# Hurricane Path Maps Without Sattelites? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 2, 2008, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hurricane-path-maps-without-sattelites/461732 "2008-09-02T18:54:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 3\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![zev\_steinhardt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/97f17d/32.png) [@zev\_steinhardt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zev_steinhardt)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2008, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hurricane-path-maps-without-sattelites/461732/1 "2008-09-02T18:54:51Z")
I was reading the Wikipedia page on the very active 1983 Atlantic Hurricane Season. On the page, there are maps of the paths of each of the twelve storms of the season. My question, very simply, is how do they know the paths of the storms out in the open ocean? There were no satellites in 1893 and no way of tracking storms like this from space. You could certainly track a storm it hit settled areas, but I don’t see how those maps could possibly have be accurate. Or are they simply “best guesses” as to the storm’s paths? Zev Steinhardt ---
**Author:** ![NinetyWt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/cc9497/32.png) [@NinetyWt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinetyWt)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2008, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hurricane-path-maps-without-sattelites/461732/2 "2008-09-02T19:04:27Z")
From reading about various historic hurricanes, I remember that ships which encounter them report them. ---
**Author:** ![yoyodyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/a9a28c/32.png) [@yoyodyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yoyodyne)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2008, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hurricane-path-maps-without-sattelites/461732/3 "2008-09-02T19:07:40Z")
Ships at sea record wind speed and direction, barometric pressure, and wave height and direction.