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Hurricane Inez (1966)

Hurricane Inez was a Category 5 hurricane at its peak, with 161 mph winds and a lowest pressure of 927 mb, per NOAA's National Hurricane Center. Modeled winds reached tropical-storm force (39 mph) at one of the cities we track; the strongest was Miami, FL, with a modeled peak gust of 71 mph.

Peak strength161 mph winds (1-minute)
Category 5
Cities with tropical-storm-force windsModeled, of the cities we track
1
LandfallsFirst September 27, 1966
9
Lowest pressure
927 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 Inez’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 27, 1966, Category 3 at 127 mph, in the French West Indies
  2. September 29, 1966, Category 5 at 161 mph, in the Dominican Republic
  3. September 29, 1966, Category 3 at 115 mph, in Haiti
  4. September 30, 1966, Category 3 at 115 mph, in Cuba
  5. October 1, 1966, Category 1 at 75 mph, in Cuba
  6. October 4, 1966, Category 2 at 98 mph, about 57 miles from Miami, FL
  7. October 4, 1966, Category 2 at 98 mph, about 101 miles from Miami, FL
  8. October 5, 1966, Category 2 at 98 mph, 24.6°N, 81.8°W
  9. October 10, 1966, Category 3 at 115 mph, in Mexico

Modeled winds at cities (1)

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

CityPeak gustSustainedClosest passPeak
Miami, FL71 mph58 mph48 milesOct 4, 1966, 7:45 AM GMT-4

What happened

After crossing Hispaniola, Cuba and the Bahamas, Inez turned west-southwest, and its eye passed over the entire Florida Keys, from Key Largo to Key West, on October 4 and early October 5, 1966.1,2 NHC's best track lists three landfalls along the Keys between 1800 UTC on October 4 and 0200 UTC on October 5, each with 85-knot (98 mph) winds, Category 2.3

All of the Keys reported hurricane-force winds, with gusts up to 100 to 125 mph.2 NHC's summary chart for the storm lists gusts to 120 mph at Dry Tortugas and 110 mph at Plantation Key, and a 5-foot tide at Big Pine Key.2 NHC's preliminary report lists 3 deaths, 11 injuries and $5 million in damage in Florida.2

Sources

  1. 1. NWS Key West: Tropical Cyclones of the 1900s
  2. 2. NOAA National Hurricane Center: Hurricane Inez preliminary report, September 21 to October 11, 1966
  3. 3. NOAA National Hurricane Center: Atlantic hurricane database (HURDAT2), 1851 to 2025

Best track (88 positions)

TimeStatusWindPressurePosition
Sep 21, 12:00 UTCTropical depression29 mph9.9°N, 35.1°W
Sep 21, 18:00 UTCTropical depression29 mph10.4°N, 36.1°W
Sep 22, 00:00 UTCTropical depression29 mph10.9°N, 37.2°W
Sep 22, 06:00 UTCTropical depression29 mph11.3°N, 38.3°W
Sep 22, 12:00 UTCTropical depression29 mph11.7°N, 39.4°W
Sep 22, 18:00 UTCTropical depression29 mph12.0°N, 40.6°W
Sep 23, 00:00 UTCTropical depression29 mph12.3°N, 41.8°W
Sep 23, 06:00 UTCTropical depression29 mph12.7°N, 43.0°W
Sep 23, 12:00 UTCTropical depression35 mph13.1°N, 44.1°W
Sep 23, 18:00 UTCTropical depression35 mph13.4°N, 45.1°W
Sep 24, 00:00 UTCTropical depression35 mph13.7°N, 46.0°W
Sep 24, 06:00 UTCTropical depression35 mph14.0°N, 46.9°W
Show all 88