Hurricane Gracie - September 27-October 2, 1959

A tropical disturbance formed northeast of the Leeward Island on September 18th.  The system slowly organized,
becoming a tropical depression north of the Greater Antilles on the 20th.  The system strengthened rapidly as it
passed by San Salvador in the Bahamas, quickly becoming a hurricane on the 22nd.  The system strengthened
further as it moved northward during the next couple of days.  Its steering weakened on the 24th, with Gracie
edging eastward through the 26th.  As a deep layered ridge built in to its north to northeast, the cyclone turned
to the west-northwest, following a parabolic track into the southern coast of South Carolina as a major hurricane
late in the morning of the 30th.  The system weakened while moving inland, dropping heavy rainfall near and
east of its track while moving through the western Carolinas and western Virginias.  Below is its track, provided
by the National Hurricane Center.
Gracie (1959) Track

 The graphics below show the storm total rainfall from Gracie.  Rainfall data was provided by the National Climatic
Data Center in Asheville, North Carolina.

Gracie (1959) Storm Total Rainfall
Gracie (1959) Storm Total Rainfall Gracie (1959) Storm Total Rainfall