Hurricane History Map

Hurricane Betsy path, 1956

North Atlantic basin, 9 August 1956 to 21 August 1956. Its recorded track is shown on the map and selected for you.

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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.

What the record says

Betsy was a hurricane in the North Atlantic basin that lasted about 12 days, from 9 August 1956 to 21 August 1956. Its peak was Category 3 (105 kt) on 14 August 1956, with a 1-minute sustained wind of 105 kt (121 mph, 194 km/h). Its lowest recorded pressure was 954 hPa.

  • Category 3peak intensity
  • 105 ktpeak wind (121 mph)
  • 954 hPalowest pressure
  • 12 dayslifetime

Source of the peak wind: NOAA National Hurricane Center (HURDAT2, Atlantic).

It has its own page because it reached category 3 or stronger.

This page gives the official record's figures. It does not describe the human cost of the storm, which is far larger than any wind speed or pressure here.

Where it came ashore

The record shows no landfall: the storm stayed at sea.

Countries it came within 50 km of

Strongest effect first.

US counties it came within 50 km of

Showing 12 of 40, strongest first.

How to read this track

The line joins the storm's six-hourly positions with straight lines, coloured by its intensity at each point, so it shows how the storm strengthened and weakened. The real path curved between the positions. A dashed grey stretch means the storm had become post-tropical. Records before the satellite era (about the 1960s) are estimates.

Source: NOAA NCEI IBTrACS, public domain. See data sources and caveats.

Other notable storms near The Bahamas

  • Dorian (2019)24 August 2019 to 9 September 2019, peak Category 5 (160 kt), 910 hPa
  • Andrew (1992)16 August 1992 to 28 August 1992, peak Category 5 (150 kt), 922 hPa
  • Floyd (1999)7 September 1999 to 19 September 1999, peak Category 4 (135 kt), 921 hPa
  • Joaquin (2015)26 September 2015 to 15 October 2015, peak Category 4 (135 kt), 931 hPa
  • Humberto (2019)12 September 2019 to 20 September 2019, peak Category 3 (110 kt), 950 hPa

The 1956 North Atlantic season · All notable storms

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