Hurricane Hortense (1996)

Track map, landfall & timeline · Atlantic · September 3–16, 1996

Peak wind
138 mph
222 km/h · Sep 13
Peak category
Cat 4
Saffir–Simpson
Lowest pressure
935 mb
Landfalls
2
Puerto Rico · Nova Scotia, Canada
Lifetime
12.8 d
Sep 3 – Sep 16
Distance
4,530 mi
7,289 km
ACE
21.8
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 Hortense

Hurricane Hortense (1996) was a Category 4 hurricane of the 1996 Atlantic season. It formed on September 3, 1996, reached its peak of 138 mph (222 km/h) and a minimum pressure of 935 mb on September 13, 1996, and made landfall 2 times — first near Yauco, Puerto Rico on September 10, 1996 as a Category 1 hurricane (81 mph). Later landfalls: 54 mi ENE of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada on September 15, 1996 as a Category 1 hurricane (81 mph). It rapidly intensified by 34 mph in 24 hours (to 109 mph on September 11, 1996). The storm lasted 12.8 days and travelled about 4,530 miles (7,289 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)WhereStrengthPressure
September 10, 1996 · 06:00 UTCnear Yauco, Puerto RicoCat 1 81 mph989 mb
September 15, 1996 · 03:00 UTC54 mi ENE of Halifax, Nova Scotia, CanadaCat 1 81 mph978 mb

Closest approach to major cities

CityDistance to centerWhen (UTC)Storm strength then
San Juan, Puerto Rico61 miSep 10 · 05:00 UTCCat 1 81 mph
Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada27 miSep 15 · 00:00 UTCCat 1 81 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 53 positions

Date · UTCStatusWindPressurePositionNearest place
Sep 3 12:00TD 29 mph1006 mb14.9°N 41.0°Wopen ocean
Sep 3 18:00TD 35 mph1006 mb14.9°N 42.7°Wopen ocean
Sep 4 00:00TD 35 mph1006 mb14.8°N 44.1°Wopen ocean
Sep 4 06:00TD 35 mph1006 mb14.7°N 45.4°Wopen ocean
Sep 4 12:00TD 35 mph1006 mb14.6°N 46.6°Wopen ocean
Sep 4 18:00TD 35 mph1006 mb14.7°N 47.5°Wopen ocean
Sep 5 00:00TD 35 mph1006 mb14.9°N 48.4°Wopen ocean
Sep 5 06:00TD 35 mph1006 mb14.8°N 49.5°Wopen ocean
Sep 5 12:00TD 35 mph1006 mb14.5°N 51.1°Wopen ocean
Sep 5 18:00TD 35 mph1006 mb14.3°N 52.6°Wopen ocean
Sep 6 00:00TD 35 mph1006 mb14.4°N 53.6°Wopen ocean
Sep 6 06:00TD 35 mph1006 mb14.6°N 54.3°Wopen ocean
Sep 6 12:00TD 35 mph1006 mb14.7°N 55.1°Wopen ocean
Sep 6 18:00TD 35 mph1006 mb14.9°N 55.7°Wopen ocean
Sep 7 00:00TD 35 mph1006 mb15.2°N 57.0°Wopen ocean
Sep 7 06:00TS 40 mph1005 mb15.4°N 58.3°W181 mi NNE of Bridgetown, Barbados
Sep 7 12:00TS 46 mph1004 mb15.6°N 59.6°W109 mi ENE of Sainte-Marie, Martinique
Sep 7 18:00TS 46 mph1000 mb15.8°N 60.4°W66 mi ESE of Saint-François, Guadeloupe
Sep 8 00:00TS 58 mph996 mb16.1°N 61.2°W12 mi SSE of Saint-François, Guadeloupe
Sep 8 06:00TS 63 mph996 mb16.1°N 62.0°W19 mi WNW of Basse-Terre, Guadeloupe
Sep 8 12:00TS 69 mph996 mb16.1°N 62.8°W71 mi W of Basse-Terre, Guadeloupe
Sep 8 18:00TS 69 mph991 mb16.1°N 63.6°W101 mi SW of Basseterre, Saint Kitts and Nevis
Sep 9 00:00TS 69 mph990 mb16.1°N 64.1°W120 mi SSE of Saint Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands
Sep 9 06:00Cat 1 81 mph987 mb16.1°N 64.5°W114 mi S of Saint Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands
Sep 9 12:00Cat 1 81 mph985 mb16.3°N 65.0°W100 mi S of Saint Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands
Sep 9 18:00Cat 1 81 mph990 mb16.6°N 65.6°W96 mi SW of Saint Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands
Sep 10 00:00Cat 1 81 mph989 mb17.1°N 66.1°W61 mi S of Guayama, Puerto Rico
Sep 10 06:00Cat 1 LANDFALL 81 mph989 mb18.0°N 66.9°Wnear Yauco, Puerto Rico
Sep 10 12:00Cat 1 75 mph989 mb18.3°N 67.8°W44 mi ESE of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
Sep 10 18:00Cat 1 75 mph990 mb18.9°N 68.4°W22 mi N of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
Sep 11 00:00Cat 1 81 mph982 mb19.5°N 68.9°W35 mi NE of Samaná, Dominican Republic
Sep 11 06:00Cat 1 86 mph975 mb20.1°N 69.5°W54 mi NNE of Nagua, Dominican Republic
Sep 11 12:00Cat 2 104 mph971 mb20.9°N 70.1°W85 mi NNE of Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic
Sep 11 18:00Cat 2 109 mph970 mb21.6°N 70.6°W107 mi E of Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Islands
Sep 12 00:00Cat 3 115 mph967 mb22.3°N 71.1°W82 mi ENE of Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Islands
Sep 12 06:00Cat 3 121 mph962 mb23.0°N 71.4°W100 mi NNE of Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Islands
Sep 12 12:00Cat 4 132 mph959 mb23.9°N 71.8°W149 mi N of Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Islands
Sep 12 18:00Cat 4 132 mph946 mb24.7°N 71.8°Wopen ocean
Sep 13 00:00Cat 4 138 mph935 mb25.9°N 71.5°Wopen ocean
Sep 13 06:00Cat 4 132 mph942 mb27.2°N 71.4°Wopen ocean
Sep 13 12:00Cat 3 115 mph948 mb29.0°N 70.9°Wopen ocean
Sep 13 18:00Cat 3 115 mph948 mb31.0°N 70.3°Wopen ocean
Sep 14 00:00Cat 2 104 mph948 mb33.3°N 69.5°Wopen ocean
Sep 14 06:00Cat 2 104 mph955 mb35.9°N 68.4°Wopen ocean
Sep 14 12:00Cat 2 98 mph960 mb38.5°N 67.1°Wopen ocean
Sep 14 18:00Cat 1 86 mph960 mb42.0°N 65.2°Wopen ocean
Sep 15 00:00Cat 1 81 mph970 mb44.3°N 63.3°W27 mi SSE of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
Sep 15 03:00Cat 1 LANDFALL 81 mph978 mb44.8°N 62.5°W54 mi ENE of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
Sep 15 06:00Cat 1 75 mph980 mb45.5°N 61.5°W56 mi E of New Glasgow, Nova Scotia, Canada
Sep 15 12:00TS 69 mph982 mb46.3°N 59.1°W42 mi E of Glace Bay, Nova Scotia, Canada
Sep 15 18:00TS extratropical46 mph996 mb46.0°N 55.0°W140 mi SW of Conception Bay South, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada
Sep 16 00:00TS extratropical46 mph998 mb46.0°N 54.0°W114 mi SSW of Conception Bay South, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada
Sep 16 06:00TS extratropical40 mph999 mb45.0°N 50.0°Wopen ocean

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

Questions

Frequently asked questions

When and where did Hortense make landfall?

Hortense made landfall 2 times: near Yauco, Puerto Rico on September 10, 1996 at 06:00 UTC, as a Category 1 hurricane with 81 mph winds; 54 mi ENE of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada on September 15, 1996 at 03:00 UTC, as a Category 1 hurricane with 81 mph winds.

What category was Hortense?

At its peak on September 13, 1996, Hortense was a Category 4 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 138 mph (222 km/h) and a central pressure of 935 mb. At its first landfall it was a Category 1 hurricane.

How long did Hortense last?

12.8 days, from September 3, 1996 to September 16, 1996, including 150 hours at hurricane strength (48 as a major hurricane). It travelled about 4,530 miles.

Where can I download the track data for Hortense?

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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