Hurricane Ivan (2004)

Track map, landfall & timeline · Atlantic · September 2–24, 2004

Peak wind

167 mph

269 km/h · Sep 11

Peak category

Cat 5

Saffir–Simpson

Lowest pressure

910 mb

Landfalls

Alabama · Texas

Lifetime

21.5 d

Sep 2 – Sep 24

Distance

7,692 mi

12,376 km

ACE

70.4

storm energy

TD TS Cat 1 2 3 4 5 · dashed = post-tropical / remnant low. During the replay the shaded rings show the storm’s wind field as analysed by NHC — 39+, 58+ and 74+ mph winds, quadrant by quadrant. Click any point or table row to jump there.

01 · The story

What happened with Ivan

Hurricane Ivan (2004) was a Category 5 hurricane of the 2004 Atlantic season. It formed on September 2, 2004, reached its peak of 167 mph (269 km/h) and a minimum pressure of 910 mb on September 11, 2004, and made landfall 2 times — first 12 mi WSW of Gulf Shores, Alabama on September 16, 2004 as a Category 3 hurricane (121 mph). Later landfalls: 21 mi ESE of Port Arthur, Texas on September 24, 2004 as a tropical depression (35 mph). It rapidly intensified by 64 mph in 24 hours (to 127 mph on September 5, 2004). The storm lasted 21.5 days and travelled about 7,692 miles (12,376 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 16, 2004 · 07:00 UTC	12 mi WSW of Gulf Shores, Alabama	Cat 3 121 mph	946 mb
September 24, 2004 · 02:00 UTC	21 mi ESE of Port Arthur, Texas	TD 35 mph	1004 mb

Closest approach to major cities

City	Distance to center	When (UTC)	Storm strength then
Kingston, Jamaica	45 mi	Sep 11 · 02:00 UTC	Cat 4 152 mph
New Kingston, Jamaica	46 mi	Sep 11 · 02:00 UTC	Cat 4 152 mph
Huntsville, Alabama	42 mi	Sep 17 · 04:00 UTC	TD 31 mph
Winston-Salem, North Carolina	61 mi	Sep 17 · 23:00 UTC	TD 23 mph
Richmond, Virginia	35 mi	Sep 18 · 09:00 UTC	TD 17 mph
Washington, District of Columbia	39 mi	Sep 18 · 12:00 UTC	TD 17 mph
Baltimore, Maryland	62 mi	Sep 18 · 12:00 UTC	TD 17 mph
Miami, Florida	15 mi	Sep 21 · 04:00 UTC	TD 29 mph
Hialeah, Florida	direct hit	Sep 21 · 04:00 UTC	TD 29 mph
Houston, Texas	73 mi	Sep 24 · 06:00 UTC	TD 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 94 positions

Date · UTC	Status	Wind	Pressure	Position	Nearest place
Sep 2 18:00	TD	29 mph	1009 mb	9.7°N 27.6°W	open ocean
Sep 3 00:00	TD	35 mph	1007 mb	9.7°N 28.7°W	open ocean
Sep 3 06:00	TS	40 mph	1005 mb	9.7°N 30.3°W	open ocean
Sep 3 12:00	TS	46 mph	1003 mb	9.5°N 32.1°W	open ocean
Sep 3 18:00	TS	52 mph	1000 mb	9.3°N 33.6°W	open ocean
Sep 4 00:00	TS	52 mph	999 mb	9.1°N 35.0°W	open ocean
Sep 4 06:00	TS	58 mph	997 mb	8.9°N 36.5°W	open ocean
Sep 4 12:00	TS	58 mph	997 mb	8.9°N 38.2°W	open ocean
Sep 4 18:00	TS	63 mph	994 mb	9.0°N 39.9°W	open ocean
Sep 5 00:00	TS	69 mph	991 mb	9.3°N 41.4°W	open ocean
Sep 5 06:00	Cat 1	75 mph	987 mb	9.5°N 43.4°W	open ocean
Sep 5 12:00	Cat 2	98 mph	977 mb	9.8°N 45.1°W	open ocean
Sep 5 18:00	Cat 3	127 mph	955 mb	10.2°N 46.8°W	open ocean
Sep 6 00:00	Cat 4	132 mph	948 mb	10.6°N 48.5°W	open ocean
Sep 6 06:00	Cat 3	127 mph	950 mb	10.8°N 50.5°W	open ocean
Sep 6 12:00	Cat 3	127 mph	955 mb	11.0°N 52.5°W	open ocean
Sep 6 18:00	Cat 2	104 mph	969 mb	11.3°N 54.4°W	open ocean
Sep 7 00:00	Cat 2	104 mph	964 mb	11.2°N 56.1°W	open ocean
Sep 7 06:00	Cat 2	109 mph	965 mb	11.3°N 57.8°W	175 mi SE of Bridgetown, Barbados
Sep 7 12:00	Cat 3	115 mph	963 mb	11.6°N 59.4°W	95 mi ENE of Scarborough, Trinidad and Tobago
Sep 7 18:00	Cat 3	121 mph	956 mb	11.8°N 61.1°W	49 mi NNW of Scarborough, Trinidad and Tobago
Sep 7 22:00	Cat 3	127 mph	952 mb	11.9°N 61.8°W	83 mi N of Diego Martin, Trinidad and Tobago
Sep 8 00:00	Cat 4	132 mph	950 mb	12.0°N 62.6°W	102 mi NNE of Carúpano, Venezuela
Sep 8 06:00	Cat 4	138 mph	946 mb	12.3°N 64.1°W	85 mi N of Juan Griego, Venezuela
Sep 8 12:00	Cat 4	138 mph	955 mb	12.6°N 65.5°W	148 mi NW of Juan Griego, Venezuela
Sep 8 18:00	Cat 4	138 mph	950 mb	13.0°N 67.0°W	104 mi NE of Kralendijk, Bonaire, Saint Eustatius and Saba
Sep 9 00:00	Cat 4	150 mph	938 mb	13.3°N 68.3°W	80 mi N of Kralendijk, Bonaire, Saint Eustatius and Saba
Sep 9 06:00	Cat 5	161 mph	925 mb	13.7°N 69.5°W	86 mi NNE of Noord, Aruba
Sep 9 12:00	Cat 5	161 mph	919 mb	14.2°N 70.8°W	124 mi NNW of Noord, Aruba
Sep 9 18:00	Cat 4	150 mph	921 mb	14.7°N 71.9°W	open ocean
Sep 10 00:00	Cat 4	150 mph	923 mb	15.2°N 72.8°W	open ocean
Sep 10 06:00	Cat 4	144 mph	930 mb	15.7°N 73.8°W	172 mi S of Les Cayes, Haiti
Sep 10 12:00	Cat 4	144 mph	934 mb	16.2°N 74.7°W	151 mi SSW of Les Cayes, Haiti
Sep 10 18:00	Cat 4	138 mph	940 mb	16.8°N 75.8°W	106 mi SE of Kingston, Jamaica
Sep 11 00:00	Cat 4	155 mph	926 mb	17.3°N 76.5°W	52 mi SSE of Kingston, Jamaica
Sep 11 04:00	Cat 4	150 mph	924 mb	17.4°N 77.2°W	39 mi S of May Pen, Jamaica
Sep 11 06:00	Cat 4	150 mph	923 mb	17.4°N 77.6°W	45 mi S of Mandeville, Jamaica
Sep 11 12:00	Cat 4	144 mph	925 mb	17.7°N 78.4°W	40 mi SSW of Savanna-la-Mar, Jamaica
Sep 11 18:00	Cat 5	167 mph	920 mb	18.0°N 79.0°W	47 mi WSW of Negril, Jamaica
Sep 12 00:00	Cat 5	167 mph	910 mb	18.2°N 79.6°W	82 mi W of Negril, Jamaica
Sep 12 06:00	Cat 4	155 mph	915 mb	18.4°N 80.4°W	81 mi SE of Frank Sound, Cayman Islands
Sep 12 12:00	Cat 4	155 mph	919 mb	18.8°N 81.2°W	33 mi S of Bodden Town, Cayman Islands
Sep 12 14:00	Cat 4	150 mph	920 mb	18.9°N 81.5°W	28 mi SSW of George Town, Cayman Islands
Sep 12 18:00	Cat 4	150 mph	920 mb	19.1°N 82.1°W	49 mi WSW of George Town, Cayman Islands
Sep 13 00:00	Cat 5	161 mph	916 mb	19.5°N 82.8°W	92 mi W of West Bay, Cayman Islands
Sep 13 06:00	Cat 5	161 mph	920 mb	19.9°N 83.5°W	142 mi WNW of West Bay, Cayman Islands
Sep 13 12:00	Cat 5	161 mph	915 mb	20.4°N 84.1°W	125 mi S of Guane, Pinar del Río, Cuba
Sep 13 18:00	Cat 5	161 mph	912 mb	20.9°N 84.7°W	98 mi SSW of Guane, Pinar del Río, Cuba
Sep 13 21:00	Cat 5	161 mph	910 mb	21.2°N 84.8°W	83 mi SSW of Guane, Pinar del Río, Cuba
Sep 14 00:00	Cat 5	161 mph	914 mb	21.6°N 85.1°W	71 mi SW of Mantua, Pinar del Río, Cuba
Sep 14 01:00	Cat 5	161 mph	916 mb	21.7°N 85.2°W	72 mi SW of Mantua, Pinar del Río, Cuba
Sep 14 06:00	Cat 5	161 mph	924 mb	22.4°N 85.6°W	85 mi W of Mantua, Pinar del Río, Cuba
Sep 14 12:00	Cat 4	144 mph	930 mb	23.0°N 86.0°W	120 mi WNW of Mantua, Pinar del Río, Cuba
Sep 14 18:00	Cat 4	138 mph	931 mb	23.7°N 86.5°W	176 mi N of Cancún, Quintana Roo, Mexico
Sep 15 00:00	Cat 4	138 mph	928 mb	24.7°N 87.0°W	open ocean
Sep 15 06:00	Cat 4	138 mph	935 mb	25.6°N 87.4°W	open ocean
Sep 15 12:00	Cat 4	132 mph	939 mb	26.7°N 87.9°W	open ocean
Sep 15 18:00	Cat 4	132 mph	937 mb	27.9°N 88.2°W	165 mi S of Gulf Shores, Alabama
Sep 16 00:00	Cat 3	127 mph	931 mb	28.9°N 88.2°W	98 mi SSW of Gulf Shores, Alabama
Sep 16 06:00	Cat 3	121 mph	943 mb	30.0°N 87.9°W	21 mi SW of Gulf Shores, Alabama
Sep 16 07:00	Cat 3 LANDFALL	121 mph	946 mb	30.2°N 87.9°W	12 mi WSW of Gulf Shores, Alabama
Sep 16 12:00	Cat 1	81 mph	965 mb	31.4°N 87.7°W	29 mi NNW of Atmore, Alabama
Sep 16 18:00	TS	58 mph	975 mb	32.5°N 87.4°W	23 mi WNW of Selma, Alabama
Sep 17 00:00	TD	35 mph	986 mb	33.8°N 86.5°W	10 mi ENE of Dixiana, Alabama
Sep 17 06:00	TD	29 mph	991 mb	34.7°N 85.7°W	18 mi N of Fort Payne, Alabama
Sep 17 12:00	TD	23 mph	994 mb	35.4°N 84.0°W	25 mi S of Maryville, Tennessee
Sep 17 18:00	TD	23 mph	996 mb	36.2°N 82.3°W	near Johnson City, Tennessee
Sep 18 00:00	TD	23 mph	999 mb	37.0°N 80.5°W	10 mi SSW of Christiansburg, Virginia
Sep 18 06:00	TD	17 mph	998 mb	37.7°N 78.5°W	23 mi S of Charlottesville, Virginia
Sep 18 12:00	TD	17 mph	1000 mb	38.4°N 76.7°W	13 mi WNW of California, Maryland
Sep 18 18:00	TD extratropical	29 mph	1002 mb	38.0°N 75.5°W	26 mi SSE of Salisbury, Maryland
Sep 19 00:00	TS extratropical	40 mph	1003 mb	37.5°N 74.0°W	88 mi SE of Ocean Pines, Maryland
Sep 19 06:00	TS extratropical	40 mph	1005 mb	36.0°N 74.0°W	125 mi ESE of Virginia Beach, Virginia
Sep 19 12:00	TS extratropical	40 mph	1008 mb	34.5°N 74.5°W	139 mi E of Havelock, North Carolina
Sep 19 18:00	TS extratropical	40 mph	1008 mb	32.8°N 75.8°W	152 mi SE of Masonboro, North Carolina
Sep 20 00:00	TS extratropical	40 mph	1008 mb	31.0°N 77.5°W	186 mi SE of Mount Pleasant, South Carolina
Sep 20 06:00	TS extratropical	40 mph	1008 mb	29.0°N 78.5°W	136 mi ENE of Cocoa Beach, Florida
Sep 20 12:00	TD extratropical	35 mph	1009 mb	27.5°N 78.7°W	59 mi NNE of West End, Bahamas
Sep 20 18:00	TD extratropical	29 mph	1009 mb	26.4°N 79.1°W	21 mi SSW of West End, Bahamas
Sep 21 00:00	TD extratropical	29 mph	1009 mb	26.1°N 79.7°W	28 mi E of Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Sep 21 06:00	TD extratropical	29 mph	1009 mb	25.9°N 80.6°W	16 mi WNW of Doral, Florida
Sep 21 12:00	TD extratropical	29 mph	1009 mb	25.8°N 81.7°W	10 mi S of Marco Island, Florida
Sep 21 18:00	TD low/wave	29 mph	1010 mb	25.2°N 82.8°W	78 mi NW of Key West, Florida
Sep 22 00:00	TD low/wave	29 mph	1010 mb	24.8°N 84.1°W	144 mi NNW of Bahía Honda, Artemisa, Cuba
Sep 22 06:00	TD low/wave	29 mph	1010 mb	25.1°N 86.1°W	open ocean
Sep 22 12:00	TD low/wave	29 mph	1010 mb	26.0°N 87.3°W	open ocean
Sep 22 18:00	TD	35 mph	1008 mb	26.5°N 88.6°W	open ocean
Sep 23 00:00	TS	40 mph	1007 mb	27.1°N 89.5°W	open ocean
Sep 23 06:00	TS	40 mph	1007 mb	27.9°N 91.0°W	118 mi S of Houma, Louisiana
Sep 23 12:00	TS	58 mph	998 mb	28.9°N 92.2°W	74 mi S of Abbeville, Louisiana
Sep 23 18:00	TS	46 mph	1003 mb	29.2°N 92.7°W	63 mi SSW of Abbeville, Louisiana
Sep 24 00:00	TD	35 mph	1003 mb	29.6°N 93.2°W	42 mi S of Lake Charles, Louisiana
Sep 24 02:00	TD LANDFALL	35 mph	1004 mb	29.8°N 93.6°W	21 mi ESE of Port Arthur, Texas
Sep 24 06:00	TD	29 mph	1009 mb	30.1°N 94.2°W	near Beaumont, Texas

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

Questions

Frequently asked questions

When and where did Ivan make landfall?

Ivan made landfall 2 times: 12 mi WSW of Gulf Shores, Alabama on September 16, 2004 at 07:00 UTC, as a Category 3 hurricane with 121 mph winds; 21 mi ESE of Port Arthur, Texas on September 24, 2004 at 02:00 UTC, as a tropical depression with 35 mph winds.

What category was Ivan?

At its peak on September 11, 2004, Ivan was a Category 5 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 167 mph (269 km/h) and a central pressure of 910 mb. At its first landfall it was a Category 3 hurricane.

How long did Ivan last?

21.5 days, from September 2, 2004 to September 24, 2004, including 276 hours at hurricane strength (240 as a major hurricane). It travelled about 7,692 miles.

Where can I download the track data for Ivan?

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 Ivan

Year	Storm	Peak	Landfall
1980	Hurricane Ivan Atlantic	Cat 2 104 mph	—	→
1998	Hurricane Ivan Atlantic	Cat 1 92 mph	—	→
2004	Hurricane Ivan · this page Atlantic	Cat 5 167 mph	Alabama, Texas

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

Strongest storms of 2004

Year	Storm	Peak	Landfall
2004	Hurricane Charley Atlantic	Cat 4 150 mph	Florida, Artemisa, Cuba	→
2004	Hurricane Javier Eastern Pacific	Cat 4 150 mph	Baja California Sur, Mexico	→
2004	Hurricane Frances Atlantic	Cat 4 144 mph	Bahamas, Florida	→
2004	Hurricane Karl Atlantic	Cat 4 144 mph	—	→
2004	Hurricane Howard Eastern Pacific	Cat 4 138 mph	—	→
2004	Hurricane Alex Atlantic	Cat 3 121 mph	—	→
2004	Hurricane Jeanne Atlantic	Cat 3 121 mph	Florida, Bahamas	→
2004	Hurricane Darby Eastern Pacific	Cat 3 121 mph	—	→

See every 2004 storm on one map →

Background reading: Hurricane Ivan on Wikipedia.

← Previous Atlantic stormTropical Storm Hermine (2004)Next Atlantic storm →Hurricane Jeanne (2004)

This site was built by Digital Dynamics Kft.

We build live, data-driven sites like this one

This archive is our own work, built from openly available data — the NOAA best-track records, the replay engine, the wind-field rendering and the map tiles served from our own servers in the European Union. If your business generates data — measurements, machines, orders, customers — we are happy to turn it into a clear, interactive interface.

But this is not all we build:

online shops and websites, with a design of your own
SaaS products and ERP systems
mobile apps for Android and iPhone
data collection, automation and map-based visualization

Or anything else that can be programmed — just get in touch.

See our work → or write: info@digitaldynamics.hu

digitaldynamics.hu