Hurricane History Map

1938 North Atlantic season

9 storms formed in the North Atlantic basin in 1938, from 1 January 1938 to 10 November 1938.

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Years1938
Ocean basin

Choosing a minimum category hides storms with no wind speed in the record. To see which storms have passed near you, search a town or ZIP code, or tap the map.

Key
  • Tropical depression Winds below 34 knots (39 mph)
  • Tropical storm 34 to 63 knots (39 to 73 mph)
  • Category 1 64 to 82 knots (74 to 95 mph)
  • Category 2 83 to 95 knots (96 to 110 mph)
  • Category 3 96 to 112 knots (111 to 129 mph), major
  • Category 4 113 to 136 knots (130 to 156 mph), major
  • Category 5 137 knots (157 mph) or more, major
  • Unknown intensity No wind speed in the record
  • Post-tropical Storm has become post-tropical (dashed line)

How to read the lines. Each line is the track of one storm, drawn through its six-hourly positions and coloured by its intensity at each point (the Saffir-Simpson scale), so a line changes colour as the storm strengthens or weakens. Tap a line for its details, or tap anywhere else to see which storms have passed nearby. Weaker storms appear as you zoom in. Hurricanes, typhoons and cyclones are the same kind of storm with different names in different oceans.

The 1938 season in numbers

The record holds 9 storms for the 1938 North Atlantic season, of which 0 had names.9 reached tropical storm strength (34 knots or more), 4 reached hurricane strength (category 1 or more) and 2 were major (category 3 or more).

  • 9storms
  • 9tropical storm strength or more
  • 4hurricane strength or more
  • 2major (category 3 to 5)
  • 78accumulated cyclone energy

Accumulated cyclone energy adds up the squared wind speed of every position of 34 knots or more, divided by 10,000. It is approximate here because the winds are 1-minute equivalents, and it is mostly useful for comparing seasons of one basin.

Strongest storms of 1938

  • Unnamed storm of September 1938 (North Atlantic)9 September 1938 to 23 September 1938, peak Category 5 (140 kt), 940 hPa
  • Unnamed storm of August 1938 (North Atlantic)23 August 1938 to 29 August 1938, peak Category 3 (105 kt), 979 hPa
  • Unnamed storm of August 1938 (North Atlantic)10 August 1938 to 15 August 1938, peak Category 2 (85 kt)
  • Unnamed storm of January 1938 (North Atlantic)1 January 1938 to 6 January 1938, peak Category 1 (70 kt)
  • Unnamed storm of August 1938 (North Atlantic)8 August 1938 to 9 August 1938, peak Tropical storm (60 kt)

All 9 storms of 1938

StormPeak
Unnamed storm Category 1
Unnamed storm Tropical storm
Unnamed storm Category 2
Unnamed storm Category 3
Unnamed storm Tropical storm
Unnamed storm Category 5
Unnamed storm Tropical storm
Unnamed storm Tropical storm
Unnamed storm Tropical storm

← 1937 · 1939 → · All seasons

Other basins in 1938

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