1966 Atlantic hurricane season

Infobox hurricane season
first storm formed=June 4, 1966
last storm dissipated=November 11, 1966
strongest storm=Inez - 929 mbar (27.43 inHg), 150 mph (240 km/h)
total storms=11
major storms=3
total da
USD)
$2.4 billion (2005 USD)
total fatalities=1094
basin=Atlantic hurricane
five seasons=1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968 The 1966 Atlantic hurricane season officially began on June 1, 1966, and lasted until November 30, 1966. These dates conventionally delimit the period of each year when most tropical cyclones form in the Atlantic basin. The 1966 season was relatively active with eleven tropical storms, two more than an average normal season. It was also unusually active early in the season, with five named storms forming before the end of July.

Notable storms of 1966 include Hurricane Alma, which caused death and destruction in Honduras, Cuba, and Florida; and Hurricane Inez, which killed 1,000 people in its trek across the Greater Antilles, Bahamas, Florida, and Mexico. An unusual storm was Hurricane Faith, which followed an extremely long track from Africa, into the Caribbean, and all the way into the Arctic. It holds the record for having the longest hurricane track in recorded history.

torms

Hurricane Alma

Infobox Hurricane Small
Basin=Atl


Track=Alma 1966 track.pngFormed=June 4
Dissipated=June 14
1-min winds=110
Pressure=970Hurricane Alma, which formed on June 4 over Central America, hit Cuba as a Category 2 hurricane. It moved northward and became a major hurricane before weakening and crossing Florida. Alma became extratropical over the northern Atlantic on June 13 after briefly restrengthening to a hurricane near North Carolina. Hurricane Alma killed 90, most in Honduras, and caused $210 million (1966 dollars) in damage, almost all in Cuba.

Tropical Depression Two

Infobox Hurricane Small
Basin=Atl
Formed=June 30
Dissipated=June 30
1-min winds=30A tropical depression formed in the exact same manner of Hurricane Alma over western Caribbean Sea, only weeks later on June 30. It moved northeastward, crossing Cuba and later Florida. It caused $50,000 in damage.

Hurricane Becky

Infobox Hurricane Small
Basin=Atl
Track=Becky 1966 track.pngFormed=July 1
Dissipated=July 3
1-min winds=65
Pressure=985A tropical depression formed 300 miles southeast of Bermuda on July 1. It moved quickly northeastward where it became a tropical storm and a hurricane on the 2nd. Becky turned to the northwest due to an upper low, and became extratropical on the 3rd near Nova Scotia. No damage was reported.

Hurricane Celia

Infobox Hurricane Small
Basin=Atl
Track=Celia 1966 track.pngFormed=July 13
Dissipated=July 22
1-min winds=70
Pressure=995The precursor to Hurricane Celia was an easterly wave moving across the tropical Atlantic. It became a tropical depression on July 13, and a tropical storm the next day. After moving northwestward, Celia turned more westward towards the Bahamas, where it met hostile conditions and dissipated on the 15th. The remnant cloud mass turned northeastward, and on the 20th, it regained enough organization to be called a tropical storm again. Celia rapidly intensified to a hurricane that day, but the following day the storm became extratropical near Nova Scotia.

Hurricane Dorothy

Infobox Hurricane Small
Basin=Atl


Track=Dorothy 1966 track.pngFormed=July 22
Dissipated=July 31
1-min winds=75
Pressure=989An upper tropospheric cold low over the north-central Atlantic led to the development of a surface low on July 22. That night it became a tropical depression, followed by becoming a tropical storm on the 23rd. Dorothy was likely subtropical when it first developed, but on the 24th, it became more tropical, reaching hurricane strength and attaining a well organized satellite presentation, but without a true eyewall. Dorothy continued northward towards cooler waters, weakening to tropical storm strength on the 29th and becoming extratropical on the 30th.

Tropical Storm Ella

Infobox Hurricane Small
Basin=Atl
Track=Ella 1966 track.pngFormed=July 22
Dissipated=July 28
1-min winds=45
Pressure=1008On July 22, a tropical depression formed in the tropical Atlantic, originating from an African tropical wave. It headed west-northwestward, reaching tropical storm strength on the 24th. Conditions never became very favorable, with the large circulation of Dorothy to the north impeding some development. Ella dissipated on the 28th east of the Bahamas.

Tropical Depression Seven

Infobox Hurricane Small
Basin=Atl
Formed=July 24
Dissipated=July 26
1-min winds=30A tropical low moving through the Caribbean became well-organized enough to be called a tropical depression on July 24. It hit the coast of Louisiana on the 26th, causing heavy rain but little damage.

Hurricane Faith

Infobox Hurricane Small
Basin=Atl


Track=Faith 1966 track.pngFormed=August 21
Dissipated=September 7
1-min winds=110
Pressure=950
Hurricane Faith was a long-lived storm, maintaining hurricane strength for thirteen days as it travelled the Atlantic. It has the longest recorded track of any hurricane, more than 7,500 miles. Faith started as a typical Cape Verde-type hurricane in mid-August. After approaching the Lesser Antilles, Faith started turning northward, and eventually its track curved enough to take it away from North America. Faith continued on as a tropical system, and was declared extratropical only hours before striking the Faroe Islands. The low that was Faith continued over the Scandinavian Peninsula, and was tracked as far as Franz Josef Land.

Tropical Storm Greta

Infobox Hurricane Small
Basin=Atl
Track=Greta 1966 track.pngFormed=September 1
Dissipated=September 7
1-min winds=50
Pressure=1004Tropical Storm Greta developed from a tropical wave on September 1 in the tropical Atlantic. It moved west-northwestward, encountering favorable conditions. The depression became Tropical Storm Greta on the 4th, the same day it reached its peak of 60 mph. It wasn't able to strengthen further, due to the lack of low level inflow, and Greta dissipated on the 7th in the southwestern Atlantic.

Tropical Storm Hallie

Infobox Hurricane Small
Basin=Atl
Track=Hallie 1966 track.pngFormed=September 20
Dissipated=September 22
1-min winds=45
Pressure=997The combination of a stationary cold front and a large cloud mass led to the formation of a tropical depression in the Bay of Campeche on September 20. As it separated from the cold front, it strengthened to a tropical storm on the 21st. Hallie reached her peak of 50 mph that day, but cool air weakened the storm prior to hitting the Mexican coast. Hallie dissipated on the 22nd.

Hurricane Inez

Infobox Hurricane Small
Basin=Atl


Track=Inez 1966 track.pngFormed=September 21
Dissipated=October 11
1-min winds=130
Pressure=929The deadliest storm of the season was Hurricane Inez. Inez killed an estimated 1,000 and caused over $200 million (1966 dollars) in damage. It tracked up the Greater Antilles, into the Bahamas, across the Florida Keys, approached the Yucatán Peninsula, and after three weeks finally made landfall near Tampico. Inez was the first single storm on record to strike the islands of the Caribbean, the Bahamas, Florida, and Mexico.

Tropical Storm Judith

Infobox Hurricane Small
Basin=Atl
Track=Judith 1966 track.pngFormed=September 27
Dissipated=September 30
1-min winds=45
Pressure=1007A tropical wave following Hurricane Inez organized to become a tropical depression on September 27. It moved west-northwestward, becoming a tropical storm the next day. Judith didn't strengthen past its peak of 50 mph as it moved through the islands due to outflow from Inez. Judith dissipated on the 30th.

Cyclone Kendra

Infobox Hurricane Small
Basin=Atl
Formed=October 9
Dissipated=October 9On October 9, a cyclone 200 miles (320 km) north of the Cape Verde Islands was named Kendra and operationally classified as a tropical storm, [citenews|title=11th Tropical Storm Spawned|author=Staff writer|date=1966-10-11|work=New York Times|publisher=UPI] but post-analysis found the system actually remained an extratropical gale center. This makes Kendra one of two systems in the Atlantic basin to be named and not considered a tropical cyclone; the other system was Mike of 1950. [http://www.atwc.org/athist.txt]

Hurricane Lois

Infobox Hurricane Small
Basin=Atl
Track=Lois 1966 track.pngFormed=November 4
Dissipated=November 14
1-min winds=70
Pressure=986A small cloud vortex over the central Atlantic obtained enough convective organization to become a tropical depression on November 4. It meandered, first to the west, then to the east-southeast. On the 6th, the depression became a tropical storm, followed by a hurricane on the 8th. Lois moved quickly northeastward, becoming extratropical on the 11th north of the Azores.

torm names

The following names were used for named storms (tropical storms and hurricanes) that formed in the North Atlantic in 1966. Names that were not assigned are marked in tcname unused.

Retirement

The name Inez was later retired.

See also

*List of Atlantic hurricanes
*List of Atlantic hurricane seasons

References

External links

* [http://www.aoml.noaa.gov/general/lib/lib1/nhclib/mwreviews/1966.pdf Monthly Weather Review]