1955 Atlantic hurricane season

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1955 Atlantic hurricane season
Season summary map
Season summary map
First storm formed: July 31, 1955 (although a storm was in existence at the start of 1955)
Last storm dissipated: Oct. 18, 1955
Strongest storm: Janet - 914 mbar (26.99inHg), 150 knots (175 mph)
Total storms: 12/13 (see Alice note)
Major storms (Cat. 3+) 6
Total damages: $2.081 billion
(1955 USD)
Total fatalites: 1,518
Atlantic hurricane seasons
1953, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1957


The 1955 Atlantic hurricane season was an ongoing event in the annual cycle of tropical cyclone formation. It officially began on June 1, and ended on November 30.

The 1955 season was a fairly active one, with twelve tropical storms forming.

Three hurricanes hit North Carolina in 1955: Connie, Diane and Ione. Hurricane Connie swamped the Outer Banks and Hurricane Diane caused millions of dollars in damages.

Hurricane Janet struck Belize as a Category 5 on the Saffir-Simpson scale. Beach erosion was severe, hundreds were killed, and dozens of oceanfront homes were completely destroyed. Janet had a recorded minimum central pressure of 914 millibars, making Janet one of the most intense storms on record in the Atlantic.

The second Hurricane Alice of 1954 was originally believed to have developed in early January of 1955 and thus have been the first storm of the 1955 season; however, it was later discovered to have developed in late December of 1954 and was reclassified as a storm of the 1954 season. Nonetheless, it had already been named Alice as the first storm of the 1955 season. The decision was eventually made to keep the name, and 1955 as a result had no storm name beginning with 'A'.

Contents

Storms

Tropical Storm Brenda

Tropical Storm Brenda formed on July 31st in the northern Gulf of Mexico. It moved northwestward, and hit near New Orleans on the 1st as a 70 mph tropical storm. Brenda dissipated on the 3rd as it moved westward over Texas, after causing two deaths in Mobile, Alabama, but little damage.

Hurricane Connie

Main Article Hurricane Connie

Hurricane Connie was the first of three hurricanes that hit North Carolina this season. It hit as a minimal hurricane, having weakened from a Category 4 hurricane, and caused massive flooding in the northeast.

Hurricane Diane

Main Article Hurricane Diane

Hurricane Diane was the second of three hurricanes that hit North Carolina this season. It hit as a minimal hurricane, and added significant flooding to the northeast; an area that received heavy rain from Hurricane Connie only 5 days before.

Hurricane Edith

A tropical wave developed into a tropical depression on August 21st in the Tropical Atlantic. It moved northwestward and strengthened; first to a tropical storm on the 23rd, then a hurricane on the 25th, and Edith reached a peak of 95 mph winds on the 28th. The hurricane curved out to sea without affecting land, and became extratropical on the 31st south of Newfoundland. The extratropical low looped back to the west and dissipated on the 3rd.

Hurricane Flora

The precursor to Hurricane Flora was a tropical wave that moved through the Cape Verde islands on August 30th and developed on September 2nd. Flora moved on a smoothe parabolic track, reaching a peak intensity of 100 mph winds as it reached the westernmost point. As Flora moved northeastward, it weakened, becoming extratropical on the 9th.

Hurricane Gladys

A tropical depression formed in the Bay of Campeche on September 4th. It moved northwestward, becoming a tropical storm and later a hurricane on the 5th. Gladys turned southward, and hit the Mexican coast north of Tampico on the 6th, dissipating later that day. The storm caused some damage and deaths, though exact numbers are unknown.

On September 5th, an offshoot of Hurricane Gladys with cyclonic turning formed in the Northern Gulf of Mexico. It hit Texas on the 6th, and caused about $500,000 in damage. It is possible this was a separate tropical storm from Gladys.

Hurricane Hilda

Hurricane Hilda developed from a tropical wave on September 10th over the northern Lesser Antilles. It moved northwestward, and became a tropical storm the next day. Hilda turned westward, gradually strengthening to a 95 mph hurricane before hitting eastern Cuba on the 14th. It weakened to a tropical storm while moving across the island, but regained hurricane intensity while over the Caribbean Sea. Hilda became a major hurricane in the western Caribbean, and hit the sparsley populated eastern Yucatan peninsula between Chetumal and Cozumel. It weakened over land to a minimal hurricane, but as it neared its final landfall, it quickly strengthened to a 130 mph Category 3 hurricane. Hilda hit Tampico, Mexico as a weakened Category 2 hurricane on the 19th, and dissipated the next day over Mexico. Hilda killed 300 people and caused $120,000,000 in damage (1955 dollars), mostly from flooding. Despite its destruction, Hilda was not retired, though the name was later retired in the Hurricane Hilda of 1964.

Hurricane Ione

Main Article Hurricane Ione

Hurricane Ione was the final of three hurricanes to hit North Carolina this season. Ione was the least damaging of the three, as it only affected North Carolina and southeastern Virginia, whereas Connie and Diane caused damage throughout the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic.

Hurricane Janet

Main Article Hurricane Janet

Hurricane Janet was the strongest hurricane of the season. It reached Category 5 strength in the Caribbean, and hit the Yucatan Peninsula at that intensity. Janet caused 680 deaths and nearly $50 million in damage, adding to the destruction caused by Hilda only weeks before.

Hurricane Katie

The Intertropical Convergence Zone developed a tropical depression on October 14th in the Southern Caribbean Sea. It moved northeastward, and became a tropical storm the next day. Conditions were favorable for intensification, and Katie rapidly intensified to a 115 mph major hurricane on the 16th. Soonafter, the hurricane hit southern Hispaniola, greatly disrupting the circulation. Over the Atlantic, it reorganized and reached a secondary peak of 70 mph winds, but it was gradually absorbed by an old frontal zone. Katie became extratropical on the 19th, after causing seven deaths and $200,000-$300,000 (1955 dollars) in damage.

Other Storms

Tropical Storm Five

A tropical storm formed just west of Jamaica on August 23rd, likely from a tropical wave. It moved northwestward, crossed the western tip of Cuba, and hit southeastern Louisiana near New Orleans on the 27th. The storm dissipated three days later over Missouri, and caused little damage.

Tropical Storm Eleven

A tropical wave developed into a tropical storm on October 10th, having moved northward from Cape Verde. It moved westward, then recurved to the northeast where it reached its peak of 65 mph winds. It became extratropical over the cool northeast Atlantic waters on the 14th, and was absorbed by a larger extratropical storm later that day.

1955 storm names

The following names were used for named storms (tropical storms and hurricanes) that formed in the North Atlantic in 1955. Connie, Diane, Ione, and Janet would later be retired. The 1955 season is currently tied with the 1995 season and 2004 season for the most storm names retired after a single season.

See also

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