Hurricane King (1950)

Track map, landfall & timeline · Atlantic · October 13–20, 1950

Peak wind

132 mph

213 km/h · Oct 18

Peak category

Cat 4

Saffir–Simpson

Lowest pressure

955 mb

Landfalls

Florida · Camagüey, Cuba

Lifetime

7.0 d

Oct 13 – Oct 20

Distance

1,571 mi

2,528 km

ACE

9.7

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 King

Hurricane King (1950) was a Category 4 hurricane of the 1950 Atlantic season. It formed on October 13, 1950, 59 mi E of Iriona, Honduras, reached its peak of 132 mph (213 km/h) and a minimum pressure of 955 mb on October 18, 1950, and made landfall 2 times — first 23 mi WNW of Santa Cruz del Sur, Camagüey, Cuba on October 16, 1950 as a Category 1 hurricane (92 mph). Later landfalls: near Miami, Florida on October 18, 1950 as a Category 4 hurricane (132 mph). It rapidly intensified by 57 mph in 24 hours (to 132 mph on October 18, 1950). The storm lasted 7.0 days and travelled about 1,571 miles (2,528 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 16, 1950 · 22:00 UTC	23 mi WNW of Santa Cruz del Sur, Camagüey, Cuba	Cat 1 92 mph	—
October 18, 1950 · 05:00 UTC	near Miami, Florida	Cat 4 132 mph	955 mb

Closest approach to major cities

City	Distance to center	When (UTC)	Storm strength then
Camagüey, Camagüey, Cuba	20 mi	Oct 17 · 01:00 UTC	Cat 1 84 mph
Miami, Florida	direct hit	Oct 18 · 05:00 UTC	Cat 4 132 mph
Hialeah, Florida	direct hit	Oct 18 · 06:00 UTC	Cat 4 132 mph
Tampa, Florida	69 mi	Oct 18 · 17:00 UTC	Cat 1 82 mph
Orlando, Florida	direct hit	Oct 18 · 18:00 UTC	Cat 1 81 mph
Jacksonville, Florida	50 mi	Oct 19 · 00:00 UTC	Cat 1 75 mph
Tallahassee, Florida	64 mi	Oct 19 · 07:00 UTC	TS 50 mph
Columbus, Georgia	31 mi	Oct 19 · 18:00 UTC	TD 29 mph
Montgomery, Alabama	19 mi	Oct 20 · 01:00 UTC	TD 23 mph
Birmingham, Alabama	46 mi	Oct 20 · 06:00 UTC	TD 23 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 31 positions

Date · UTC	Status	Wind	Pressure	Position	Nearest place
Oct 13 06:00	TD	29 mph	—	16.0°N 84.2°W	26 mi NE of Brus Laguna, Honduras
Oct 13 12:00	TD	29 mph	—	16.0°N 83.9°W	42 mi ENE of Brus Laguna, Honduras
Oct 13 18:00	TD	29 mph	—	16.0°N 83.8°W	49 mi ENE of Brus Laguna, Honduras
Oct 14 00:00	TD	35 mph	—	16.0°N 83.7°W	55 mi ENE of Brus Laguna, Honduras
Oct 14 06:00	TD	35 mph	—	16.1°N 83.6°W	63 mi ENE of Brus Laguna, Honduras
Oct 14 12:00	TD	35 mph	—	16.2°N 83.5°W	72 mi ENE of Brus Laguna, Honduras
Oct 14 18:00	TS	40 mph	—	16.3°N 83.3°W	87 mi ENE of Brus Laguna, Honduras
Oct 15 00:00	TS	46 mph	—	16.6°N 82.7°W	132 mi ENE of Brus Laguna, Honduras
Oct 15 06:00	TS	52 mph	—	16.9°N 82.0°W	170 mi SSW of George Town, Cayman Islands
Oct 15 12:00	TS	58 mph	—	17.2°N 81.0°W	146 mi S of George Town, Cayman Islands
Oct 15 18:00	TS	63 mph	992 mb	17.7°N 80.0°W	115 mi WSW of Negril, Jamaica
Oct 16 00:00	Cat 1	75 mph	—	18.4°N 79.3°W	63 mi W of Negril, Jamaica
Oct 16 06:00	Cat 1	81 mph	—	18.9°N 79.0°W	61 mi NW of Negril, Jamaica
Oct 16 12:00	Cat 1	86 mph	985 mb	19.3°N 78.7°W	71 mi NNW of Barbican, Jamaica
Oct 16 18:00	Cat 1	92 mph	—	20.0°N 78.3°W	47 mi W of Niquero, Granma Province, Cuba
Oct 16 22:00	Cat 1 LANDFALL	92 mph	—	20.9°N 78.3°W	23 mi WNW of Santa Cruz del Sur, Camagüey, Cuba
Oct 17 00:00	Cat 1	86 mph	—	21.1°N 78.2°W	11 mi SSW of Vertientes, Camagüey, Cuba
Oct 17 06:00	Cat 1	75 mph	—	22.2°N 78.3°W	22 mi ENE of Morón, Ciego de Ávila Province, Cuba
Oct 17 12:00	Cat 1	81 mph	988 mb	23.2°N 79.0°W	56 mi NNE of Caibarién, Villa Clara Province, Cuba
Oct 17 18:00	Cat 2	104 mph	—	24.0°N 79.5°W	90 mi NNE of Sagua la Grande, Villa Clara Province, Cuba
Oct 18 00:00	Cat 3	121 mph	—	24.7°N 79.8°W	49 mi ESE of Key Largo, Florida
Oct 18 05:00	Cat 4 LANDFALL	132 mph	955 mb	25.7°N 80.2°W	near Miami, Florida
Oct 18 06:00	Cat 4	132 mph	955 mb	25.9°N 80.3°W	near Hialeah, Florida
Oct 18 12:00	Cat 1	92 mph	975 mb	27.1°N 81.0°W	35 mi NW of Belle Glade, Florida
Oct 18 18:00	Cat 1	81 mph	983 mb	28.6°N 81.5°W	near Orlando, Florida
Oct 19 00:00	Cat 1	75 mph	989 mb	30.0°N 82.4°W	24 mi N of Gainesville, Florida
Oct 19 06:00	TS	52 mph	992 mb	31.1°N 83.5°W	18 mi ESE of Moultrie, Georgia
Oct 19 12:00	TS	40 mph	996 mb	31.7°N 84.5°W	22 mi WNW of Albany, Georgia
Oct 19 18:00	TD	29 mph	999 mb	32.1°N 85.3°W	17 mi NNW of Eufaula, Alabama
Oct 20 00:00	TD	23 mph	1000 mb	32.5°N 86.0°W	20 mi ENE of Montgomery, Alabama
Oct 20 06:00	TD	23 mph	1002 mb	32.9°N 86.5°W	20 mi SE of Calera, Alabama

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

Questions

Frequently asked questions

When and where did King make landfall?

King made landfall 2 times: 23 mi WNW of Santa Cruz del Sur, Camagüey, Cuba on October 16, 1950 at 22:00 UTC, as a Category 1 hurricane with 92 mph winds; near Miami, Florida on October 18, 1950 at 05:00 UTC, as a Category 4 hurricane with 132 mph winds.

What category was King?

At its peak on October 18, 1950, King was a Category 4 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 132 mph (213 km/h) and a central pressure of 955 mb. At its first landfall it was a Category 1 hurricane.

How long did King last?

7.0 days, from October 13, 1950 to October 20, 1950, including 78 hours at hurricane strength (12 as a major hurricane). It travelled about 1,571 miles.

Where can I download the track data for King?

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

Strongest storms of 1950

Year	Storm	Peak	Landfall
1950	Hurricane Dog Atlantic	Cat 4 144 mph	—	→
1950	Hurricane Fox Atlantic	Cat 4 138 mph	—	→
1950	Hurricane Able Atlantic	Cat 3 127 mph	Nova Scotia, Canada	→
1950	Hurricane Easy Atlantic	Cat 3 121 mph	Florida, Mayabeque, Cuba	→
1950	Hurricane Jig Atlantic	Cat 3 115 mph	—	→
1950	Hurricane Charlie Atlantic	Cat 2 109 mph	—	→
1950	Hurricane George Atlantic	Cat 2 109 mph	—	→
1950	Hurricane Baker Atlantic	Cat 2 104 mph	Alabama, Antigua and Barbuda	→

See every 1950 storm on one map →

Background reading: Hurricane King on Wikipedia.

← Previous Atlantic stormHurricane Jig (1950)Next Atlantic storm →Hurricane Love (1950)

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