Cat Island, The Bahamas: storm history

49 storms have passed within 50 km of Cat Island from 1851 to 2015. The map shows The Bahamas; search for a town in Cat Island to see storms near it.

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Years1842 to 2026
Ocean basin

Choosing a minimum category hides storms with no wind speed in the record. To see which storms have passed near you, search a town or ZIP code, or tap the map.

Key
  • Tropical depression Winds below 34 knots (39 mph)
  • Tropical storm 34 to 63 knots (39 to 73 mph)
  • Category 1 64 to 82 knots (74 to 95 mph)
  • Category 2 83 to 95 knots (96 to 110 mph)
  • Category 3 96 to 112 knots (111 to 129 mph), major
  • Category 4 113 to 136 knots (130 to 156 mph), major
  • Category 5 137 knots (157 mph) or more, major
  • Unknown intensity No wind speed in the record
  • Post-tropical Storm has become post-tropical (dashed line)

How to read the lines. Each line is the track of one storm, drawn through its six-hourly positions and coloured by its intensity at each point (the Saffir-Simpson scale), so a line changes colour as the storm strengthens or weakens. Tap a line for its details, or tap anywhere else to see which storms have passed nearby. Weaker storms appear as you zoom in. Hurricanes, typhoons and cyclones are the same kind of storm with different names in different oceans.

Storms near Cat Island

The record holds 49 tropical cyclones whose tracks passed within 50 km of Cat Island, The Bahamas between 1851 and 2015. The busiest month is August, with 13 of them. The strongest, measured where each came closest to the place, reached category 4 strength. 5 of the storms have no wind speed in the record.

  • 49storms within 50 km
  • 10major (category 3 to 5) near here
  • 20at category 1 strength or more

A storm counts once, however many times it came close. The category is the storm's strongest point within 50 km, which can be weaker than its peak elsewhere.

How strong were the storms near Cat Island?

Category near hereStormsShare
Tropical depression510%
Tropical storm1939%
Category 1612%
Category 248%
Category 348%
Category 4612%
Category 500%
Unknown intensity510%

The agency behind most of the intensity figures here is the NOAA National Hurricane Center (HURDAT2, Atlantic).

Cat Island storms over time

Storms by decade
Bar chart of storms by period. The most is 11 in 1930s.1850s1870s1890s1910s1930s1950s1980s2000s

The 2010s only run to 2015, so that bar is for a shorter period. This place's record starts in 1851, and records before the satellite era (about the 1960s) are far less complete.

Show the numbers
PeriodCount
1850s2
1860s2
1870s3
1880s5
1890s2
1900s2
1910s1
1920s3
1930s11
1940s3
1950s3
1970s3
1980s2
1990s3
2000s1
2010s3

Earlier decades hold fewer storms partly because they were harder to see. Before weather satellites (about the 1960s) many storms that stayed at sea went unrecorded, so compare decades with care.

Storms by month
Bar chart of storms by period. The most is 13 in Aug.Jan0Feb0Mar0Apr0May1Jun0Jul4Aug13Sep13Oct13Nov5Dec0
Show the numbers
PeriodCount
Jan0
Feb0
Mar0
Apr0
May1
Jun0
Jul4
Aug13
Sep13
Oct13
Nov5
Dec0

Strongest storms near Cat Island

  • Unnamed storm of September 1928 (North Atlantic)6 September 1928 to 21 September 1928, Category 4 (135 kt) near here, peak Category 5 (140 kt), 929 hPa
  • Unnamed storm of August 1932 (North Atlantic)30 August 1932 to 17 September 1932, Category 4 (135 kt) near here, peak Category 5 (140 kt)
  • Unnamed storm of July 1926 (North Atlantic)22 July 1926 to 2 August 1926, peak Category 4 (120 kt), 967 hPa
  • Unnamed storm of August 1933 (North Atlantic)31 August 1933 to 7 September 1933, peak Category 4 (120 kt), 945 hPa
  • Floyd (1999)7 September 1999 to 19 September 1999, peak Category 4 (135 kt), 921 hPa

Most recent storms near Cat Island

  • Kate (2015)8 November 2015 to 13 November 2015, Tropical storm (50 kt) near here, peak Category 1 (75 kt), 980 hPa
  • Sandy (2012)21 October 2012 to 31 October 2012, Category 2 (90 kt) near here, peak Category 3 (100 kt), 940 hPa
  • Irene (2011)21 August 2011 to 30 August 2011, Category 2 (95 kt) near here, peak Category 3 (105 kt), 942 hPa

Many of these storms killed people and destroyed homes. The figures are the official record's, and this page says nothing about their human cost.

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