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NHC AL091985 · Atlantic basin

Hurricane Gloria (1985)

September 16, 1985 – October 2, 1985

Data: NOAA NHC HURDAT2 and NOAA SPC tornado and hail reports, through 2025 · Updated

Hurricane Gloria peaked at Category 4 with 144 mph sustained winds and passed within 75 miles of 1,706 US cities, 1,531 of them while still at hurricane strength.

Gloria in the record

HURDAT2 tracks Gloria from September 16, 1985 to October 2, 1985; its peak was 144 mph (Category 4). HURDAT2 marks 2 landfalls within 50 miles of a US city on this site, the first on September 27 at 104 mph (Category 2), 50 miles from Manteo, NC. Its centre passed within 75 miles of 1,706 US cities, in 13 states, most in New Jersey (417) and New York (373). The strongest pass was 104 mph (Category 2) 46 miles from Columbia, NC; the centre came closest to Woodbridge, CT, less than a mile away.

Peak strength
Category 4

144 mph

Cities within 75 mi
1,706
At hurricane strength
1,531

when closest

States
13

Cities Gloria passed near, strongest first

North Carolina (28)

Virginia (15)

Maryland (17)

Delaware (25)

New Jersey (417)

and 357 more

Pennsylvania (17)

New York (373)

and 313 more

Massachusetts (270)

and 210 more

Connecticut (186)

and 126 more

Rhode Island (41)

Vermont (40)

New Hampshire (142)

and 82 more

Maine (135)

and 75 more

Other storms of the 1985 season

  • BobCategory 1 · 552 cities
  • DannyCategory 1 · 138 cities
  • ElenaCategory 3 · 278 cities
  • HenriTropical storm · 657 cities
  • IsabelTropical storm · 70 cities
  • NeleCategory 1 · 2 cities
  • JuanCategory 1 · 418 cities
  • KateCategory 3 · 437 cities

All hurricanes and tropical storms →

About this record

The track is the National Hurricane Center's best-track record, revised after the season with every observation available. Strength at a city is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, not the wind that city measured.