Hurricane Barbara

Caribbean Sea–Eastern United States, August 11–16, 1953 

The first North Atlantic tropical system to be identified as Barbara under the cyclone naming system instituted by the U.S. Weather Bureau in 1953, Barbara spent several days in mid-August 1953, delivering Category 1 winds, rains, and seas to North Carolina’s Outer Banks. Formed over the northern Leeward Islands on August 11, Barbara deepened into a Category 2 hurricane with sustained winds of 109 MPH (175 km/h) before recurving to the north-northeast and grazing eastern North Carolina on August 14. Moving to the north-northeast at nearly 15 MPH (24 km/h), the system drew very close to the New England coastline, causing heavy surf conditions along Cape Cod’s beaches. No deaths or injuries were recorded as Hurricane Barbara transitioned into an extratropical system on August 15.