hurricanesmapped

NORTH ATLANTIC · SEASON MAP

1971 Atlantic hurricane season

Every recorded track, mapped · 22 storms · 4 Jul 1971–22 Nov 1971

ACCUMULATED CYCLONE ENERGY116.5
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1971 Atlantic hurricane season: every recorded storm trackRecorded tracks of all 22 storms, colored by the wind category at each observation. Hover or focus a storm in the table to highlight its track.UNITED STATESCANADAMEXICOCUBABRAZILAFRICAEUROPECHINAJAPANINDIAGulf of MexicoAtlantic OceanPacific OceanArabian SeaBay of BengalArlene: 4 Jul–7 Jul, peak 55 kt, Tropical stormUnnamed: 7 Jul–8 Jul, peak 25 kt, Tropical depressionUnnamed: 10 Jul–11 Jul, peak 25 kt, Tropical depressionUnnamed: 3 Aug–7 Aug, peak 75 kt, Category 1Unnamed: 6 Aug–9 Aug, peak 25 kt, Tropical depressionBeth: 10 Aug–16 Aug, peak 75 kt, Category 1Unnamed: 12 Aug–16 Aug, peak 25 kt, Tropical depressionChloe: 18 Aug–25 Aug, peak 55 kt, Tropical stormDoria: 20 Aug–28 Aug, peak 55 kt, Tropical stormUnnamed: 28 Aug–1 Sep, peak 25 kt, Tropical depressionUnnamed: 3 Sep–8 Sep, peak 30 kt, Tropical depressionFern: 3 Sep–13 Sep, peak 80 kt, Category 1Edith: 5 Sep–18 Sep, peak 140 kt, Category 5Ginger: 6 Sep–3 Oct, peak 95 kt, Category 2Unnamed: 8 Sep–11 Sep, peak 25 kt, Tropical depressionUnnamed: 10 Sep–14 Sep, peak 30 kt, Tropical depressionHeidi: 11 Sep–15 Sep, peak 55 kt, Tropical stormIrene:Olivia: 11 Sep–1 Oct, peak 100 kt, Category 3Janice: 21 Sep–24 Sep, peak 55 kt, Tropical stormUnnamed: 6 Oct–14 Oct, peak 25 kt, Tropical depressionKristy: 18 Oct–21 Oct, peak 45 kt, Tropical stormLaura: 12 Nov–22 Nov, peak 60 kt, Tropical storm

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Whole season

DepressionTropical stormCat 1Cat 2Cat 3Cat 4Cat 5Post-tropical
Every storm of the 1971 Atlantic hurricane season. Column headers sort the list.
Arlene–55Tropical storm10001,460
Unnamed–25Tropical depression—230
Unnamed–25Tropical depression—110
Unnamed–75Cat 19742,010
Unnamed–25Tropical depression—440
Beth–75Cat 19771,770
Unnamed–25Tropical depression—410
Chloe–55Tropical storm10042,160
Doria–55Tropical storm9893,370
Unnamed–25Tropical depression—1,080
Unnamed–30Tropical depression—1,500
Fern–80Cat 19781,050
Edith–140Cat 59433,460
Ginger–95Cat 29594,060
Unnamed–25Tropical depression—600
Unnamed–30Tropical depression—1,570
Heidi–55Tropical storm9961,210
Irene:Olivia–100Cat 39484,470
Janice–55Tropical storm10051,360
Unnamed–25Tropical depression—1,190
Kristy–45Tropical storm9921,900
Laura–60Tropical storm9941,310

22 storms with an IBTrACS 1971 hurricane season record. Tracks are the archived center positions, first observation 4 Jul 1971, last 22 Nov 1971.

Tropical storms13

Tropical-stage US-agency wind of 34 kt or more

Hurricanes6

64 kt or more, one-minute sustained

Major (Category 3+)2

96 kt or more, Saffir–Simpson scale

Category 51

137 kt or more at any tropical-stage observation

Strongest stormEdith

140 kt · 161 mph / 259 km/h

Lowest pressure943 hPa

Edith, 9 Sept 1971

Longest track record29.3 days

Ginger, full archive record

Storms without US-agency wind0

Mapped, but outside the counts above

QUICK ANSWERS

The 1971 season in brief

How many hurricanes were there in the 1971 Atlantic hurricane season?

The archive records 6 hurricanes (one-minute winds of 64 kt or more) among 13 tropical storms, with 2 major hurricanes reaching 96 kt. Counts use US-agency winds during the tropical stage.

What was the strongest storm of the 1971 Atlantic hurricane season?

Edith, with a peak one-minute sustained wind of 140 kt (Category 5) on 9 Sept 1971, 18:00 UTC and a minimum central pressure of 943 hPa.

How many Category 5 storms were there in 1971?

1 storm in the 1971 Atlantic hurricane season reached Category 5 on the Saffir–Simpson one-minute wind scale: Edith.

When did the 1971 Atlantic hurricane season start and end?

The first tropical-stage observation is on 4 Jul 1971 and the last on 22 Nov 1971, from 22 tracked storms in the archive.

What was the first hurricane of the 1971 Atlantic hurricane season?

Unnamed, which reached hurricane strength (64 kt) on 6 Aug 1971, 09:00 UTC.

METHODOLOGY

Data sources and limitations

The map and totals are generated from NOAA’s IBTrACS v04r01 archive. A storm belongs to this page when the archive lists it in the North Atlantic basin for the 1971 season, so a December storm whose track ends in January stays with its season. Storms that cross between basins appear on the page of their archive basin only.

Counts use US-agency one-minute winds during the tropical stage: 34 kt for a tropical storm, 64 kt for hurricane strength and 96 kt for major intensity, on the Saffir–Simpson scale in every basin. Local agencies classify storms differently, and official season summaries can differ from the archive. Accumulated cyclone energy sums squared winds at six-hourly synoptic times, counting observations in the calendar year. Storms with no US-agency wind are mapped but cannot enter the counts.

The map frame is the same for every North Atlantic season, so a track that leaves it is cut at the edge. Lines show each storm’s center, not its size, rainfall or flood extent. Coastlines use Natural Earth’s 1:10m land data.

Archive retrieved

NOAA IBTrACS archive · Field documentation

Sources & methodology