Meteorological History
A weak tropical wave moved off the coast of Africa on September 9 and moved westward across the Atlantic Ocean. On September 13, a ship reported winds of 63 mph (101 km/h) confirming that the disturbance had rapidly intensified to a tropical storm. As a result, the National Hurricane Center named the storm Gladys. A hurricane hunter plane flew into Gladys but was unable to obtain wind data due to darkness.
The following day, the hurricane hunter plane flew into Gladys again and the crew determined that the storm had rapidly reached hurricane status as it moved west-northwest at 18 mph. Gladys continued on that heading as it reached Category 4 status. On September 17, Gladys winds peaked at 145 mph (225 km/h) and the barometric pressure dropped to 945 millibars (27.9 inHg).
On September 19 a weak trough caused Gladys to turn northward and weaken to a Category 3 hurricane and later to a Category 2 hurricane. Gladys drifted northward for 48 hours before turning to the northwest again. Gladys then turned to the northeast on September 23 in response of a developing area of low pressure over the Great Lakes. The center of the storm reached its closest proximity to the East Coast of the United States by 150 miles (241 km). Gladys then weakened to a minimal hurricane as it continued moving northeastward. The hurricane accelerated rapidly and became extratropical on September 23. The extratropical remnants of Gladys brushed past Nova Scotia and passed over Newfoundland on September 24 prior to dissipating on September 25.
Read more about this topic: Hurricane Gladys (1964)
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