Hurricane History Map

1956 North Atlantic season

12 storms formed in the North Atlantic basin in 1956, from 7 June 1956 to 21 November 1956.

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Years1956
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 1956 season in numbers

The record holds 12 storms for the 1956 North Atlantic season, of which 7 had names.12 reached tropical storm strength (34 knots or more), 4 reached hurricane strength (category 1 or more) and 1 were major (category 3 or more).

  • 12storms
  • 12tropical storm strength or more
  • 4hurricane strength or more
  • 1major (category 3 to 5)
  • 57accumulated 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 1956

  • Betsy (1956)9 August 1956 to 21 August 1956, peak Category 3 (105 kt), 954 hPa
  • Greta (1956)31 October 1956 to 7 November 1956, peak Category 2 (85 kt), 970 hPa
  • Flossy (1956)20 September 1956 to 3 October 1956, peak Category 1 (80 kt), 974 hPa
  • Anna (1956)25 July 1956 to 27 July 1956, peak Category 1 (75 kt), 991 hPa
  • Unnamed storm of October 1956 (North Atlantic)14 October 1956 to 19 October 1956, peak Tropical storm (55 kt), 996 hPa

All 12 storms of 1956

StormPeak
Unnamed storm Tropical storm
Unnamed storm Tropical storm
Anna Category 1
Betsy Category 3
Carla Tropical storm
Dora Tropical storm
Ethel Tropical storm
Flossy Category 1
Unnamed storm Tropical storm
Unnamed storm Tropical storm
Greta Category 2
Unnamed storm Tropical storm

← 1955 · 1957 → · All seasons

Other basins in 1956

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