|name=. Remove this parameter; the article title is used as the name by default. Image of Hurricane Ginger on September 13 | |
| Meteorological history | |
|---|---|
| Formed | September 10, 1971 |
| Extratropical | October 6, 1971 |
| Dissipated | October 7, 1971 |
| Duration | 3 weeks and 6 days |
| Category 2 hurricane | |
| 1-minute sustained (SSHWS/NWS) | |
| Highest winds | 110 mph (175 km/h) |
| Lowest pressure | 959 mbar (hPa); 28.32 inHg |
| Overall effects | |
| Fatalities | 1 direct |
| Damage | $10 million (1971 USD) |
| Areas affected | The Bahamas, North Carolina |
| IBTrACS | |
Part of the 1971 Atlantic hurricane season | |
Hurricane Ginger was the second longest-lasting Atlantic hurricane on record. The eighth tropical cyclone and fifth hurricane of the 1971 Atlantic hurricane season, Ginger spent 27.25 days as a tropical cyclone, lasting from September 6 to October 3. Twenty of those days (September 11 – September 30), Ginger was classified as a hurricane. The storm formed northeast of the Bahamas, and for the first nine days of its duration tracked generally eastward or northeastward while gradually strengthening to peak winds of 110 mph (175 km/h). On September 14, Ginger slowed and turned to a general westward track, passing near Bermuda on September 23. There, the hurricane produced gusty winds and high waves, but no damage.
While over the western Atlantic Ocean, Ginger became the last target of Project Stormfury, which sought to weaken hurricanes by depositing silver iodide into tropical cyclone rainbands. Ginger ultimately struck North Carolina on September 30 as a minimal hurricane, lashing the coastline with gusty winds that caused power outages across the region. Heavy rainfall flooded towns and left severe crop damage, with 3 million bushels of corn and 1 million bushels of soybean lost. Damage in the state was estimated at $10 million (1971 US dollars$, 75.2 million 2024 USD). Further north, moderate precipitation and winds spread through the Mid-Atlantic states, although no significant damage was reported outside North Carolina.
Ginger has the highest accumulated cyclone energy for a hurricane below major hurricane strength in the Atlantic basin, at 44.2.