1928 Atlantic hurricane season
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 Season summary map |
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| First storm formed: | Aug. 3, 1928 |
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| Last storm dissipated: | Oct. 14, 1928 |
| Strongest storm: | #4 - 140 knots (160 mph) |
| Total storms: | 6 |
| Major storms (Cat. 3+): | 1 |
| Total damage: | $75+ million (1928 USD) |
| Total fatalities: | 2500+ |
| Atlantic hurricane seasons 1926, 1927, 1928, 1929, 1930 |
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The 1928 Atlantic hurricane season officially began on June 1, 1928, and lasted until November 30, 1928. These dates conventionally delimit the period of each year when most tropical cyclones form in the Atlantic basin.
The 1928 season wasn’t very active, but was very eventful. Six tropical cyclones formed during the season. Four of those became hurricanes. Only one became a major hurricane.
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[edit] Storms
A Category 2 hurricane hit central Florida near Melbourne. Another hurricane hit southern Cuba, weakened to a tropical storm and grazed the southwest Florida coast, making landfall near Apalachicola. A tropical storm hit Mexico in early September.
[edit] Okeechobee Hurricane
- Main article: 1928 Okeechobee Hurricane
The most notable storm of the season was the Okeechobee Hurricane (or San Felipe Segundo Hurricane). This Cape Verde-type hurricane was the first recorded hurricane to reach Category 5 intensity in the Atlantic basin. It began strengthening rapidly as it crossed the Leeward Islands, killing hundreds in Guadeloupe. Next it slammed into Puerto Rico as a devastating Category 5 storm, causing catastrophic damage and killing at least 300. Hundreds more were killed throughout the rest of the Caribbean and Bahamas before the hurricane came ashore near West Palm Beach, Florida as a Category 4 storm. Despite the catastrophic damage that resulted along coastal southeast Florida, relatively few deaths were reported in those areas; the storm's deadliest blow was on Lake Okeechobee as the eyewall crossed. The dike holding back the waters burst and a torrent of flooding water was sent rushing through into the Everglades and lake towns. At least 2,500 people died in Florida in what is the United States’ second deadliest hurricane and second deadliest natural disaster. The storm eventually ended its days as an extratropical storm over western New York that dissipated out over Lake Erie in Canada near Toronto.
