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Hurricane Cindy (1959)

Hurricane Cindy was a Category 1 hurricane at its peak, with 75 mph winds and a lowest pressure of 995 mb, per NOAA's National Hurricane Center. Modeled winds reached tropical-storm force (39 mph) at 3 of the cities we track; the strongest was Charleston, SC, with a modeled peak gust of 71 mph.

Peak strength75 mph winds (1-minute)
Category 1
Cities with tropical-storm-force windsModeled, of the cities we track
3
LandfallsFirst July 9, 1959
2
Lowest pressure
995 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 Cindy’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. July 9, 1959, Category 1 at 75 mph, about 25 miles from Charleston, SC
  2. July 11, 1959, tropical storm at 58 mph, 41.7°N, 70.7°W

Modeled winds at cities (3)

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

CityPeak gustSustainedClosest passPeak
Charleston, SC71 mph58 mph24 milesJul 8, 1959, 7:45 PM GMT-4
Myrtle Beach, SC56 mph45 mph63 milesJul 8, 1959, 7:45 PM GMT-4
Hilton Head Island, SC48 mph39 mph86 milesJul 8, 1959, 7:45 PM GMT-4

What happened

Cindy formed off the South Carolina coast on July 7, 1959, and barely reached hurricane strength on July 8, with top winds of 70 to 75 mph in squalls near its center.1 Its center moved inland near McClellanville, between Georgetown and Charleston, about 9:30 p.m. EST on July 8, and NWS Charleston lists it as a Category 1 hurricane at landfall.1,2 Tides reached about 4 feet above normal at landfall.1

In South Carolina, wind damaged some roofs and brought down trees and power lines, and the Weather Bureau called property damage from wind and tide relatively minor.1 One death was reported, near McClellanville.1 On the afternoon of July 10, tornadoes with the storm caused some damage to buildings in northeastern North Carolina and southeastern Virginia.1

Sources

  1. 1. U.S. Weather Bureau, NOAA National Hurricane Center archive: Preliminary Report on Hurricane Cindy, July 7-11, 1959
  2. 2. NWS Charleston: Hurricane Gracie: Sep 29, 1959

Best track (35 positions)

TimeStatusWindPressurePosition
Jul 4, 12:00 UTCTropical depression29 mph31.5°N, 79.0°W
Jul 4, 18:00 UTCTropical depression29 mph31.0°N, 79.0°W
Jul 5, 00:00 UTCTropical depression29 mph30.5°N, 78.9°W
Jul 5, 06:00 UTCTropical depression29 mph30.0°N, 78.7°W
Jul 5, 12:00 UTCTropical depression29 mph29.8°N, 78.5°W
Jul 5, 18:00 UTCTropical depression29 mph29.8°N, 78.3°W
Jul 6, 00:00 UTCTropical depression29 mph30.0°N, 78.2°W
Jul 6, 06:00 UTCTropical depression29 mph30.3°N, 78.0°W
Jul 6, 12:00 UTCTropical depression35 mph30.5°N, 77.9°W
Jul 6, 18:00 UTCTropical storm40 mph30.8°N, 77.7°W
Jul 7, 00:00 UTCTropical storm46 mph31.3°N, 77.4°W
Jul 7, 06:00 UTCTropical storm46 mph31.8°N, 77.2°W
Show all 35