year	Storm	Peak	Landfall
1953	Hurricane Carol Atlantic	Cat 5 161 mph	Nova Scotia, Canada, New Brunswick, Canada	→
1953	Hurricane Edna Atlantic	Cat 3 115 mph	—	→
1953	Hurricane Florence Atlantic	Cat 3 115 mph	Florida	→
1953	Hurricane Barbara Atlantic	Cat 1 92 mph	North Carolina	→
1953	Hurricane Gail Atlantic	Cat 1 81 mph	—	→
1953	Hurricane Dolly Atlantic	Cat 1 75 mph	Bermuda	→
1953	Tropical Storm Alice Atlantic	TS 69 mph	Pinar del Río, Cuba, Florida	→

See every 1953 storm on one map →

← Previous Atlantic stormHurricane Gail (1953)Next Atlantic storm →Hurricane Alice (1954)

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