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All storm pages · 1954 Atlantic season

Hurricane Hazel 1954

Category 4 hurricane · Atlantic · October 5 to October 15, 1954

Hazel's 130 mph landfall in South Carolina on October 15, 1954 ranks tied for the second-strongest of the 39 storms with a landfall record there. It has landfall records in 4 different places: Grenada, Haiti, the Bahamas and South Carolina. No other storm of the 1954 Atlantic season matched its 130 mph peak; the season had 16 storms. The name Hazel is on the National Hurricane Center's list of retired Atlantic hurricane names.

Track of Hazel (1954) from the best-track record, coloured by strength20°N30°N40°N50°N100°W90°W80°W70°W60°W50°W40°W30°WGrenada, 75 mphHaiti, 120 mphBahamas, 100 mphSouth Carolina, 130 mphPeak 130 mphFirst recordNot tropicalTropical stormCategory 1Category 2Category 3Category 400 and 12 UTCLandfall

Strength over time

Maximum sustained wind of Hazel (1954) over time, in mphTSCat 1Cat 2Cat 3Cat 404080120160Oct 6Oct 8Oct 10Oct 12Oct 14Oct 16Oct 18mph
  1. First record (tropical storm) 105 miles southeast of Bridgetown, Saint Michael, Barbados
  2. Hurricane 15 miles northeast of Saint George's, Grenada
  3. Landfall Grenada: Category 1, 75 mph
  4. Major hurricane 205 miles north of Santa Marta, Magdalena, Colombia
  5. Landfall Haiti: Category 3, 120 mph
  6. Landfall Haiti: Category 2, 100 mph
  7. Landfall Bahamas: Category 2, 100 mph
  8. Peak 195 miles northeast of Freeport, the Bahamas; lowest pressure 938 mb
  9. Landfall South Carolina
  10. No longer tropical (extratropical low) 25 miles east-northeast of Raleigh, North Carolina
  11. Last record 650 miles north of Dolbeau, Québec, Canada

Against every Atlantic storm since 1851

Peak sustained wind130 mph · tied 146th of 1,98830 mph190 mph
Lowest central pressure938 mb · tied 98th of 1,277882 mb1016 mb
Accumulated cyclone energy33.4 · 69th of 1,7520.173.6
Days as a tropical or subtropical cyclone10.4 days · 233rd of 1,9880.0 days31.8 days

More from the record

It generated 30% of the season's accumulated cyclone energy, more than any other 1954 storm.

In the 1954 season

04080120160Hazel

Storm 14 of 16 in 1954, hurricane 6 of 7; it formed after Storm 13 of 1954 and before Storm 15 of 1954. See the season.

Places the center passed

The center came within 50 miles of 6 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
Jérémie, Grand'Anse, Haiti8 mi100 mphOctober 12
Saint George's, Grenada11 mi75 mphOctober 6
Myrtle Beach, South Carolina16 mi130 mphOctober 15
Port-De-Paix, Nord-Ouest, Haiti21 mi100 mphOctober 13
Les Cayes, Sud, Haiti29 mi110 mphOctober 12
Gonaïves, L'Artibonite, Haiti46 mi100 mphOctober 13

Every storm within 50 miles of Les Cayes, Sud, Haiti

Similar landfalls in South Carolina

Storms whose strongest landfall record in South Carolina came closest to Hazel's 130 mph:

All 39 storms with a landfall record in South Carolina

Also peaked at 130 mph

Of 33 storms from other Atlantic seasons, the nearest in time:

  • Charlie (1951)968 mb, landfall in Jamaica
  • King (1950)955 mb, landfall in Cuba
  • Daisy (1958)948 mb, no landfall record
  • Storm 2 of 1949954 mb, landfall in Florida