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All storm pages · 1955 Atlantic season

Hurricane Diane 1955

Category 2 hurricane · Atlantic · August 7 to August 20, 1955

Diane's 70 mph landfall in North Carolina on August 17, 1955 ranks tied for the 36th-strongest of the 69 storms with a landfall record there. With a peak of 105 mph, it ranked tied for the sixth-strongest of the 13 storms of the 1955 season. It produced 10% of the season's accumulated cyclone energy. The name Diane is on the National Hurricane Center's list of retired Atlantic hurricane names.

Track of Diane (1955) from the best-track record, coloured by strength20°N30°N40°N50°N60°N90°W80°W70°W60°W50°W40°W30°W20°W10°WNew YorkNorth Carolina, 70 mphPeak 105 mphFirst recordNot tropicalDepressionTropical stormCategory 1Category 200 and 12 UTCLandfall

Strength over time

Maximum sustained wind of Diane (1955) over time, in mphTSCat 1Cat 2Cat 3Cat 404080120Aug 8Aug 10Aug 12Aug 14Aug 16Aug 18Aug 20Aug 22mph
  1. First record (tropical depression) 1,165 miles northeast of Paramaribo, Suriname
  2. Tropical storm 450 miles northeast of Bridgetown, Saint Michael, Barbados
  3. Hurricane 540 miles north of Basseterre, Saint Kitts and Nevis
  4. Peak 365 miles south-southeast of Hamilton, Bermuda; lowest pressure 969 mb
  5. Landfall North Carolina
  6. No longer tropical (extratropical low) 230 miles south-southeast of Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada
  7. Last record far out at sea, at 65.0°N, 29.0°W

Against every Atlantic storm since 1851

Peak sustained wind105 mph · tied 399th of 1,98830 mph190 mph
Lowest central pressure969 mb · tied 349th of 1,277882 mb1016 mb
Accumulated cyclone energy16.5 · 317th of 1,7520.173.6
Days as a tropical or subtropical cyclone13.5 days · tied 83rd of 1,9880.0 days31.8 days

In the 1955 season

04080120160200Diane

Storm 3 of 13 in 1955, hurricane 2 of 9; it formed after Connie and before Edith. See the season.

Places the center passed

The center came within 50 miles of at least 8 towns or cities of 10,000 people or more while the system was tropical. Distances are to the interpolated track line, not the storm's edge.

PlaceClosestWind thenDate
Wilmington, North Carolina3 mi70 mphAugust 17
Raleigh, North Carolina5 mi60 mphAugust 17
Charlottesville, Virginia8 mi50 mphAugust 18
Lancaster, Pennsylvania8 mi40 mphAugust 18
Newark, New Jersey11 mi45 mphAugust 19
New York, New York12 mi45 mphAugust 19
Trenton, New Jersey14 mi45 mphAugust 19
York, Pennsylvania16 mi40 mphAugust 18

Every storm within 50 miles of New York, New York

Similar landfalls in North Carolina

Storms whose strongest landfall record in North Carolina came closest to Diane's 70 mph:

  • Ophelia (2023)70 mph, September 23, 2023
  • Ernesto (2006)70 mph, September 1, 2006
  • Dennis (1999)70 mph, September 4, 1999
  • Doria (1971)70 mph, August 27, 1971

All 69 storms with a landfall record in North Carolina

Also peaked at 105 mph

Of 114 storms from other Atlantic seasons, the nearest in time:

  • Easy (1952)968 mb, no landfall record
  • Baker (1950)979 mb, landfall in Montserrat
  • Item (1950)980 mb, landfall in Veracruz
  • Anna (1961)976 mb, landfall in Honduras