The 1951 Atlantic hurricane season was the first hurricane season in which tropical cyclones were officially named by the United States Weather Bureau. The season officially started on June 15, when the United States Weather Bureau began its daily monitoring for tropical cyclone activity; the season officially ended on November 15. It was the first year since 1937 in which no hurricanes made landfall on the United States; as Hurricane How was the only tropical storm to hit the nation, the season had the least tropical cyclone damage in the United States since the 1939 season. As in the 1950 season, names from the Joint Army/Navy Phonetic Alphabet were used to name storms this season.
The first hurricane of the season, Able, formed prior to the official start of the season; before reanalysis in 2015, it was once listed as the earliest major hurricane on record in the Atlantic basin. It formed on May 16 and executed a counterclockwise loop over the Bahamas; later it brushed the North Carolina coastline. Hurricane Charlie was a powerful Category 4 hurricane that struck Jamaica as a major hurricane, killing hundreds and becoming the worst disaster in over 50 years. The hurricane later struck Mexico twice as a major hurricane, producing deadly flooding outside of Tampico, Tamaulipas. The strongest hurricane, Easy, spent its duration over the open Atlantic Ocean, briefly threatening Bermuda, and was formerly listed as one of a relatively few Category 5 hurricanes on record over the Atlantic Ocean. It briefly neared Category 5 status and interacted with Hurricane Fox, marking the first known instance of a hurricane affecting another's path.
Timeline
Systems Tropical Storm One
As the calendar entered the new year, cyclogenesis occurred with an extratropical frontal wave over the western North Atlantic Ocean due to a closed low forming in a mid-level trough, which eventually produced a low-pressure center at the surface by January 2. Ships recorded moderate gales up to in connection with the new surface low, which formed several hundred miles east-southeast of Bermuda. While initially lacking tropical attributes, the cyclone headed southeast for two days before curving southwestward. As it did so, the temperature of the system warmed in its lower levels, causing the cyclone to evolve into a more barotropic system. Late on January 4, the system shrank in size and began developing an inner core; reanalysis determined that the system became a tropical storm at this time, though it would have likely been considered subtropical beginning in the early 1970s.
Hurricane Able
An active trough of low pressure exited the East Coast of the United States on May 12, and by the following day it passed near Bermuda. By May 14 a closed low pressure area developed in seclusion from the westerlies. Cold air from the trough, in conjunction with a water temperatures, resulted in large amounts of instability. This led to the formation of a subtropical depression on May 15, about south of Bermuda. The depression was located under an upper-level low, which steered the system to the northwest at first, and later to the southwest over the Gulf Stream. With a ridge to the northeast, the depression transitioned into a tropical cyclone, becoming a tropical storm on May 16, as evidenced by nearby ship reports. On May 17, the Navy reconnaissance squadron flew into the system and observed hurricane-force winds, leading to it being named Able. The small hurricane executed a cyclonic loop over the Bahama Banks, with an eye in diameter. On May 21 Reconnaissance Aircraft estimated the hurricane attained peak winds of . Shortly thereafter Able passed about east of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, and early on May 22 Able weakened from its peak intensity after turning to the east. On May 23 it deteriorated into a tropical storm while passing over cooler waters, and that night Able became an extratropical cyclone while located about south of Halifax, Nova Scotia. The extratropical remnant turned to the northeast before losing its identity late on May 24.
The outer rainbands of Able produced light rainfall and high seas along the Florida coastline. While moving slowly near the Bahamas, Able produced strong winds reaching at Walker's Cay, and minimal hurricane force on Grand Bahama and Little Abaco Island. The hurricane produced high surf in Wilmington, North Carolina and abnormally high tides northward through New England.
Tropical Storm Baker
On August 2, an easterly wave spawned a tropical depression about northeast of Barbuda in the Lesser Antilles. It moved northwestward, quickly strengthening into Tropical Storm Baker. Early on August 3, the storm attained peak winds of , and the next day passed about east of Bermuda. At its peak intensity, the gale-force winds extended to the north of the center. After attaining its peak, Baker quickly weakened on August 4 and turned to the northeast. Early the next day, it regained some of its former strength before losing its identity. Baker never affected land.
Hurricane Charlie
The third tropical cyclone of the season developed on August 12 from a tropical wave, east-southeast of Barbados. After a few days without further development, the system intensified into Tropical Storm Charlie on August 14, and subsequently crossed through the Lesser Antilles a day later with winds of . Shortly after entering the Caribbean Sea, the storm intensified to hurricane status early on August 16. Passing south of Puerto Rico and Hispaniola, Charlie then underwent rapid deepening beginning late that day, its winds increasing in 24 hours. As it neared the island of Jamaica early on August 18, Charlie became a major hurricane and shortly afterward struck just south of Kingston with winds of —equivalent to a strong Category 3 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson hurricane wind scale, making Charlie, along with Hurricane Gilbert in 1988, the second strongest to hit the island until Hurricane Melissa in 2025. On the island, the hurricane dropped heavy rainfall up to . The combination of strong winds and the rains left around $50 million (1951 USD, $380 million 2005 USD) in crop and property damage. Across the country there were 152 deaths, 2,000 injuries, and 25,000 people left homeless; as a result, it was considered the worst disaster in the country in the 20th century until Gilbert produced even costlier damage, though with fewer reported fatalities.Pan American Health Organization Emergency Preparedness and Disaster Relief Coordination Program. (1999-02-20) "The Hurricane and its Effects: Hurricane Gilbert - Jamaica" . Centro Regional de Información sobre Desastres América Latina y El Caribe. Retrieved 2012-03-04.
After making landfall, Charlie weakened in its passage over the mountainous center of Jamaica, and by the time it left the island, its winds had diminished to . Charlie later passed south of the Cayman Islands, with Grand Cayman reporting peak wind gusts of . As it did so, the storm began to undergo yet another period of rapid intensification beginning on August 19. It regained major hurricane status late that day, and early on August 20 Charlie peaked at , equivalent to low-end Category 4 status. Maintaining its strength, the hurricane then made landfall on the southern tip of Cozumel and hit the Mexican mainland near Akumal on the Yucatán Peninsula. The strong winds destroyed 70% of the crops along its path, although no deaths were reported in the Yucatán Peninsula. Several homes were wrecked in the region. As it moved inland, Charlie weakened rapidly over land, reaching the Bay of Campeche as a minimal hurricane early on August 21. Once over water, it failed to re-intensify for a full day, but began doing so early on August 22. As it did so, it rapidly re-intensified for a third and final time, reaching peak winds of before striking near the city of Miramar, just north of Tampico. It dissipated on August 23. The hurricane dropped heavy rainfall in the region, flooding rivers and causing dams to burst. The hurricane killed 257 people in Mexico. Across Charlie's entire path, damage was estimated at over $75 million (1951 USD). The outer fringes of the storm increased surf along the Texas coast.
Hurricane Dog
A tropical wave spawned a tropical depression on August 27 southwest of Cape Verde. It moved westward, eventually intensifying into a tropical storm early on August 31. The next day, the storm was first observed by Hurricane Hunters, several hundred miles east of Barbados, and it was named "Dog". By that time, its winds were around , and the storm continued intensifying as it approached the Lesser Antilles. On September 2, Dog attained hurricane status, reaching its peak of as it passed between the islands of Saint Lucia and Martinique. The storm, then quite small in diameter, produced strong wind gusts of up to at the airport in Fort-de-France on Martinique. However, this peak was short-lived, for upon entering the eastern Caribbean Sea Dog began a slow but steady weakening trend. On September 4, Dog weakened to tropical storm status to the south of Hispaniola, and the next day dissipated in the western Caribbean.
In northern Saint Lucia, the combination of flooding and high winds destroyed 70% of the banana crop. Two sailing vessels were destroyed, and another one damaged. Across the island, Hurricane Dog killed two people from drownings. Damage was heavier on Martinique, located on the north side of the storm. The hurricane's winds destroyed 1,000 homes and the roofs of several others. Downed trees blocked roads and disrupted power lines. The winds also destroyed 90% of the banana crop and 30% of the sugar cane. Throughout Martinique, Dog left $3 million in damage (1951 USD, $ USD) and killed five people from drownings. It was considered the "most violent storm" in Martinique in 20 years. Initially the hurricane was expected to strike Jamaica, prompting hurricane warnings for the country, as well as along the southern coast of Hispaniola. Jamaica was struck by Hurricane Charlie a few weeks prior, and the threat from Dog prompted coastal evacuations and the closure of an airport. Ultimately, Dog dissipated and produced only light rainfall on the island.
Hurricane Easy