1971 North Atlantic hurricane season
Hurricane Edith 1971
Hurricane Edith crossed Central America before making a second hurricane approach to the United States in September 1971. Its small, intense core struck near the Nicaragua–Honduras border, while its later Gulf passage brought flooding and tornadoes to Louisiana.
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150 mph
Sep 9, 1971 during the tropical stage
Full archive record, including non-tropical stages if present
Along the recorded center positions
STORM HISTORY
Rapid intensification near Central America
Edith developed east of the Lesser Antilles and traveled west through the southern Caribbean. It strengthened rapidly on 9 September while approaching Central America. The site's archive records peak one-minute winds of 130 kt that day, with a compact eye only about five miles across described in the historical account.
The hurricane struck near Cape Gracias a Dios and weakened over northeastern Central America. It briefly entered the Gulf of Honduras, then crossed Belize and the Yucatán Peninsula. At least 35 people died in Central America, where hundreds of homes were destroyed.
A turn away from Mexico
Edith entered the Gulf of Mexico as a tropical storm and approached Tamaulipas. It stalled just offshore before a trough turned it northeast. Conditions became more favorable for strengthening, and Edith regained hurricane status on its way toward Louisiana.
The final landfall came east of Cameron on 16 September. Flooding and a tornado outbreak damaged parts of Louisiana, including an F3 tornado in Baton Rouge. Tornadoes also affected areas farther east into Florida. United States damage was estimated at US$25 million in 1971 values.
Edith weakened across Louisiana and Mississippi and dissipated over Georgia on 18 September, ending a track that had crossed both the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico.
Further reading
QUICK ANSWERS
Edith in brief
What was Hurricane Edith's highest wind speed?
150 mph, the highest one-minute sustained wind in its tropical stage, recorded on Sep 9, 1971, 06:00 PM UTC.
What category was Hurricane Edith?
Category 4 at its peak on the Saffir–Simpson one-minute wind scale. Other agencies classify storms differently.
What was Hurricane Edith's lowest pressure?
943 mb, the minimum central pressure recorded during its tropical stage, on Sep 9, 1971, 06:00 PM UTC.
When did Hurricane Edith occur?
The archived track runs from Sep 5, 1971, 06:00 PM UTC to Sep 18, 1971, 12:00 PM UTC, with the tropical stage from Sep 5, 1971, 06:00 PM UTC to Sep 18, 1971, 12:00 PM UTC.
Where did Hurricane Edith form?
In the North Atlantic basin, in the 1971 season. Its first archived position is 11.4°N, 57.9°W on Sep 5, 1971, 06:00 PM UTC.
Did Hurricane Edith make landfall?
The archive places its center over land at 3 recorded positions; the strongest is 150 mph on Sep 9, 1971, 08:00 PM UTC. Positions are six-hourly, so this is not a landfall chronology.
METHODOLOGY
Data sources and limitations
The map and summary are generated from NOAA's IBTrACS v04r01 archive. Wind and category use US-agency records; minimum pressure is calculated during the tropical stage, with the archive's pressure source retained. Categories refer to the Saffir–Simpson one-minute wind scale; local agencies may use different classifications. Coastlines use Natural Earth's 1:10m land data.
Track distance adds great-circle distances between consecutive observations, excluding gaps over 12 hours. This track has no gaps over 12 hours. The line shows the storm's center, not its size, rainfall or flood extent. Converted wind speeds are rounded to the nearest whole unit.
Archive retrieved
NOAA IBTrACS archive and Field documentation
Sources & methodology