1954 Atlantic hurricane season#Hurricane Thirteen

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from:05/10/1954 till:18/10/1954 color:C4 text:"Hazel (C4)"

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File:Hurricane Carol Storm Surge in color 1954.jpg]]

The hurricane season officially began on June 15, when the United States Weather Bureau in Miami, Florida, began 24‑hour operations. The agency, under the direction of Grady Norton had access to 43 other weather stations across the Atlantic basin. Norton died during the season from a stroke while tracking Hurricane Hazel.{{cite news|author=Staff Writer|newspaper=Reading Eagle|agency=United Press International|date=1954-11-15|title=Hurricane Season Ends|access-date=2011-09-05|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=wwwrAAAAIBAJ&pg=7035,6662755&dq=hurricane+season&hl=en}} Additionally, a group of Hurricane Hunters planes were put on standby for the season, able to be flown out into storms and collect data.{{cite news|author=Rose Mallory|newspaper=Miami Daily News|title=1954 Season Opens Officially|access-date=2021-02-19|date=1954-06-15|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/71457042/the-miami-news/|via=Newspapers.com}} {{free access}} During the season, there were eight named storms, as well as an unnamed hurricane and a tropical depression.{{Atlantic hurricane best track}} The season officially ended on November 15, although an unnamed tropical storm formed a day later.{{Atlantic hurricane best track}} In addition, Tropical Storm Alice developed on December 31, the latest a tropical cyclone has developed in the calendar year.

Cumulatively, tropical cyclones left 193 deaths and $756 million in damage, becoming the costliest hurricane season at the time. The season was one of six to have three major hurricanes strike the country, along with 2005 (which had four), 1893, 1909, 1933, and 2004. Two of the major hurricanes – Carol and Edna – struck New England; this occurred despite an average of only 5–10 New England hurricanes per century. Carol struck Connecticut as a hurricane and left widespread heavy damage. Only ten days later, Edna became the costliest hurricane in Maine's history. The third major hurricane, Hazel, was the strongest hurricane of the season, attaining winds of {{convert|150|mph|km/h|abbr=on}}. Unusually, no tropical cyclones affected Florida.

The season's activity was reflected with a cumulative accumulated cyclone energy (ACE) rating of 111,{{cite web|author=Hurricane Research Division|publisher=National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration|date=June 2019|title=North Atlantic Hurricane Basin (1851-2018): Comparison of Original and Revised HURDAT|access-date=2021-04-23|url=https://www.aoml.noaa.gov/hrd/hurdat/comparison_table.html}} which is categorized as being "above normal".{{cite web|url=http://hurricane.atmos.colostate.edu/Forecasts/2009/dec2009/dec2009.pdf|title=Extended range forecast of Atlantic seasonal hurricane activity and landfall strike probability for 2010|date=2009-12-09|publisher=Colorado State University|access-date=2011-03-14}} ACE is, broadly speaking, a measure of the power of the hurricane multiplied by the length of time it existed, so storms that last a long time, as well as particularly strong hurricanes, have high ACEs. ACE is only calculated for full advisories on tropical systems at or exceeding {{convert|34|kn|mph km/h|lk=in}} or tropical storm strength.{{cite web|author=David Levinson|date=2008-08-20|title=2005 Atlantic Ocean Tropical Cyclones|publisher=National Climatic Data Center|access-date=2011-07-23|url=http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/climate/research/2005/2005-atlantic-trop-cyclones.html|archive-date=2005-12-01|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051201033336/http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/climate/research/2005/2005-atlantic-trop-cyclones.html|url-status=dead}}

{{Clear}}

{{Infobox Hurricane Small

|Basin=Atl

|Image=1954 Atlantic tropical storm 1 track.png

|Formed=May 27

|Dissipated=May 31

|1-min winds=45

|Pressure=996

}}

{{See also|List of off-season Atlantic hurricanes}}

A broad trough developed over the eastern Gulf of Mexico on May 26. A frontal disturbance formed over Florida along the trough, spawning an area of broad cyclonic turning. After emerging into the western Atlantic Ocean, a closed circulation developed within the system, and it is estimated that a tropical depression formed on May 28 about {{convert|100|mi|km|abbr=on}} east of Jacksonville, Florida. Ship observations in the region suggested that the depression intensified into a tropical storm by late on May 28. The system was small, and was not discovered to have been a tropical cyclone until a reanalysis of data in 2015. The storm moved to the northeast ahead of an approaching trough, bypassing the Carolinas to the east; rainfall brushed the coast of North Carolina. On May 29, ship observations suggested peak winds of {{convert|50|mph|km/h|abbr=on}}. On the next day, the storm became associated with a warm front, indicating that it became extratropical to the southeast of New England. Continuing to the northeast, the former storm crossed over the southeastern coast of Newfoundland before being absorbed by another nontropical low to the northwest on May 31.{{cite report|author=Chris Landsea|date=May 2015|title=Documentation of Atlantic Tropical Cyclones Changes in HURDAT (1954)|publisher=Hurricane Research Division|access-date=2016-03-28|url=http://www.aoml.noaa.gov/hrd/hurdat/metadata_master.html#1951_12|display-authors=etal}}

{{clear}}

{{Infobox Hurricane Small

|Basin=Atl

|Image=1954 Atlantic tropical storm 2 track.png

|Formed=June 17

|Dissipated=June 25

|1-min winds=60

|Pressure=994

}}

A trough formed over southern Florida on June 17. Early the next day, a circulation formed, signaling that a tropical depression also developed over the Everglades. The system moved slowly north-northeastward, emerging into the western Atlantic Ocean at 06:00 UTC on June 20. Shortly thereafter, the depression intensified into a tropical storm, although the structure was broad and asymmetric due to association with a nearby upper-level low, signaling that the system was possibly a subtropical cyclone. Ship reports in the region indicate that the storm continued to intensify. On June 22, the structure became much more symmetrical while passing just off the Outer Banks, bringing winds of {{convert|33|mph|km/h|abbr=on}} to Wilmington, North Carolina. That day, the Hurricane Hunters estimated winds of {{convert|80|mph|km/h|abbr=on}}, and is possible that the storm briefly attained hurricane status. The peak winds were estimated at {{convert|70|mph|km/h|abbr=on}}, due to a pressure reading of {{convert|994|mbar|inHg|abbr=on}}. The storm accelerated northeastward due to an approaching cold front. On June 24, the storm became extratropical, and shortly thereafter made landfall along southwestern Nova Scotia. The system dissipated the next day over the northern Gulf of Saint Lawrence.

{{clear}}

{{Infobox Hurricane Small

|Basin=Atl

|Image=Alice_1954_rainfall.png

|Track=Alice1 1954 track.png

|Formed=June 24

|Dissipated=June 26

|1-min winds=95

|Pressure=973

}}

{{Main|Hurricane Alice (June 1954)}}

On June 24, Tropical Storm Alice developed. It rapidly intensified in the western Gulf of Mexico, giving the citizens of southern Texas and northeastern Mexico little time to prepare.{{cite news|author=Staff Writer|agency=Associated Press|newspaper=The Victoria Advocate|title=Gale Hits Mexico|date=1954-06-23|access-date=2011-08-06|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=3scdAAAAIBAJ&pg=5288,6906305&dq=hurricane&hl=en}} By June 25, Alice intensified to hurricane status, reaching peak winds of {{convert|110|mph|km/h|abbr=on}} that day, before making landfall in northeastern Mexico, just south of the Mexico–United States border. The storm progressed inland along the Rio Grande Valley, dissipating on June 27.

In Mexico, Alice left minor damage, and killed one person due to a fallen power line. Across Texas, Alice dropped torrential rainfall, peaking at {{convert|24.07|in|mm|abbr=on}} near Pandale,{{cite web|author=David Roth|date=2010-01-13|url=http://www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/tropical/rain/alice1954.html|title=Hurricane Alice – June 24–27, 1954|publisher=Hydrometeorological Prediction Center|access-date=2011-08-05}} with most of the rainfall concentrated around the Pecos River. High precipitation accumulations occurred in areas that had seen little rains in three years. This led to significant flooding along the Pecos River that produced "probably the greatest rate of runoff for a watershed of [that] size in the United States", as reported by the International Boundary and Water Commission.{{cite book|author=Jonathan Burnett|title=Flash floods in Texas|year=2008|publisher=Texas A&M University Press|access-date=2011-08-05|pages=151–161|isbn=978-1-58544-590-5|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bYIIV5ZobM8C&q=hurricane+alice+june+1954+texas&pg=PA151}} Ozona, Texas, sustained the most impact, estimated at $2 million in damage. Downstream, the Rio Grande rose to the highest level since 1865, which flooded seven towns on either side of the border;{{cite news|author=Staff Writer|agency=United Press|newspaper=Sarasota Herald-Tribune|date=1954-06-28|title=Rio Grande Floods 7 Towns; 6 Die, Thousand Homeless|access-date=2011-08-06|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Q5kcAAAAIBAJ&pg=5320,4669117&dq=damage+million&hl=en}} Eagle Pass, Texas, was flooded with {{convert|8|ft|m|abbr=on}} of water.{{cite journal|author=F. J. Von Zuben Jr.|date=November 1957|volume=72|issue=11|journal=Public Health Reports|title=Public Health Disaster Aid in the Rio Grande Flood of 1954|pmc=2031412|pmid=13485295|pages=1009–17|display-authors=etal}} Overall there were at least 55 deaths.

{{Clear}}

{{Infobox Hurricane Small

|Basin=Atl

|Image=1954 Atlantic tropical storm 4 track.png

|Formed=July 10

|Dissipated=July 14

|1-min winds=45

|Pressure=1004

|Pressurepre=≤

}}

A dissipating cold front stalled over the southeastern United States from Arkansas to North Carolina on July 9. On the next day, a low pressure area developed along the coast of Georgia. Soon after, the front dissipated, and by 12:00 UTC on July 10, the system developed into a tropical storm. Observations from a coastal lighthouse and a nearby ship indicated that the storm attained peak winds of {{convert|50|mph|km/h|abbr=on}} while moving slowly east-northeastward, just offshore the Carolinas. The storm began weakening on July 13, and dissipated the next day when it was absorbed by a larger extratropical storm that was developing to the north.

{{clear}}

{{Infobox Hurricane Small

|Basin=Atl

|Image=Barbara 1954 track.png

|Formed=July 27

|Dissipated=July 30

|1-min winds=50

|Pressure=999

}}

On July 27, a tropical depression developed in the northern Gulf of Mexico, about {{convert|100|mi|km|abbr=on}} south of Grand Isle, Louisiana.{{Atlantic hurricane best track}} A map of the low pressure areas forming in July 1954 indicated that the system originated near the Mississippi Delta and tracked southward.{{cite journal|author=H.F. Hawkins|page=94|title=The Weather and Circulation of July 1954|date=July 1954|access-date=2011-07-29|journal=Monthly Weather Review|url=http://docs.lib.noaa.gov/rescue/mwr/082/mwr-082-07-0209.pdf|doi=10.1175/1520-0493(1954)082<0209:twacoj>2.0.co;2|volume=82|issue=7|bibcode = 1954MWRv...82..209H|doi-access=free}} After forming, the depression tracked northwestward, intensifying into Tropical Storm Barbara early on July 28. Maximum sustained winds reached {{convert|45|mph|km/h|abbr=on}},{{Atlantic hurricane best track}} although a tanker offshore named the Henry M. Dawes reported wind gusts of {{convert|60|mph|km/h|abbr=on}}. Officials at the United States Weather Bureau posted a storm warning from Cameron to Burrwood, Louisiana, and also advised small craft to remain at port along the entire northern Gulf Coast.{{cite news|author=Staff Writer|agency=United Press International|date=1954-07-29|title=Gulf Storm of Louisiana Coast|newspaper=Sarasota Herald-Tribune|access-date=2011-07-29|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=xnUjAAAAIBAJ&pg=5107,4185056&dq=tropical+storm+barbara&hl=en}} Without intensifying further, Barbara made landfall near Vermilion Bay, Louisiana on July 29,{{cite journal|author=Walter R. Davis|title=Hurricanes of 1954|date=December 1954|journal=Monthly Weather Review|pages=370–373|doi=10.1175/1520-0493(1954)082<0370:ho>2.0.co;2|access-date=2011-07-29|url=http://www.aoml.noaa.gov/general/lib/lib1/nhclib/mwreviews/1954.pdf| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110629054150/http://www.aoml.noaa.gov/general/lib/lib1/nhclib/mwreviews/1954.pdf| archive-date= 29 June 2011 | url-status= live| volume=82|issue=12|bibcode = 1954MWRv...82..370D |doi-access=free}} dissipating the next day over Texas.{{Atlantic hurricane best track}} The storm dropped heavy rainfall along its path, including over {{convert|2|in|mm|abbr=on}} in New Orleans.{{cite news|author=Staff Writer|agency=Associated Press|date=1954-07-30|newspaper=Lewiston Morning Tribune|title=Tropical Storm Hits Louisiana|access-date=2011-07-29|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=raNfAAAAIBAJ&pg=6244,2163135&dq=tropical+louisiana&hl=en}} The rains caused flooding as well as some damage to the rice crop.{{cite news|author=Staff Writer|agency=United Press|date=1954-07-30|newspaper=Sarasota Herald Tribune|title=Gulf Storm Dwindles But Damages Rice Crop|access-date=2011-07-29|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=x3UjAAAAIBAJ&pg=6123,4320016&dq=tropical+louisiana&hl=en}} However, the Monthly Weather Review yearly summary described the precipitation as "far more beneficial than damaging". There was no wind damage.

{{Clear}}

{{Infobox Hurricane Small

|Basin=Atl

|Image=Carol 1954-08-31 weather map.jpg

|Track=Carol 1954 track.png

|Formed=August 25

|Dissipated=August 31

|1-min winds=100

|Pressure=955

}}

{{Main|Hurricane Carol}}

Carol developed from a tropical wave near the Bahamas on August 25. It quickly intensified as it tracked generally to the north, becoming a hurricane on August 27. Moving parallel to the coastline of the southeastern United States, Carol passed just east of Cape Hatteras with winds estimated at {{convert|110|mph|km/h|abbr=on}}. It intensified further as it accelerated, striking eastern Long Island as Category 3 hurricane.{{cite web|author=Hurricane Research Division|year=2006|title=Chronological List of All Hurricanes which Affected the Continental United States: 1851–2005|publisher=National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration|access-date=2006-11-02|url=http://www.aoml.noaa.gov/hrd/hurdat/ushurrlist.htm| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20061013191128/http://www.aoml.noaa.gov/hrd//hurdat/ushurrlist.htm| archive-date= 13 October 2006| url-status= live}} Carol made its final landfall on Old Saybrook, Connecticut, late on August 31. Within a few hours, the hurricane became extratropical over New Hampshire, which later dissipated over Quebec.

In North Carolina, hurricane-force winds left minor damage to houses,{{cite report|author=James E. Hudgins |date=October 2007 |title=Tropical cyclones affecting North Carolina since 1586: An Historical Perspective |author2=National Weather Service Forecast Office Blacksburg, Virginia National Weather Service Office |publisher=United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration National Weather Service |type=NOAA Technical Memorandum NWS ER-100 |access-date=2012-11-29 |url=http://www.erh.noaa.gov/er/hq/ssd/erps/tm/tm100.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111027081946/http://www.erh.noaa.gov/er/hq/ssd/erps/tm/tm100.pdf |archive-date=2011-10-27 }} estimated around $228,000. Rains from Carol alleviated drought conditions in the Washington, D.C. area.{{cite web|author=David Roth |author2=Hugh Cobb|year=2000|title=Virginia Hurricane History|publisher=National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration|access-date=2006-11-03|url=http://www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/research/roth/valate20hur.htm| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20061110131440/http://www.hpc.ncep.noaa.gov/research/roth/valate20hur.htm| archive-date= 10 November 2006 | url-status= live}} On Long Island, the storm surge flooded the Montauk Highway with {{convert|4|ft|m|abbr=on}} of water about a mile across. High winds left 275,000 homes without power, and damage totaled $3 million on the island.{{cite book|author=James K. McGuire|title=The Storm of August 31, 1954|pages=289–292|publisher=United States Weather Bureau|volume=41|location=Chattanooga, Tennessee|year=1954|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0D7OAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA289|issue=8}}

The hurricane moved ashore in Connecticut shortly after high tide, producing a storm surge of {{convert|10|–|15|ft|m|abbr=on}} from New London eastward. The surge in Narragansett Bay reached {{convert|14.4|ft|m|abbr=on}}, which surpassed that of the 1938 New England hurricane, which flooded downtown Providence with {{convert|12|ft|m}} of water. In New London, rainfall peaked around {{convert|6|in|mm|abbr=on}}. The hurricane produced winds of over {{convert|115|mph|km/h|abbr=on}} in Connecticut and Rhode Island,{{cite web|author=Eric S. Blake|author2=Ethan J. Gibney|date=August 2011|title=The Deadliest, Costliest, and Most Intense United States Tropical Cyclones from 1851 to 2010 (and Other Frequently Requested Hurricane Facts)|publisher=National Hurricane Center|access-date=2011-08-19|url=http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/pdf/nws-nhc-6.pdf}} including a record-high gust of {{convert|135|mph|km/h|abbr=on}} at Block Island.{{cite web|author=David R. Vallee |author2=Michael R. Dion|year=1997|title=Hurricane Carol|publisher=Taunton, MA National Weather Service|access-date=2011-08-19|url=http://www.erh.noaa.gov/box/hurricane/hurricaneCarol.shtml|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150327155121/http://www.erh.noaa.gov/box/hurricane/hurricaneCarol.shtml|archive-date=2015-03-27}} Widespread areas were left without power from eastern Connecticut to southern Massachusetts. Further north in Maine, Hurricane Carol downed hundreds of trees, as well as destroying widespread apple groves and corn fields. It became the costliest natural disaster in the state's history,{{cite web|author=Wayne Cotterly|year=2002|title=Hurricane Carol (1954)|access-date=2006-11-10|url=http://www.pivot.net/~cotterly/carol.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131210224935/http://www.pivot.net/~cotterly/carol.htm|archive-date=2013-12-10|url-status=dead}} only to be surpassed by Hurricane Edna ten days later.{{cite web|author=Wayne Cotterly|year=2002|title=Hurricane Edna (1954)|access-date=2006-11-10|url=http://www.pivot.net/~cotterly/edna.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061220040916/http://www.pivot.net/~cotterly/edna.htm|archive-date=20 December 2006|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}} Across New England, the hurricane destroyed about 4,000 homes, 3,500 cars, and 3,000 boats. Damage totaled $460 million, and there were 60 deaths. In neighboring Canada, high rains caused flooding while strong winds downed trees and power lines.{{cite web|author=Canadian Hurricane Centre|date=2010-09-14|title=1954-Carol|access-date=2011-08-19|url=http://www.ec.gc.ca/Hurricane/default.asp?lang=En&n=BBF632B3-1|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120302201612/http://www.ec.gc.ca/Hurricane/default.asp?lang=En&n=BBF632B3-1|archive-date=2012-03-02}}

{{Clear}}

{{Infobox Hurricane Small

|Basin=Atl

|Image=Dolly 1954 track.png

|Formed=August 31

|Dissipated=September 4

|1-min winds=75

|Pressure=994

|Pressurepre=≤

}}

A tropical wave spawned a tropical depression on August 31 to the northwest of Puerto Rico. It moved rapidly north-northwestward, intensifying into Tropical Storm Dolly later that day and into a hurricane early on September 1.{{Atlantic hurricane best track}} Early in the storm's duration, the U.S. Weather Bureau noted the potential for Dolly to affect the same areas of New England that Hurricane Carol struck just days prior.{{cite news|author=Glenn Alter|title=Hurricane Dolly Now Far East of Jacksonville|newspaper=The Miami News|date=1954-09-01|access-date=2021-02-19|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/71456617/the-miami-news/|via=Newspapers.com}} {{free access}} However, the hurricane turned to the north away from land. The Hurricane Hunters estimated maximum sustained winds of {{convert|85|mph|km/h|abbr=on}} on September 2 after the storm passed about halfway between the Outer Banks and Bermuda. Dolly turned to the northeast on September 2 and became extratropical later that day to the south of Nova Scotia. It was tracked until September 4, until it was last located to the north of the Azores. There was no reported damage.{{Atlantic hurricane best track}}

{{Clear}}

{{Infobox Hurricane Small

|Basin=Atl

|Image=Edna 1954 surface weather analysis.png

|Track=Edna 1954 track.png

|Formed=September 5

|Dissipated=September 14

|1-min winds=110

|Pressure=943

}}

{{Main|Hurricane Edna}}

As Dolly became extratropical, the tropical depression that later became Hurricane Edna developed east of the Lesser Antilles on September 2.{{Atlantic hurricane best track}} It moved northwestward, dropping heavy rainfall on Puerto Rico as it passed north of the island.{{cite journal|author=William Malkin|author2=George C. Holzworth|title=Hurricane Edna, 1954|date=September 1954|volume=82|issue=9|journal=Monthly Weather Review|pages=267–279|access-date=February 1, 2011|url=http://docs.lib.noaa.gov/rescue/mwr/082/mwr-082-09-0267.pdf|bibcode = 1954MWRv...82..267M |doi = 10.1175/1520-0493(1954)082<0267:HE>2.0.CO;2 |doi-access=free}} On September 7 Edna became a hurricane, and the next day reached peak winds of {{convert|120|mph|km/h|abbr=on}}. It turned to the north and northeast, bypassing the Outer Banks and skirting Cape Cod.{{Atlantic hurricane best track}} On September 11, Edna struck Massachusetts as a strong Category 2 hurricane. The hurricane later moved ashore near the border between Maine and New Brunswick around the time it became extratropical. The remnants persisted a few more days before dissipating south of Greenland.{{Atlantic hurricane best track}}

Early in its duration, Edna produced high seas and gale-force winds in the Bahamas, but there was no damage there. Hurricane-force winds occurred in the Outer Banks, although damage was minor. As it passed New England, Edna produced a {{convert|6|ft|m|abbr=on}} storm surge during a high tide, which caused severe flooding in Martha's Vineyard, Nantucket, and Cape Cod. Wind gusts peaked at {{convert|120|mph|km/h|abbr=on}} on Martha's Vineyard, and the strong winds across the region left widespread power outages. The hurricane dropped additional heavy rainfall to areas affected by Carol, resulting in flooding in Massachusetts and Rhode Island.{{cite web|author=David R. Vallee|author2=Michael R. Dion|date=2005-12-05|title=Hurricane Edna|publisher=Tauton, Massachusetts National Weather Service|access-date=2011-08-22|url=http://www.erh.noaa.gov/box/hurricane/hurricaneEdna.shtml}} In Long Island and New England, the hurricane left over $42 million in damage and 20 deaths, only 11 days after Carol affected the same area. About a third of the damage occurred in Maine, becoming the costliest hurricane on record in the state. Hurricane-force winds extended into Canada, causing $6 million in damage (1954 CAD), mostly from crop damage. There was one death in Nova Scotia.{{cite web|publisher=Environment Canada|date=2010-09-14|title=1954-Edna|access-date=2021-02-07|url=http://www.ec.gc.ca/Hurricane/default.asp?lang=En&n=1E1CCBFE-1|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130703045211/http://www.ec.gc.ca/hurricane/default.asp?lang=En&n=1E1CCBFE-1|archive-date=2013-07-03|url-status=live}}

{{Clear}}

{{Infobox Hurricane Small

|Basin=Atl

|Image=1954 Atlantic tropical storm 9 track.png

|Formed=September 6

|Dissipated=September 8

|1-min winds=40

|Pressure=1004

}}

A surface trough persisted across the central Atlantic Ocean on September 2. Over the next few days, the system moved slowly northeastward, independent of any frontal systems. On September 6, nearby ships indicated that the a closed circulation had developed, marking the genesis of the system as a tropical depression. Accelerating to the northeast, the storm reached peak winds of {{convert|45|mph|km/h|abbr=on}} on September 7. By the next day, the system became extratropical, and soon after was absorbed by a larger extratropical storm to the north.

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{{Infobox Hurricane Small

|Basin=Atl

|Image=Florence 1954 track.png

|Formed=September 11

|Dissipated=September 12

|1-min winds=55

|Pressure=1001

|Pressurepre=≤

}}

A tropical storm formed in the Bay of Campeche on September 11. Given the name Florence, the storm moved generally west-southwestward with a small radius of maximum winds. Hurricane Hunters reported winds of {{convert|65|mph|km/h|abbr=on}}, although winds were initially (before reanalysis confirmed it was a tropical storm) estimated to have reached minimal hurricane force, or {{convert|75|mph|km/h|abbr=on}}.{{Atlantic hurricane best track}} Before the storm moved ashore, officials in Veracruz evacuated residents from low-lying areas, and overall about 90,000 people left their homes. On September 12, Florence moved ashore between Tuxpan, and Nautla, Veracruz and quickly dissipated.{{Atlantic hurricane best track}} The hurricane flooded coastal cities with up to {{convert|3|ft|m|abbr=on}} of water, cutting off communications throughout the state.{{cite news|author=Staff Writer|agency=United Press International|date=1954-09-12|title=Mexican Coast is Battered by Florence|access-date=2011-08-04|newspaper=Sarasota Herald-Tribune|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=UJkcAAAAIBAJ&pg=2214,2232943&dq=hurricane+florence&hl=en}} Damage was heaviest around Poza Rica, primarily from the destruction of banana plantations. Monetary damage was estimated around $1.5 million, and there were five reported deaths.

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{{Infobox Hurricane Small

|Basin=Atl

|Image=1954 Atlantic tropical storm 11 track.png

|Formed=September 15

|Dissipated=September 18

|1-min winds=40

|Pressure=1004

}}

A low pressure area was present north of the Yucatán Peninsula on September 14. Nearby ship observations indicated that a tropical depression developed the next day in the central Gulf of Mexico, although the system's large structure meant it could have been a subtropical cyclone. The system moved slowly westward, bringing winds of {{convert|30|mph|km/h|abbr=on}} to the coast of Louisiana. It is estimated that the storm reached peak winds of {{convert|45|mph|km/h|abbr=on}} on September 16, based on reports from ships and the Hurricane Hunters. On the next day, the system began weakening over water, dissipating on September 18 without moving ashore.

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{{Infobox Hurricane Small

|Basin=Atl

|Image=Gilda 1954 track.png

|Formed=September 24

|Dissipated=September 27

|1-min winds=60

|Pressure=998

}}

On September 24, Tropical Storm Gilda developed in the central Caribbean Sea about halfway between Jamaica and Colombia. A small storm, it moved westward throughout its duration. On September 26, Gilda attained peak winds of {{convert|70|mph|km/h|abbr=on}} while nearing northeastern Honduras. The storm paralleled the coastline a short distance offshore, maintaining its intensity before hitting and later weakening over Belize on September 27. It re-emerged in the Gulf of Mexico before making another landfall near Tampico as a tropical depression on September 29, dissipating the next day.{{Atlantic hurricane best track}}

While moving just offshore the coast of Honduras, Gilda dropped intense rainfall, which flooding about {{convert|680|mi2|km2|abbr=on}} of land along the Chamelecón and Ulúa rivers. The waters caused the widespread destruction of banana plantations and houses, leaving about 3,000 people homeless. The United Fruit Company reacted to this destruction by firing 10,000 of its about 100,000 workers within Honduras.{{cite web|url=http://unitedfruit.org/chron.htm|title=Chronology|publisher=United Fruit Historical Society|access-date=2021-02-19}} Honduras's then-President Juan Manuel Gálvez appealed for aid from the United States. In response, U.S. Air Force planes flew food, medicine, rafts, and water purification tablets to the most-affected regions.{{cite web|author=Daniel Haulman|title=The United States Air Force and Humanitarian Airlift Operations 1947–1994 |year=1998 |publisher=Air Force History and Museums Program |access-date=2011-08-06 |url=http://www.afhra.af.mil/shared/media/document/AFD-100126-106.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110722183406/http://www.afhra.af.mil/shared/media/document/AFD-100126-106.pdf |archive-date=22 July 2011 |url-status=dead}} A total of 29 people were killed in Honduras. When Gilda made its landfall in Belize, it left little property damage and no deaths.{{Atlantic hurricane best track}}

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{{Infobox Hurricane Small

|Basin=Atl

|Image=Hurricane Thirteen surface analysis October 05, 1954.png

|Track=1954 Atlantic hurricane 13 track.png

|Formed=September 25

|Dissipated=October 6

|1-min winds=85

|Pressure=964

|Pressurepre=≤

}}

A tropical depression formed in the Central Atlantic on September 25. It drifted east-northeastward, eventually becoming a tropical storm on September 29. The storm curved to the west and west-southwest, becoming a hurricane on October 2. It turned to the northeast on October 3, and reached a peak of {{convert|100|mph|km/h|abbr=on}} winds about halfway between Bermuda and the Azores. By that point it began accelerating, and late on October 6 the hurricane became extratropical over the Northeastern Atlantic. Early the next day it was last observed to the south of Iceland.{{Atlantic hurricane best track}} The hurricane was not named due to its presence in the eastern Atlantic and not being a threat to land.{{cite journal|author=Gordon E. Dunn|volume=83|issue=12|title=Addendum to "Hurricanes 1954"|journal=Monthly Weather Review|page=314|date=December 1955|url=http://docs.lib.noaa.gov/rescue/mwr/083/mwr-083-12-0314.pdf| access-date= 4 August 2011 |display-authors=etal|doi=10.1175/1520-0493(1955)083<0314:atho>2.0.co;2|bibcode = 1955MWRv...83..314. |doi-access=free}}

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{{Infobox Hurricane Small

|Basin=Atl

|Image=Hazel.gif

|Track=Hazel 1954 track.png

|Formed=October 5

|Dissipated=October 18

|1-min winds=115

|Pressure=938

}}

{{Main|Hurricane Hazel}}

{{See also|Effects of Hurricane Hazel in Canada}}

Hurricane Hazel was the deadliest and second costliest hurricane of the season. The storm killed as many as 1,000 people in Haiti before striking the United States near the border between North and South Carolina, as a Category 4 hurricane.{{cite news|title=Hazel's Toll is 200 Dead; 500 Hurt in Haiti|author=Milt Sosin|date=1954-10-13|work=The Miami News|access-date=2021-02-19|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/24292867/the-miami-news/|page=1|via=Newspapers.com}} {{free access}} After causing 95 fatalities in the U.S., Hazel struck Canada as an extratropical storm, raising the death toll by 81 people, mostly in Toronto.{{cite web|publisher=Environment Canada|date=2009-08-17|access-date=2021-02-07|title=Hurricane Hazel|url=http://www.ec.gc.ca/ouragans-hurricanes/default.asp?lang=En&n=4343267B-1|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130701094904/http://www.ec.gc.ca/ouragans-hurricanes/default.asp?lang=En&n=4343267B-1|archive-date=2013-07-01|url-status=live}}

Hazel formed on October 5 just east of the Windward Islands and intensified into a Category 1 hurricane while crossing the southeastern Caribbean Sea. After making a hard turn northward, it rapidly intensified as it approached Haiti, reaching Category 3 intensity before landfall. In Haiti, Hazel destroyed 40% of the coffee trees and 50% of the cacao crop, affecting the economy for several years to come.{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1955/01/05/archives/hurricane-dents-economy-of-haiti-crop-destruction-to-be-felt-for.html|title=Hurricane Dents Economy of Haiti|work=New York Times|access-date=2009-06-14|date=1956-01-05}}{{cite book|title=Haiti: the politics of squalor|publisher=Houghton Mifflin|url=https://archive.org/details/haitipoliticsofs00rotb|url-access=registration|isbn=978-0-395-12105-4|author=Robert I. Rotberg|author2=Christopher K. Clague|year=1971|page=[https://archive.org/details/haitipoliticsofs00rotb/page/182 182]| access-date= 6 September 2011 }} It fluctuated in intensity before making landfall as a Category 4 hurricane in the Carolinas, which destroyed most waterfront dwellings near its point of impact.{{Cite book|author=John Hairr |year=2008|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LbHmjcbSx6sC|title=The Great Hurricanes of North Carolina|publisher=The History Press|location=Stroud, United Kingdom|isbn=978-1-59629-391-5|page=135| access-date= 6 September 2011 }} It affected several more states, including Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia, bringing gusts near {{convert|100|mph|km/h|abbr=on}} and causing $308 million in damage.{{cite news|title=Floods Rise in Hazel's Wake|agency=Associated Press|date=1954-10-16|work=The Miami News|access-date=2021-02-19|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/71456558/the-miami-news/|page=1|via=Newspapers.com}} {{free access}}

When Hazel arrived in Ontario, rivers and streams passing through the Greater Toronto Area overflowed their banks, causing severe flooding.{{cite web|author=Peter Bowyer|year=2004|access-date=2009-06-17|publisher=Canadian Hurricane Centre|url=http://www.ec.gc.ca/ouragans-hurricanes/default.asp?lang=en&n=19D1EDC8-1|title=Hurricane Hazel Impacts — Long Branch}} As a result, many residential areas located in floodplains, such as the Raymore Drive area, were subsequently converted to parkland.{{cite web|author=Peter Bowyer|year=2004|access-date=2009-06-17|publisher=Canadian Hurricane Centre|url=http://www.ec.gc.ca/ouragans-hurricanes/default.asp?lang=en&n=BD91538F-1|title=Hurricane Hazel Impacts — Humber River}} In Canada alone, over C$135 million (2009: $1.1 billion) of damage was incurred.{{cite web|author=Peter Bowyer|year=2004|access-date=2009-06-17|publisher=Canadian Hurricane Centre|url=http://www.ec.gc.ca/ouragans-hurricanes/default.asp?lang=en&n=E1111740-1|title=Hurricane Hazel – Evaluation of Organizational Response}} Hazel was particularly destructive in Toronto, as a result of a combination of a lack of experience in dealing with tropical storms and the storm's unexpected retention of power. Hazel had traveled {{convert|680|mi|km|abbr=on}} over land, but while approaching Canada, it had merged with an existing powerful cold front. The storm stalled over the Greater Toronto Area, and although it was now extratropical, it remained as powerful as a category 1 hurricane.{{cite web|author=Peter Bowyer|year=2004|access-date=2009-06-17|publisher=Canadian Hurricane Centre|url=http://www.ec.gc.ca/ouragans-hurricanes/default.asp?lang=en&n=FE4D3A3F-1|title=Hurricane Hazel Impacts — Transportation}} To help with the cleanup, 800 members of the military were summoned, and a Hurricane Relief Fund was established that distributed $5.1 million (2023: $56.2 million) in aid.

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{{Infobox Hurricane Small

|Basin=Atl

|Image=1954 Atlantic tropical storm 10 track.png

|Formed=November 16

|Dissipated=November 21

|1-min winds=35

|Pressure=1005

}}

On November 16, a tropical depression developed about halfway between the Lesser Antilles and the Azores. It moved to the west, intensifying into a tropical storm and reaching peak winds of {{convert|40|mph|km/h|abbr=on}} (however, due to limited data, it is possible that the storm remained a tropical depression). The storm maintained that intensity on November 21 when it began weakening, dissipating later that day.{{Atlantic hurricane best track}}

{{Clear}}

{{Infobox Hurricane Small

|Basin=Atl

|Image=Hurricane Alice 01 jan 1955 radar.jpg

|Track= Alice2 1954 track.png

|Formed=December 30

|Dissipated=January 6

|1-min winds=80

|Pressure=980

}}

{{Main|Hurricane Alice (December 1954)}}

The final storm of the season, Alice, developed on December 30 from a trough of low pressure in the central Atlantic Ocean in an area of unusually favorable conditions. The storm moved southwestward and gradually strengthened to reach hurricane status. It persisted into the following calendar year, passing through the Leeward Islands on January 2. Alice reached peak winds of {{convert|90|mph|km/h|abbr=on}} before encountering cold air and turning to the southeast. It dissipated on January 6 over the southeastern Caribbean Sea.{{cite web|author=José A. Colón|year=1955|title=On the formation of Hurricane Alice, 1955|publisher=U.S. Weather Bureau|access-date=2006-12-07|url=http://docs.lib.noaa.gov/rescue/mwr/084/mwr-084-01-0001.pdf}}

Alice produced heavy rainfall and moderately strong winds across several islands along its path. Saba and Anguilla were affected the most, with total damage amounting to $623,500 (1955 USD).{{cite web|author1=Gordon E. Dunn |author2=Walter R. Davis |author3=Paul L. Moore |year=1955|title=Hurricanes of 1955|publisher=Miami, Florida Weather Bureau Office|access-date=2006-12-07|url=http://docs.lib.noaa.gov/rescue/mwr/083/mwr-083-12-0315.pdf}} Operationally, lack of definitive data prevented the U.S. Weather Bureau from declaring the system a hurricane until January 2. It received the name Alice in early 1955, though re-analysis of the data supported extending its track to the previous year, resulting in two tropical cyclones of the same name in one season. It was one of only two storms to span two calendar years, along with Tropical Storm Zeta (2005) in 2005–06.{{cite web|author=National Weather Service|year=2006|title=Has there ever been a Tropical Storm so late in the year before?|access-date=2006-12-07|url=http://www.weather.gov/storms/zeta/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061231034520/http://www.weather.gov/storms/zeta/|archive-date=31 December 2006|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}{{cite web|author=Hurricane Enterprises LLC|year=2006|title=Oddball Tropical Systems|access-date=2006-12-07|url=http://www.hurricanealmanac.com/BonusContentOddball.pdf| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20061107142227/http://www.hurricanealmanac.com/BonusContentOddball.pdf| archive-date= 7 November 2006 | url-status= dead}}

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{{Infobox Hurricane Small

|Basin=Atl

|Image=1954 sounding rocket image of a tropical cyclone.jpg

|Track=1954 Texas depression.JPG

|Formed=October 2

|Dissipated=October 7

|1-min winds=30

|Pressure=

}}

On October 2, a tropical depression moved westward from the coast of Cuba into the Gulf of Mexico. It moved westward without intensifying beyond winds of {{convert|35|mph|km/h|abbr=on}}, moving ashore about {{convert|40|mi|km|abbr=on}} north of Brownsville, Texas. The depression weakened as it moved across southern Texas and dropped heavy rainfall. Brownsville recorded over {{convert|3|in|mm|abbr=on}} in a 45-minute period, as well as about {{convert|6|in|mm|abbr=on}} in six hours. The rainfall rates of about an inch per hour was the heaviest since June 1950. The depression also moved ashore with high waves and tides.{{cite news|author=Staff Writer|agency=Associated Press|newspaper=The Tuscaloosa News|title=Tropical Disturbance Blows Toward Texas|date=1954-10-03|access-date=2011-08-04|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=whEdAAAAIBAJ&pg=4927,3753465&dq=texas+tropical&hl=en}}

When the system reached the Big Bend region on October 5 it reintensified slightly. Around that time, the United States Navy conducted a rocket test from White Sands, New Mexico; this was despite that such tests were rarely performed when the skies were cloudy. The rocket took an unintended photograph of the depression from an altitude of about {{convert|100|mi|km}}, which became the first such large-scale image of a tropical cyclone.{{cite journal|author=L.F. Hubert|author2=Otto Berg|journal=Monthly Weather Review|date=June 1955|pages=119–124|title=A Rocket Portrait of a Tropical Storm|access-date=2011-08-04|url=http://docs.lib.noaa.gov/rescue/mwr/083/mwr-083-06-0119.pdf| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110721061736/http://docs.lib.noaa.gov/rescue/mwr/083/mwr-083-06-0119.pdf| archive-date= 21 July 2011| url-status= live | doi = 10.1175/1520-0493(1955)083<0119:arpoat>2.0.co;2| volume=83|issue=6|bibcode = 1955MWRv...83..119H |citeseerx=10.1.1.394.6158}} The depression later moved into New Mexico and dropped additional rainfall, interacting with an approaching cold front. Flooding was reported around Roswell, as well as along the Pecos River system. Rainfall in the state peaked at {{convert|9.8|in|mm|abbr=on}} in Canton, New Mexico. The system dissipated on October 7.{{cite web|url=http://www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/tropical/rain/tdofoct1954.html|title=Tropical Depression – October 3–7, 1954|author=David M. Roth|date=2007-06-20|publisher=Hydrometeorological Prediction Center|access-date=2011-04-26| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110518162714/http://www.hpc.ncep.noaa.gov/tropical/rain/tdofoct1954.html| archive-date= 18 May 2011 | url-status= live}}

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{{Tropical cyclone naming}}

The following list of names was used for named storms (tropical storms and hurricanes) that formed in the North Atlantic in 1954. The list was the same as 1953 with the exception of Gilda, which replaced Gail due to the latter's confusion with the term gale.{{cite news|author=|agency=Associated Press|newspaper=The Victoria Advocate|location=Victoria, Texas|date=September 10, 1954|title=Plenty of Names Left for Hurricane Season|access-date=August 4, 2011|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=HRdIAAAAIBAJ&pg=1534,5767404&dq=hurricane+florence&hl=en}}

{{See also|List of retired Atlantic hurricane names}}

The practice of retiring the names of particularly deadly or damaging storms from further use in the North Atlantic basin (initially for a period of 10 years) was begun by the United States Weather Bureau following the 1954 season. The names Carol, Edna, and Hazel were the first to be retired under this policy.{{cite web|title=Tropical Cyclone Naming History and Retired Names|url=https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/aboutnames_history.shtml|publisher=National Hurricane Center|location=Miami, Florida|access-date=January 26, 2024}}

{{Portal|Tropical cyclones}}

• 1954 Pacific hurricane season
• 1954 Pacific typhoon season
• Australian region cyclone seasons: 1953–54 1954–55
• South Pacific cyclone seasons: 1953–54 1954–55
• South-West Indian Ocean cyclone seasons: 1953–54 1954–55

{{Reflist|group=nb}}

{{Reflist|2}}

• [http://www.aoml.noaa.gov/general/lib/lib1/nhclib/mwreviews/1954.pdf Monthly Weather Review]

{{TC Decades|Year=1950|basin=Atlantic|type=hurricane}}

{{1954 Atlantic hurricane season buttons}}

{{Tropical cyclone season|1954}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:1954 Atlantic Hurricane Season}}