Hurricane History Map

1940 North Atlantic season

9 storms formed in the North Atlantic basin in 1940, from 19 May 1940 to 29 October 1940.

Tap or scroll to load the interactive map

Years1940
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.

The 1940 season in numbers

The record holds 9 storms for the 1940 North Atlantic season, of which 0 had names.9 reached tropical storm strength (34 knots or more), 6 reached hurricane strength (category 1 or more) and 0 were major (category 3 or more).

  • 9storms
  • 9tropical storm strength or more
  • 6hurricane strength or more
  • 0major (category 3 to 5)
  • 68accumulated cyclone energy

Accumulated cyclone energy adds up the squared wind speed of every position of 34 knots or more, divided by 10,000. It is approximate here because the winds are 1-minute equivalents, and it is mostly useful for comparing seasons of one basin.

Strongest storms of 1940

  • Unnamed storm of August 1940 (North Atlantic)26 August 1940 to 3 September 1940, peak Category 2 (95 kt), 961 hPa
  • Unnamed storm of August 1940 (North Atlantic)3 August 1940 to 10 August 1940, peak Category 2 (85 kt), 972 hPa
  • Unnamed storm of August 1940 (North Atlantic)5 August 1940 to 14 August 1940, peak Category 2 (85 kt), 972 hPa
  • Unnamed storm of September 1940 (North Atlantic)7 September 1940 to 19 September 1940, peak Category 2 (85 kt)
  • Unnamed storm of September 1940 (North Atlantic)22 September 1940 to 28 September 1940, peak Category 2 (85 kt), 984 hPa

All 9 storms of 1940

StormPeak
Unnamed storm Tropical storm
Unnamed storm Category 2
Unnamed storm Category 2
Unnamed storm Category 2
Unnamed storm Category 2
Unnamed storm Tropical storm
Unnamed storm Category 2
Unnamed storm Category 1
Unnamed storm Tropical storm

← 1939 · 1941 → · All seasons

Other basins in 1940

Embed this map

Copy this code into your web page. It is free to use. Please keep the link under the map, as it is how people find where the map comes from.