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Hurricane Flossy (1956)

Hurricane Flossy was a Category 1 hurricane at its peak, with 92 mph winds and a lowest pressure of 974 mb, per NOAA's National Hurricane Center. Modeled winds reached tropical-storm force (39 mph) at 10 of the cities we track; the strongest was Crestview, FL, with a modeled peak gust of 83 mph.

Peak strength92 mph winds (1-minute)
Category 1
Cities with tropical-storm-force windsModeled, of the cities we track
10
LandfallsFirst September 24, 1956
2
Lowest pressure
974 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 Flossy’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. September 24, 1956, Category 1 at 86 mph, about 73 miles from New Orleans, LA
  2. September 25, 1956, Category 1 at 92 mph, about 26 miles from Crestview, FL

Modeled winds at cities (10)

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

CityPeak gustSustainedClosest passPeak
Crestview, FL83 mph67 mph26 milesSep 24, 1956, 8:00 PM GMT-4
Pensacola, FL81 mph66 mph23 milesSep 24, 1956, 4:15 PM GMT-4
Daphne, AL70 mph57 mph52 milesSep 24, 1956, 12:45 PM GMT-5
Mobile, AL65 mph53 mph61 milesSep 24, 1956, 12:45 PM GMT-5
Gulfport, MS57 mph47 mph69 milesSep 24, 1956, 9:00 AM GMT-5
Wilmington, NC56 mph46 mph35 milesSep 26, 1956, 8:00 PM GMT-4
New Orleans, LA53 mph43 mph73 milesSep 24, 1956, 7:00 AM GMT-5
Myrtle Beach, SC51 mph42 mph29 milesSep 26, 1956, 8:45 AM GMT-4
Slidell, LA51 mph41 mph81 milesSep 24, 1956, 7:00 AM GMT-5
Charleston, SC50 mph41 mph44 milesSep 26, 1956, 2:00 AM GMT-4

What happened

Flossy clipped the mouth of the Mississippi River in Louisiana early on September 24, 1956, as a Category 1 hurricane with 75-knot (86 mph) winds and a 980 mb central pressure, per NHC's best track.1,2 It struck the coast again near Fort Walton Beach, Florida, at 0000 UTC on September 25 (6 p.m. CST on the 24th) with 80-knot (92 mph) winds and a 974 mb pressure.1,2

In Louisiana, the storm put Grand Isle completely under water, and storm surge reached 13 feet at Ostrica Lock.3 Burrwood reported winds to 90 mph.3 Rain reached 16.70 inches at Golden Meadow.3 Water topped the eastern sections of the New Orleans seawall and flooded 2.5 square miles.3 Hundreds of people lost their homes.3 The National Weather Service's Louisiana Hurricane History lists 15 deaths and $22 million in damage from Flossy.3

Sources

  1. 1. NOAA Weather Prediction Center: Hurricane Flossy - September 22-29, 1956
  2. 2. NOAA National Hurricane Center: Atlantic hurricane database (HURDAT2), 1851 to 2025
  3. 3. National Weather Service (David Roth): Louisiana Hurricane History

Best track (52 positions)

TimeStatusWindPressurePosition
Sep 20, 18:00 UTCTropical depression29 mph18.0°N, 86.5°W
Sep 21, 00:00 UTCTropical depression29 mph18.1°N, 87.0°W
Sep 21, 06:00 UTCTropical depression29 mph18.3°N, 87.7°W
Sep 21, 12:00 UTCTropical depression29 mph18.5°N, 88.4°W
Sep 21, 18:00 UTCTropical depression29 mph18.9°N, 89.1°W
Sep 22, 00:00 UTCTropical depression29 mph19.5°N, 89.7°W
Sep 22, 06:00 UTCTropical depression35 mph20.4°N, 90.1°W
Sep 22, 12:00 UTCTropical storm40 mph21.5°N, 90.4°W
Sep 22, 18:00 UTCTropical storm46 mph22.6°N, 90.7°W
Sep 23, 00:00 UTCTropical storm58 mph23.8°N, 90.9°W
Sep 23, 06:00 UTCTropical storm63 mph994 mb25.0°N, 91.1°W
Sep 23, 12:00 UTCTropical storm69 mph26.2°N, 91.3°W
Show all 52