hurricanesmapped

NORTH ATLANTIC · SEASON MAP

1996 Atlantic hurricane season

Every recorded track, mapped · 13 storms · 17 Jun 1996–26 Nov 1996

ACCUMULATED CYCLONE ENERGY166.2
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1996 Atlantic hurricane season: every recorded storm trackRecorded tracks of all 13 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 BengalArthur: 17 Jun–21 Jun, peak 40 kt, Tropical stormBertha: 5 Jul–14 Jul, peak 100 kt, Category 3Cesar: 24 Jul–28 Jul, peak 75 kt, Category 1Dolly: 19 Aug–25 Aug, peak 70 kt, Category 1Edouard: 19 Aug–3 Sep, peak 125 kt, Category 4Fran: 23 Aug–8 Sep, peak 105 kt, Category 3Gustav: 26 Aug–2 Sep, peak 40 kt, Tropical stormHortense: 3 Sep–15 Sep, peak 120 kt, Category 4Isidore: 24 Sep–1 Oct, peak 100 kt, Category 3Josephine: 4 Oct–8 Oct, peak 60 kt, Tropical stormKyle: 11 Oct–12 Oct, peak 45 kt, Tropical stormLili: 14 Oct–27 Oct, peak 100 kt, Category 3Marco: 16 Nov–26 Nov, peak 65 kt, Category 1

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Whole season

DepressionTropical stormCat 1Cat 2Cat 3Cat 4Cat 5Post-tropical
Every storm of the 1996 Atlantic hurricane season. Column headers sort the list.
Arthur–40Tropical storm10022,520
Bertha–100Cat 39605,560
Cesar–75Cat 19851,500
Dolly–70Cat 19891,580
Edouard–125Cat 49335,420
Fran–105Cat 39464,810
Gustav–40Tropical storm10051,690
Hortense–120Cat 49353,940
Isidore–100Cat 39603,010
Josephine–60Tropical storm9815,060
Kyle–45Tropical storm1001150
Lili–100Cat 39605,160
Marco–65Cat 19831,850

13 storms with an IBTrACS 1996 hurricane season record. Tracks are the archived center positions, first observation 17 Jun 1996, last 26 Nov 1996.

Tropical storms13

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

Hurricanes9

64 kt or more, one-minute sustained

Major (Category 3+)6

96 kt or more, Saffir–Simpson scale

Category 50

137 kt or more at any tropical-stage observation

Strongest stormEdouard

125 kt · 144 mph / 232 km/h

Lowest pressure933 hPa

Edouard, 25 Aug 1996

Longest track record18 days

Edouard, full archive record

Storms without US-agency wind0

Mapped, but outside the counts above

QUICK ANSWERS

The 1996 season in brief

How many hurricanes were there in the 1996 Atlantic hurricane season?

The archive records 9 hurricanes (one-minute winds of 64 kt or more) among 13 tropical storms, with 6 major hurricanes reaching 96 kt. Counts use US-agency winds during the tropical stage.

What was the strongest storm of the 1996 Atlantic hurricane season?

Edouard, with a peak one-minute sustained wind of 125 kt (Category 4) on 25 Aug 1996, 06:00 UTC and a minimum central pressure of 933 hPa.

How many Category 5 storms were there in 1996?

None. No storm in the 1996 Atlantic hurricane season reached Category 5 on the Saffir–Simpson one-minute wind scale in the archive.

When did the 1996 Atlantic hurricane season start and end?

The first tropical-stage observation is on 17 Jun 1996 and the last on 26 Nov 1996, from 13 tracked storms in the archive.

What was the first hurricane of the 1996 Atlantic hurricane season?

Bertha, which reached hurricane strength (64 kt) on 7 Jul 1996, 15:00 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 1996 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