Hurricane Faith

Hurricane Faith

Category 3 major hurricane (SSHWS/NWS)
Hurricane Faith on September 1, 1966 as it moved towards Cape Hatteras on the North Carolina coast.
Formed	August 21, 1966
Dissipated	September 15, 1966
(Extratropical after September 6, 1966)
Highest winds	1-minute sustained: 125 mph (205 km/h)
Lowest pressure	950 mbar (hPa); 28.05 inHg
Fatalities	4 direct, 1 indirect
Areas affected	Lesser Antilles, Bermuda, Faroe Islands, Denmark, Norway
Part of the 1966 Atlantic hurricane season

Hurricane Faith reached the northernmost latitude and had the longest track of any Atlantic tropical cyclone. The sixth named storm and fifth hurricane 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 depression gradually intensified and became Tropical Storm Faith on the following day. Moving westward across the Atlantic Ocean, it continued to slowly strengthen, reaching hurricane status early on August 23. About 42 hours later, Faith reached an initial peak with winds of 105 mph (165 km/h), before weakening slightly on August 26. Located near the Lesser Antilles, the outer bands of Faith produced gale force winds in the region, especially Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and Antigua. Minor coastal damage occurred as far south as Trinidad and Tobago.

By August 28, the storm began to re-intensify, after curving north-northwestward near The Bahamas. At 0000 UTC on the following day, Faith peaked as a 125 mph (205 km/h) Category 3 hurricane Saffir–Simpson hurricane scale. Eventually, the storm weakened back to a Category 2 hurricane and re-curved to the northeast. One person drowned in the western Atlantic after his ship sank. Heavy rainfall and strong winds pelted Bermuda, though no damage occurred. The storm maintained nearly the same intensity as a Category 2 hurricane for several days, while tracking northeastward into the far North Atlantic Ocean. Faith finally weakened while north of Scotland and became extratropical near the Faroe Islands on September 6. Three other drowning deaths occurred in the North Sea near Denmark. A fifth death occurred after a man succumbed to injuries sustained during a boating incident related to the storm.

Television Infrared Observation Satellite XI (TIROS XI) imagery indicated the presence of an area of disturbed weather over Ivory Coast on August 18. The system moved slowly westward and eventually reached the Atlantic Ocean. It is estimated that a tropical depression developed at 0000 UTC on August 21, while located about 240 miles (390 km) southeast of Cape Verde. Continuing westward, the depression intensified, and was upgraded to Tropical Storm Faith on the following day. Gradual intensification persisted as Tropical Storm Faith headed nearly due westward at 17 to 23 mph (27 to 37 km/h). By August 23, Faith was upgraded to a Category 1 hurricane. Curving slightly west-northwestward, the storm 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 approaching the northeastern Leeward Islands on August 25. Initially, Faith was scheduled to be seeded as part of Project Stormfury. However, the scheduled seeding was cancelled as Faith was approaching The Bahamas. Bypassing the Leeward Islands, Faith remained at nearly the same intensity, until re-strengthening into Category 2 hurricane on August 28, near Turks and Caicos Islands. The storm quickly intensified further into a Category 3 hurricane only six hours later.