hurricanesmapped

NORTH ATLANTIC · SEASON MAP

1974 Atlantic hurricane season

Every recorded track, mapped · 20 storms · 22 Jun 1974–12 Nov 1974

ACCUMULATED CYCLONE ENERGY70.9
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1974 Atlantic hurricane season: every recorded storm trackRecorded tracks of all 20 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 BengalUnnamed: 22 Jun–26 Jun, peak 25 kt, Tropical depressionUnnamed: 24 Jun–26 Jun, no US-agency windUnnamed: 30 Jun–2 Jul, peak 30 kt, Tropical depressionUnnamed: 13 Jul–17 Jul, peak 30 kt, Tropical depressionUnnamed: 16 Jul–20 Jul, no US-agency windUnnamed: 10 Aug–15 Aug, no US-agency windAlma: 12 Aug–15 Aug, peak 55 kt, Tropical stormUnnamed: 24 Aug–26 Aug, peak 30 kt, Tropical depressionBecky: 26 Aug–2 Sep, peak 100 kt, Category 3Carmen: 29 Aug–10 Sep, peak 130 kt, Category 4Unnamed: 2 Sep–11 Sep, peak 30 kt, Tropical depressionDolly: 2 Sep–5 Sep, peak 45 kt, Tropical stormElaine: 4 Sep–13 Sep, peak 60 kt, Tropical stormFifi:Orlene: 14 Sep–24 Sep, peak 95 kt, Category 2Unnamed: 18 Sep–20 Sep, peak 25 kt, Tropical depressionUnnamed: 23 Sep–27 Sep, peak 30 kt, Tropical depressionGertrude: 27 Sep–4 Oct, peak 65 kt, Category 1Unnamed: 4 Oct–5 Oct, peak 30 kt, Tropical depressionUnnamed: 30 Oct–2 Nov, peak 25 kt, Tropical depressionUnnamed: 10 Nov–12 Nov, peak 25 kt, Tropical depression

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Whole season

DepressionTropical stormCat 1Cat 2Cat 3Cat 4Cat 5Post-tropical
Every storm of the 1974 Atlantic hurricane season. Column headers sort the list.
Unnamed–25Tropical depression—530
Unnamed–—Unclassified—870
Unnamed–30Tropical depression—860
Unnamed–30Tropical depression—650
Unnamed–—Unclassified—1,880
Unnamed–—Unclassified—880
Alma–55Tropical storm10071,600
Unnamed–30Tropical depression—640
Becky–100Cat 39772,070
Carmen–130Cat 49282,960
Unnamed–30Tropical depression—3,230
Dolly–45Tropical storm10051,380
Elaine–60Tropical storm10013,070
Fifi:Orlene–95Cat 29712,960
Unnamed–25Tropical depression—510
Unnamed–30Tropical depression—950
Gertrude–65Cat 19991,370
Unnamed–30Tropical depression10081,570
Unnamed–25Tropical depression—920
Unnamed–25Tropical depression—190

20 storms with an IBTrACS 1974 hurricane season record. Tracks are the archived center positions, first observation 22 Jun 1974, last 12 Nov 1974.

Tropical storms11

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

Hurricanes4

64 kt or more, one-minute sustained

Major (Category 3+)2

96 kt or more, Saffir–Simpson scale

Category 50

137 kt or more at any tropical-stage observation

Strongest stormCarmen

130 kt · 150 mph / 241 km/h

Lowest pressure928 hPa

Carmen, 2 Sept 1974

Longest track record12 days

Carmen, full archive record

Storms without US-agency wind3

Mapped, but outside the counts above

QUICK ANSWERS

The 1974 season in brief

How many hurricanes were there in the 1974 Atlantic hurricane season?

The archive records 4 hurricanes (one-minute winds of 64 kt or more) among 11 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 1974 Atlantic hurricane season?

Carmen, with a peak one-minute sustained wind of 130 kt (Category 4) on 2 Sept 1974, 06:00 UTC and a minimum central pressure of 928 hPa.

How many Category 5 storms were there in 1974?

None. No storm in the 1974 Atlantic hurricane season reached Category 5 on the Saffir–Simpson one-minute wind scale in the archive.

When did the 1974 Atlantic hurricane season start and end?

The first tropical-stage observation is on 22 Jun 1974 and the last on 12 Nov 1974, from 20 tracked storms in the archive.

What was the first hurricane of the 1974 Atlantic hurricane season?

Becky, which reached hurricane strength (64 kt) on 28 Aug 1974, 18:00 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 1974 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