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Hurricane Able (1952)

Hurricane Able was a Category 2 hurricane at its peak, with 98 mph winds and a lowest pressure of 983 mb, per NOAA's National Hurricane Center. Modeled winds reached tropical-storm force (39 mph) at 16 of the cities we track; the strongest was Hilton Head Island, SC, with a modeled peak gust of 93 mph.

Peak strength98 mph winds (1-minute)
Category 2
Cities with tropical-storm-force windsModeled, of the cities we track
16
LandfallsFirst August 31, 1952
1
Lowest pressure
983 mb

Track, wind field and cities

Select a piece of the track or a city for details.

  • Depression or weaker
  • Tropical storm
  • Hurricane, Category 1 or 2
  • Major hurricane, Category 3 to 5
  • Landfall
  • City (larger ring, stronger modeled gust)
  • Modeled wind field, 39 to 111 mph sustained (darker, stronger; orange 111 mph+)
Source: NOAA/NWS National Hurricane Center best track (HURDAT2). City winds and the wind field are modeled.

The shaded areas are where our model puts Hurricane Able’s sustained winds over open land at 39 mph or more (tropical-storm force), 58, 74 (hurricane force) and 111 mph (major hurricane force) at some point along its track. Modeled, not measured. How we model hurricane winds

Landfalls

  1. August 31, 1952, Category 2 at 98 mph, about 11 miles from Hilton Head Island, SC

Modeled winds at cities (16)

Estimated peak winds for open, flat ground at each city’s center. Not measurements. How we model hurricane winds

CityPeak gustSustainedClosest passPeak
Hilton Head Island, SC93 mph75 mph10 milesAug 30, 1952, 8:30 PM GMT-4
Charleston, SC92 mph75 mph45 milesAug 30, 1952, 11:00 PM GMT-4
Savannah, GA84 mph69 mph39 milesAug 30, 1952, 10:30 PM GMT-4
Trenton, NJ58 mph47 mph39 milesSep 1, 1952, 1:15 PM GMT-4
Philadelphia, PA58 mph47 mph38 milesSep 1, 1952, 12:15 PM GMT-4
New York, NY56 mph46 mph44 milesSep 1, 1952, 3:15 PM GMT-4
Columbia, SC56 mph46 mph1 milesAug 31, 1952, 4:15 AM GMT-4
Baltimore, MD56 mph45 mph27 milesSep 1, 1952, 7:45 AM GMT-4
Washington, DC55 mph45 mph30 milesSep 1, 1952, 8:00 AM GMT-4
Bridgeport, CT54 mph44 mph42 milesSep 1, 1952, 5:30 PM GMT-4
New Haven, CT53 mph43 mph45 milesSep 1, 1952, 6:00 PM GMT-4
Waterbury, CT52 mph42 mph28 milesSep 1, 1952, 6:00 PM GMT-4
Show all 16

What happened

Able came ashore near Beaufort, South Carolina, on August 30, 1952.1,2 NHC's best track puts the landfall at 0300 UTC on August 31 (10 p.m. EST on August 30) with sustained winds of 85 knots (98 mph).3 Winds at Beaufort were estimated at 90 mph.2

Heavy rain and gale-force winds spread over much of eastern South Carolina.2 NOAA's Charleston Hurricane Guide lists two deaths and $3 million in storm damage in the state.1,2

Sources

  1. 1. South Carolina State Climatology Office: Hurricanes and Tropical Storms: 1950s
  2. 2. NOAA National Climatic Data Center: Charleston Hurricane Guide
  3. 3. National Hurricane Center: Atlantic hurricane database (HURDAT2), 1851-2024

Best track (66 positions)

TimeStatusWindPressurePosition
Aug 18, 06:00 UTCTropical depression29 mph14.6°N, 19.0°W
Aug 18, 12:00 UTCTropical depression29 mph14.4°N, 19.6°W
Aug 18, 18:00 UTCTropical depression29 mph14.3°N, 20.5°W
Aug 19, 00:00 UTCTropical depression29 mph14.1°N, 21.5°W
Aug 19, 06:00 UTCTropical depression29 mph13.9°N, 22.6°W
Aug 19, 12:00 UTCTropical depression29 mph13.7°N, 23.7°W
Aug 19, 18:00 UTCTropical depression29 mph13.4°N, 25.1°W
Aug 20, 00:00 UTCTropical depression29 mph13.2°N, 26.6°W
Aug 20, 06:00 UTCTropical depression29 mph13.0°N, 28.2°W
Aug 20, 12:00 UTCTropical depression29 mph12.8°N, 29.8°W
Aug 20, 18:00 UTCTropical depression29 mph12.6°N, 31.4°W
Aug 21, 00:00 UTCTropical depression29 mph12.4°N, 33.1°W
Show all 66