1953 Atlantic hurricane season

Storms that turned north early

Grady Norton's Monthly Weather Review summary counted eight storms in 1953, about a normal number, and noted a lack of staying power: several reached hurricane force and lost it at sea without apparent cause. Most storms moved north or recurved at low latitudes, with little westward travel beyond 60° W, and none reached the western Gulf of Mexico. Four storms reached the United States coast, two as hurricanes, and Norton put the country's losses at one death and about $6,000,000 in damage, in 1953 dollars.

The site's archive holds 14 tropical storms, 7 hurricanes and 3 major hurricanes, with an accumulated cyclone energy of 98.5. Later reanalysis added weak systems the 1953 summary left out, among them storms over Florida in July and late August, a Gulf storm in September, one that crossed Cuba in October and two late storms in November and December. It also kept Gail as a single storm where forecasters had seen two.

1953 was the first season to use an official list of female names. Alice was the first Atlantic storm given a woman's name, and Gail was later replaced with Gilda because it sounded too much like gale.

Alice loops, Barbara crosses the Outer Banks

Alice formed on 25 May under a large cold low aloft east of Nicaragua. It looped over the Cape Gracias area, looped again north of western Cuba on 1 and 2 June, and peaked on 5 June with aircraft reporting 60 to 65 knot squalls. It came ashore west of Panama City, Florida, on 6 June with winds of only 25 to 40 knots. Its rain broke a nine-month drought in western Cuba, where unconfirmed press reports mentioned several drownings.

Hurricane Barbara organized northeast of the Bahamas on 11 August and moved north. Radar placed its centre 23 miles east of Cherry Point on the evening of 13 August, and the storm crossed the North Carolina coast between Morehead City and Ocracoke around 2200 EST, then swept the Capes and left near Coinjock early on 14 August. Hatteras and Nags Head recorded gusts of 90 mph, and Nags Head measured 9.67 inches of rain. The archive gives Barbara an 80 kt peak.

The only death the Weather Bureau linked to Barbara came at Wrightsville Beach, where a man was swept from a pier and drowned. Press reports put damage in the North Carolina and Virginia Capes at about a million dollars, mostly to crops, which lost up to 25 percent in some areas. Newspapers reported seven deaths in the country and two more off Atlantic Canada, where a dory sank.

Carol reaches Category 5

Hurricane Carol grew from a wave traced off Africa on 28 August. The S. S. Umatilla later reported force 11 to 12 winds and a plunging barometer near 14.3° N, 48.5° W. Aircraft found winds above 130 knots and a pressure of 930 mb on 3 and 4 September. The site's archive puts Carol at 140 kt, Category 5, on 3 September, with the season's lowest pressure of 929 hPa.

Carol weakened after passing midway between Cape Hatteras and Bermuda on 6 September. Rough seas and fog off New England led to boating accidents that killed four people, and fishing craft losses reached about $1,000,000. Carol was still near hurricane strength when it crossed into Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, where high seas wrecked boats, one man drowned and Annapolis Valley orchards lost much of their apple crop.

Three hurricanes for Bermuda in two weeks

Bermuda faced Carol, Dolly and Edna within two weeks. Hurricane Dolly formed north of Puerto Rico on 8 September after its parent wave soaked the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. Aircraft estimated winds near 100 knots on 10 September, but Dolly lost force fast and brought only gales when it crossed Bermuda on the night of 11 September. The archive holds it to a 65 kt peak, a Category 1.

Hurricane Edna followed almost the same path. It formed north of the Leeward Islands on 14 and 15 September, strengthened fast to about 125 mph and passed just north of Bermuda on the evening of 17 September. Gusts up to 120 mph caused considerable damage on the island; Norton received no dollar estimate, though it blocked roads, damaged roofs and injured three people. The archive gives Edna a 100 kt peak, a major hurricane.

Florence and Hazel in Florida

Hurricane Florence became a hurricane while passing through the Yucatán Channel on 24 September and peaked in the Gulf on 25 September. Aircraft estimated 110 to 120 knots, which Norton suspected was too high because nearby ships did not confirm it; the archive peak is 100 kt. Florence came ashore between Fort Walton and Panama City near midday on 26 September with reported winds of about 80 to 90 mph. The New Orleans centre estimated damage at around $200,000, the Red Cross counted 421 houses damaged and 3 destroyed, and early warnings allowed evacuations with no deaths or injuries.

Hazel formed in the Yucatán Channel on 8 October and came into Florida just north of Fort Myers about 1100 EST on 9 October. Norton described it as just below hurricane force, with 60 to 70 mph winds across the state, while the archive, following the current record, gives Hazel a 75 kt peak on 9 October. A tornado at St. James City destroyed several houses, and Okeechobee City reported 80 mph gusts. Wind damage came to $250,000 or slightly more.

Hazel's rain fell on river valleys already in flood. The upper St. Johns River rose to its highest stage on record, more than a foot above the previous mark, and Norton wrote that Hazel added the last foot or two of the rise. He estimated overall flood damage in the Peace, Kissimmee and St. Johns valleys at 9 to 10 million dollars, but could not separate Hazel's share from the earlier rains.

Storms after the official season

Hurricane Gail formed west-southwest of Cape Verde on 2 October; the S. S. Thorbjorg passed near its centre the next day with 44 knot winds and estimated gusts to 75 to 80 mph. Two tropical storms formed from old cold fronts after the season ended on 15 November: one northeast of Barbuda in late November, and a December storm that peaked at 55 kt in the archive before dissipating north of the Lesser Antilles on 9 December, the season's last tropical-stage record.