Hurricane Faith (1966)
Encyclopedia
Hurricane Faith was the northernmost tracking tropical cyclone in the Atlantic basin, as well as the longest distance traveled. The eighth tropical cyclone and sixth named storm of the 1966 Atlantic hurricane season
, Faith developed from an area of disturbed weather between Cape Verde and the west coast of Africa on August 21. Tracking westward, the tropical depression gradually intensified, and became a tropical storm on the following day. Continuing to head westward across the Atlantic, it intensified and weakened slightly in nearly the same manner for the next several days, until rapid intensification occurred on August 28. Weakening back slightly, it tracked a long distance across the Atlantic, reaching as far north as the Faroe Islands
before weakening further. Hurricane Faith finally transitioned into an extratropical storm over the North Sea
.
Although Hurricane Faith was tracked for a very long distance, there were only four fatalities and minimal damage due to the affected areas being sparsely populated.
Continuing westward, Tropical Depression Eight intensified, and was upgraded to Tropical Storm Faith the day after developing. Gradually intensification persisted as Tropical Storm Faith headed nearly due westward, and strengthened enough to become a hurricane on August 23. Curving slightly west-northwestward, Hurricane Faith reached category 2 intensity and briefly peaked at sustained winds of 105 mph (165 km/h). Hurricane Faith curved to the northwest, and weakened back to a category 1 hurricane while nearing the northeastern Leeward Islands
on August 25. Bypassing the Leeward Islands, Faith remained a category 1 hurricane until re-intensifying into category 2 hurricane on August 28, while it had situated near Turks and Caicos Islands
. After becoming a category 2 hurricane again, Faith quickly intensified into a category 3 hurricane only six hours later. Immediately upon becoming a category 3 hurricane, Faith had reached its maximum sustained winds of 125 mph (205 km/h), although the minimum barometric pressure was not recorded at this time.
After reaching maximum sustained winds late on August 28, Hurricane Faith began to gradually weaken back, and had dropped down to category 2 intensity early on August 30 while moving slowly north-northwest. Weakening back to a category 2 hurricane, Faith turned northeastward at almost halfway between Bermuda
and Florida
. Hurricane Faith remained well away from the United States East Coast and Atlantic Canada
when it veered eastward on September 1. Heading eastward, Hurricane Faith began to accelerate and eventually curved northeastward. Nearing Europe
, Hurricane Faith moved as fast as 48 mph (76 km/h) while just south of Iceland
. After remaining a category 2 hurricane since August 29, Hurricane Faith finally weakened back to a category 1 hurricane early on September 6, while close to the Faroe Islands
. Entering the North Sea, Hurricane Faith finally transitioned into an extratropical storm. Transitioning into an extratropical storm, the remnants headed westward and affected Norway
with winds as high as 60 mph (95 km/h). Tracking over Scandinavia
, the extratropical storm weakened to the equivalency of a tropical depression before entering the Soviet Union
(present day Russia
), and later degenerated into an extratropical low. The extratropical low pressure area headed northward, and retained its identity as far north Franz Josef Land
, which is roughly 600 mi (966 km) from the North Pole
.
, the approach of Faith caused the Antigua tracking station (which was tracking an unmanned rocket launched by NASA
) to shut down 45 minutes after the rocket
lifted off. Faith also produced gale force winds across the northern Leeward Islands
and Puerto Rico
. The winds only did minor damage and there were no reported fatalities or injuries. Rough seas from Faith, brought 10–15 ft waves to Trinidad and Tobago
. The waves caused minor damage to small boats and jetties. In Bermuda
, the outer rainbands of Hurricane Faith produced heavy rainfall and winds gusting to 62 mph.
Four people died as a result of the storm; none of them were on land. One man was pitched overboard when his boat was battered by heavy seas. Two others drowned while trying to cross the Atlantic in a rowboat. Another man was missing and presumed dead after heavy seas forced him and his shipmates to abandon their boat off the north coast of Denmark
. Property damage was minimal, mainly because the areas impacted by Faith were sparsely populated.
Faith traveled for 12700 Km (6850 mi), the longest track of an Atlantic hurricane and the second longest worldwide. The only tropical cyclone that traveled farther than Faith was Hurricane John
in the North Pacific Ocean
.
Faith also traveled to the most northerly latitude of any Atlantic hurricane. Faith was also one of the longest duration tropical cyclones in the Atlantic Ocean
on record, lasting 16 days total and spending 13 as a hurricane.
1966 Atlantic hurricane season
The 1966 Atlantic hurricane season officially began on June 1, 1966, and lasted until November 30, 1966. These dates conventionally delimit the period of each year when most tropical cyclones form in the Atlantic basin. The 1966 season was near normal with eleven tropical storms...
, Faith developed from an area of disturbed weather between Cape Verde and the west coast of Africa on August 21. Tracking westward, the tropical depression gradually intensified, and became a tropical storm on the following day. Continuing to head westward across the Atlantic, it intensified and weakened slightly in nearly the same manner for the next several days, until rapid intensification occurred on August 28. Weakening back slightly, it tracked a long distance across the Atlantic, reaching as far north as the Faroe Islands
Faroe Islands
The Faroe Islands are an island group situated between the Norwegian Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, approximately halfway between Scotland and Iceland. The Faroe Islands are a self-governing territory within the Kingdom of Denmark, along with Denmark proper and Greenland...
before weakening further. Hurricane Faith finally transitioned into an extratropical storm over the North Sea
North Sea
In the southwest, beyond the Straits of Dover, the North Sea becomes the English Channel connecting to the Atlantic Ocean. In the east, it connects to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat, narrow straits that separate Denmark from Norway and Sweden respectively...
.
Although Hurricane Faith was tracked for a very long distance, there were only four fatalities and minimal damage due to the affected areas being sparsely populated.
Meteorological history
The origins of Hurricane Faith were from an area of disturbed weather that emerged into the Atlantic along the west coast of Africa on August 18. Moving off Africa, Television Infrared Observation Satellite XI (TIROS XI) had indicated that the system became a poorly defined tropical depression and was associated with a circular mass of convection. The area of disturbed weather traced westward, eventually becoming Tropical Depression Eight on August 21.Continuing westward, Tropical Depression Eight intensified, and was upgraded to Tropical Storm Faith the day after developing. Gradually intensification persisted as Tropical Storm Faith headed nearly due westward, and strengthened enough to become a hurricane on August 23. Curving slightly west-northwestward, Hurricane Faith reached category 2 intensity and briefly peaked at sustained winds of 105 mph (165 km/h). Hurricane Faith curved to the northwest, and weakened back to a category 1 hurricane while nearing the northeastern Leeward Islands
Leeward Islands
The Leeward Islands are a group of islands in the West Indies. They are the northern islands of the Lesser Antilles chain. As a group they start east of Puerto Rico and reach southward to Dominica. They are situated where the northeastern Caribbean Sea meets the western Atlantic Ocean...
on August 25. Bypassing the Leeward Islands, Faith remained a category 1 hurricane until re-intensifying into category 2 hurricane on August 28, while it had situated near Turks and Caicos Islands
Turks and Caicos Islands
The Turks and Caicos Islands are a British Overseas Territory and overseas territory of the European Union consisting of two groups of tropical islands in the Caribbean, the larger Caicos Islands and the smaller Turks Islands, known for tourism and as an offshore financial centre.The Turks and...
. After becoming a category 2 hurricane again, Faith quickly intensified into a category 3 hurricane only six hours later. Immediately upon becoming a category 3 hurricane, Faith had reached its maximum sustained winds of 125 mph (205 km/h), although the minimum barometric pressure was not recorded at this time.
After reaching maximum sustained winds late on August 28, Hurricane Faith began to gradually weaken back, and had dropped down to category 2 intensity early on August 30 while moving slowly north-northwest. Weakening back to a category 2 hurricane, Faith turned northeastward at almost halfway between Bermuda
Bermuda
Bermuda is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, its nearest landmass is Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. It is about south of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and northeast of Miami, Florida...
and Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
. Hurricane Faith remained well away from the United States East Coast and Atlantic Canada
Atlantic Canada
Atlantic Canada is the region of Canada comprising the four provinces located on the Atlantic coast, excluding Quebec: the three Maritime provinces – New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Nova Scotia – and Newfoundland and Labrador...
when it veered eastward on September 1. Heading eastward, Hurricane Faith began to accelerate and eventually curved northeastward. Nearing Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, Hurricane Faith moved as fast as 48 mph (76 km/h) while just south of Iceland
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
. After remaining a category 2 hurricane since August 29, Hurricane Faith finally weakened back to a category 1 hurricane early on September 6, while close to the Faroe Islands
Faroe Islands
The Faroe Islands are an island group situated between the Norwegian Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, approximately halfway between Scotland and Iceland. The Faroe Islands are a self-governing territory within the Kingdom of Denmark, along with Denmark proper and Greenland...
. Entering the North Sea, Hurricane Faith finally transitioned into an extratropical storm. Transitioning into an extratropical storm, the remnants headed westward and affected Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
with winds as high as 60 mph (95 km/h). Tracking over Scandinavia
Scandinavia
Scandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,...
, the extratropical storm weakened to the equivalency of a tropical depression before entering the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
(present day Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
), and later degenerated into an extratropical low. The extratropical low pressure area headed northward, and retained its identity as far north Franz Josef Land
Franz Josef Land
Franz Josef Land, Franz Joseph Land, or Francis Joseph's Land is an archipelago located in the far north of Russia. It is found in the Arctic Ocean north of Novaya Zemlya and east of Svalbard, and is administered by Arkhangelsk Oblast. Franz Josef Land consists of 191 ice-covered islands with a...
, which is roughly 600 mi (966 km) from the North Pole
North Pole
The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is, subject to the caveats explained below, defined as the point in the northern hemisphere where the Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface...
.
Impact and records
In the CaribbeanCaribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
, the approach of Faith caused the Antigua tracking station (which was tracking an unmanned rocket launched by NASA
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
) to shut down 45 minutes after the rocket
Rocket
A rocket is a missile, spacecraft, aircraft or other vehicle which obtains thrust from a rocket engine. In all rockets, the exhaust is formed entirely from propellants carried within the rocket before use. Rocket engines work by action and reaction...
lifted off. Faith also produced gale force winds across the northern Leeward Islands
Leeward Islands
The Leeward Islands are a group of islands in the West Indies. They are the northern islands of the Lesser Antilles chain. As a group they start east of Puerto Rico and reach southward to Dominica. They are situated where the northeastern Caribbean Sea meets the western Atlantic Ocean...
and Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
. The winds only did minor damage and there were no reported fatalities or injuries. Rough seas from Faith, brought 10–15 ft waves to Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago is an archipelagic state in the southern Caribbean, lying just off the coast of northeastern Venezuela and south of Grenada in the Lesser Antilles...
. The waves caused minor damage to small boats and jetties. In Bermuda
Bermuda
Bermuda is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, its nearest landmass is Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. It is about south of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and northeast of Miami, Florida...
, the outer rainbands of Hurricane Faith produced heavy rainfall and winds gusting to 62 mph.
Four people died as a result of the storm; none of them were on land. One man was pitched overboard when his boat was battered by heavy seas. Two others drowned while trying to cross the Atlantic in a rowboat. Another man was missing and presumed dead after heavy seas forced him and his shipmates to abandon their boat off the north coast of Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
. Property damage was minimal, mainly because the areas impacted by Faith were sparsely populated.
Faith traveled for 12700 Km (6850 mi), the longest track of an Atlantic hurricane and the second longest worldwide. The only tropical cyclone that traveled farther than Faith was Hurricane John
Hurricane John (1994)
Hurricane John formed during the 1994 Pacific hurricane season and became both the longest-lasting and the farthest-traveling tropical cyclone ever observed...
in the North Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
.
Faith also traveled to the most northerly latitude of any Atlantic hurricane. Faith was also one of the longest duration tropical cyclones in the Atlantic Ocean
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
on record, lasting 16 days total and spending 13 as a hurricane.