1906 Atlantic hurricane season
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 Season summary map |
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| First storm formed: | June 8, 1906 |
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| Last storm dissipated: | November 9, 1906 |
| Strongest storm: | #4 - 115 knots (135 mph) - 950 mbar |
| Total storms: | 11 |
| Major storms (Cat. 3+): | 3 |
| Total damage: | $2.48 million (1906 USD) $50.9 million (2005 USD) |
| Total fatalities: | 367 |
| Atlantic hurricane seasons 1904, 1905, 1906, 1907, 1908 |
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The 1906 Atlantic hurricane season officially began on June 1, 1906, and lasted until November 30, 1906. These dates conventionally delimit the period of each year when most tropical cyclones form in the Atlantic basin.
The 1906 season was an average season. Eleven tropical cyclones formed that year. Among them were six hurricanes and three major hurricanes. From October 15 to October 17, three simaltaneous storms were active in the Atlantic. (Eight, Nine and Ten).
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[edit] Storms
[edit] Tropical Storm One
The season started on June 8 with a tropical storm that was spotted in the western Caribbean. The storm quickly strengthened to a peak 50 mph winds the next day. The storm was able to keep this intensity for four days straight. The day after that, June 13. The storm made landfall in the Florida Panhandle. The storm then quickly weakened into a depression and was declared extratropical over Tennessee on the 14th. One dissipated that same day over Iowa.
[edit] Hurricane Two
On June 14, a storm was spotted north of Cuba. The storm rapidly strengthened, reaching hurricane status two days later. The hurricane grazed the Florida Keys on the 17th. More rapid strengthening occurred with the hurricane reaching Category 2 status the next day. The storm started weakening and went out to sea. The storm was declared as an extratropical depression on June 24th.
[edit] Tropical Storm Three
A tropical depression was spotted on August 22 in the Atlantic Ocean. The storm rapidly strengthened to a 70 mph tropical storm and never making landfall. Tropical Storm Three was declared a 60-mph extratropical storm on August 25.
[edit] Hurricane Four
The fourth storm of the season formed near the coast of Africa on August 25. Like the two preceding storms, the storm strengthened rapidly, reaching hurricane status on August 28. Three days later near the Lesser Antilles, the hurricane reached Category 2 status. On September 2, the hurricane passed north of the Dominican Republic as a strengthening 110 mph (175 km/h) Category 2 hurricane. More rapid strengthening occurred, and the storm reached major hurricane status 12 hours later. The storm soon reached its peak intensity of 135 mph (220 km/h) as a Category 4 hurricane just to the east of the Bahamas on September 5. The rapid strengthening turned into rapid weakening, as Four lost some strength as it went out to sea. The storm continued to weaken to a Category 2 hurricane on September 11, and the system became extratropical shortly thereafter. The system dissipated the following day on September 12 in the North Atlantic near the British Isles.
[edit] Hurricane Five
The fifth storm of the season of the storm was observed on September 5 out in the Atlantic Ocean. Unlike the three previous storms, rapid strengthening did not occur as it took until September 12 to finally hit hurricane status while moving west. The system peaked at 90 mph for winds on the 14th, while hitting its peak pressure of 977 mbar three days later. Just after the pressure reading, Five made landfall just north of Charleston, South Carolina. The storm dissipated over Tennessee on the 18th. Shipping was heavily damaged in the Charleston area, but other damage was relatively minor.
[edit] Hurricane Six
A depression was spotted in the southwestern Caribbean Sea on September 19. The storm moderately strengthened, reaching hurricane status on the 24th, while moving north. The storm entered the Gulf of Mexico on the 25th as a Category 2 hurricane. The storm then rapidly strengthened, reaching major hurricane status and its peak intensity of 953 mbar from September 25-to the 26th. The storm started weakening when it made landfall in Mississippi on the 27th and was below hurricane status by the next day. The storm was declared an extratropical depression on September 29, dissipating 18 hours later.
[edit] Tropical Storm Seven
A tropical storm was discovered in the Atlantic Ocean near Africa on September 22 that was moving westward. Seven hit its peak intensity of 70 mph on September 23rd and was able to keep the status for one week. On September 25th, the storm made a curve to the northeast toward Europe. After gradual weakening, Seven became a 40 mph extratropical storm on October 1st and dissipated the next day as a depression.
[edit] Hurricane Eight
Also known as the Florida Keys Hurricane, this hurricane formed in the southwestern Caribbean off Cartagena, Colombia in mid-October. The storm hit Nicaragua first. Reports indicated that the damage was severe and that there was a great loss of life; rainfall fell continuously for hours. Floods and landslides in the mountainous regions washed away homes. At the time, it was one of the worst storms ever to strike the region.
The hurricane went on to strike Chetumal, Mexico, causing minimal damage. The storm strengthened on its way to Cuba, reaching Category 3 strength before passing over Pinar Del Rio province. Despite its intensity, damage in Cuba was also minimal, likely because the area affected was small and the storm did not spend very much time over the area; however, over 200 people are believed to have died in the Havana area.
The Florida Keys were its next target. Hundreds of construction workers were working on the Overseas Railway.[citation needed] The area was devastated. Few, if any, of the workers had evacuated. 124 of them would be killed as the storm passed over the entire length of the Keys as a major hurricane. The men lived in houseboats that were swept out to sea by the powerful storm. The transport boat that had headed for Miami, full of evacuating workers, sank with a heavy loss of life. Miami was also devastated by the storm, with $160,000 in damage (1906 dollars) being done there. The storm weakened after crossing the peninsula, but the remnant tropical storm later came back and made a second landfall near Jacksonville, Florida. It crossed the peninsula once again before finally dissipating off Cancún, Mexico.
[edit] Tropical Storm Nine
A tropical storm was discovered in the open Atlantic Ocean on October 14th. The storm moved toward the southwest and made landfall three days later in Florida on October 17th, dissipating that day. Nine peaked as a 50 mph tropical storm. No damage reports are known.
[edit] Tropical Storm Ten
A tropical storm was discovered off the coast of the Dominican Republic on October 15th, at this point there were three simultaneous storms in the Atlantic at the same time. (Eight, Nine and Ten). The storm moved toward the northeast the next day into the open Atlantic. The storm strengthened to a 50 mph storm peak intensity on the 18th. The storm weakened to a depression and dissipated on October 20th.
[edit] Hurricane Eleven
The final storm of the season was a tropical depression discovered just south of Cuba on November 5th. The depression rapidly strengthened into a tropical storm the same day. The storm became classified as a category 1 hurricane with 80 mph on October 7th. Eleven made landfall in Cuba, six hours after the peak intensity was reached. Eleven moved to the northeast and weakened to an extratropical depression on November 10th. No damage reports are known.
