List of notable Florida hurricanes from 1900-1960

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Florida has been affected by many tropical cyclones, most of which are notable and have their names retired for deaths and damage. Pre-1950, though, no official names were assigned to tropical cyclones.

1 Storms
2 See also
3 Resources
4 External links

[edit] Storms

[edit] Florida Keys Hurricane

Main article: 1906 Atlantic hurricane season

October 18, 1906 — Category 3 at landfall

This hurricane formed in the southwestern Caribbean off Cartagena, Colombia in mid-October. The storm caused varying amounts of damage and deaths on its course from Nicaragua through Mexico and across Cuba. By the time the storm entered the Straits of Florida it was a Category 3 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale.

The Florida Keys were the storm's 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 was sunk 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] Great Miami Hurricane

Main article: 1926 Miami Hurricane

September 18, 1926 — Category 4 at landfall

The storm formed in the central south Atlantic northeast of Barbados. It moved northwest, became a major hurricane north of Puerto Rico, and continued strengthening.

The hurricane made a direct strike on Miami, Florida a day later, September 18, with sustained winds of 135 miles per hour and a central pressure of 935 millibars (27.61 inches). A 16-foot storm surge gutted homes and businesses, devastating the harbor. As the eye passed over the town, hundreds of survivors crawled out of their places of refuge, thinking that the storm was over. When the second half of the storm roared into the town, dozens were washed away. The storm crossed Florida before making a second landfall in along the sparsely populated Alabama coast, still a powerful Category 3 hurricane.

Over 200 people were killed in south Florida alone, and the damage toll soared to over $100 million (over $2 billion in 2005 US dollars). Because of increased development in the area, it is estimated that if a similar hurricane were to strike in the year 2005, it would cause over $100 billion in damages (including over $10 billion at the second landfall), becoming the costliest hurricane in history.

[edit] Okeechobee Hurricane

Main article: 1928 Okeechobee Hurricane

September 17, 1928 — Category 4 at landfall

The Okeechobee Hurricane was a Cape Verde-type hurricane that formed off the west coast of Africa on September 6, 1928. It reached the Leeward Islands as a Category 3 hurricane before turning northeast and strengthening. The storm crossed the entirety of the Leeward Islands, Puerto Rico, and the Bahamas, causing catastrophic damage and well over 1,000 deaths, before approaching the Florida coastline.

Destruction in Delray Beach.

The hurricane, now reduced to a Category 4, was now headed on a straight track for Florida. The storm slowed down, and then curved sharply into Palm Beach, Florida early on September 17 with sustained wind speeds of 150 mph and a pressure reading of 929 millibars (27.43 inches).

Coastal areas suffered near-total damage, but because of hurricane warnings there was little loss of life. Inland, however, a much greater disaster was brewing. The dike holding back Lake Okeechobee burst, sending an immense quantity of water cascading through the towns that lined the lakeshore, destroying many of them completely. The flood washed over hundreds of square miles of Everglades and valuable farmland, catching thousands in its path. It is estimated that at least 2,500 were killed, although many of the bodies would never be found. It was America’s second deadliest natural disaster in history.

The aftermath of the storm was just as ugly; because of the floodwaters and the isolated location it was days before the outside world learned of the disaster. The swollen lake persisted for weeks, clogged with bodies and the ruins of the towns that it had destroyed. Cemetery space quickly filled up so the dead were buried in mass graves. The hurricane had forever stained the state of Florida. Coming quickly on the heels of the 1926 hurricane, the two hurricanes ruined Florida’s economy and ended the economic boom of the early 1900s. It would take the state decades to recover and future hurricanes only slowed the progress. The Herbert Hoover Dike was built around Lake Okeechobee in 1931 to prevent such a disaster from happening again.

[edit] Labor Day Hurricane

Main article: 1935 Labor Day Hurricane

September 2, 1935 — Category 5 at landfall

The relief train derailed by the 1935 hurricane near Islamorada.

The Labor Day Hurricane formed from a tropical weather system east of the Bahamas that moved slowly west-southwest. When it reached Andros Island, the storm began to strengthen with frightening speed. In the 24-hour period before landfall, it went from a Category 2 hurricane with sustained winds of 105 mph, to a Category 5 hurricane with winds of 160 mph.

The storm struck the islands of the Upper Florida Keys in the evening on Monday, the Labor Day holiday. As the eye passed over Long Key, the pressure was measured at 892 millibars (26.34 inches), the lowest ever recorded in a storm at landfall in the United States. Although the hurricane was quite small in area, the storm surge it drove onto the islands was immense; a flood of 15–20 ft (4.5–6 m) washed over several islands, destroying almost everything in its path. A train sent that afternoon down the Overseas Railway to rescue workers from island encampments was derailed by the storm surge in the area of Islamorada. More than 400 deaths were documented in the Keys. Most victims were killed by the storm surge.

The hurricane then curved north, hugging Florida’s west coast until it made its final landfall near Cedar Key. Two other hurricanes would affect the Keys that year, pouring salt on Florida’s wounds.

The Labor Day Hurricane remains the strongest hurricane ever to strike the United States. It was the strongest hurricane ever to form in the Atlantic until Hurricane Gilbert surpassed it in 1988, and it remains the third most intense hurricane to form in the Atlantic, behind Gilbert and Hurricane Wilma of 2005.

[edit] Sanibel Island Hurricane

Main article: 1944 Atlantic hurricane season

October 19, 1944 — Category 3 at landfall

This hurricane formed on October 12 in the western Caribbean and quickly became a hurricane. It meandered aimlessly north before crossing the western tip of Cuba. By that time, it had strengthened into a major hurricane and the interaction with Cuba did not weaken it as the storm continued unabated toward the southwestern coast of Florida. Just as it made landfall on Sanibel Island, the storm weakened dramatically; even so, the southwest Florida coast was heavily damaged. 318 people were killed in the storm, although most were in Cuba, and damage was reported at over $100 million (1944 dollars).

[edit] Everglades Hurricane

Main article: 1945 Atlantic hurricane season

September 15, 1945 — Category 4 at landfall

Ten years after the 1935 Labor Day hurricane, the state of Florida was beginning to slowly recover economically. The Everglades hurricane formed on September 12 a couple hundred miles northeast of the Leeward Islands. It stayed fairly close to the islands of the Greater Antilles, moving north-northwest. It turned more northwest after passing Puerto Rico. The hurricane had strengthened to a Category 3 by this time. As it reached Andros Island, it strengthened further, becoming a Category 4 shortly before landfall late on the night of September 15.

The hurricane had come ashore on the north end of Key Largo with sustained winds of 140 mph and a pressure of 951 millibars (28.08 inches). Most of the storm’s fury was vented on the sparsely-populated Everglades so the death toll was only four people, but damage totaled $54 million (1945 dollars).

[edit] Fort Lauderdale Hurricane

Main article: 1947 Fort Lauderdale Hurricane

September 17, 1947 — Category 4 at landfall

The Fort Lauderdale Hurricane of 1947 formed as a Cape Verde-type hurricane and very quickly reached hurricane strength. It dipped southwestward before turning northwest, slowly but steadily strengthening as it did so. It passed north of the Bahamas and then slowed down, turned west, and strengthened to a Category 5. It crested north of Grand Bahama Island and turned southwest, weakening back down to a strong Category 4. The center crossed the coastline south of Hillsboro Beach as a minimal Category 4 hurricane.

Hillsboro Light near Pompano Beach, Florida recorded a wind gust of 155 mph; pressure at landfall was 940 mbar (hPa). Hurricane force winds were estimated up to 120 miles away from the center in all directions. After passing Florida, it went on to hit Louisiana as a Category 1 storm, causing severe flooding. 51 people were killed in the storm and damages topped $31 million in 1947 dollars.

The Fort Lauderdale hurricane ranks as the third strongest hurricane ever to strike Florida in recorded history (behind the 1935 storm and Andrew). However, most people have forgotten this storm. The reason for this was probably because of the time that it hit. In 1947, World War II had just ended. The GIs were coming home and tensions were building with Russia. And while this storm was bad, it was not as destructive as the 1926, 1928 or 1935 storms. It was just another hurricane for an already battered state.

[edit] Hurricane Easy

Main article: 1950 Atlantic hurricane season

September 5, 1950 — Category 3 at landfall

Easy was a hurricane that threatened the northwest Florida peninsula for two days as a Category 3 major hurricane. The storm formed in the northwestern Caribbean and stayed nearly stationary for nearly two days before moving north. It became a hurricane on September 2, crossed Cuba, and moved up the west Florida coast, gradually becoming more organized. Easy became a major hurricane offshore of Tampa on the 4th and then started to pull away from the coast, but it stalled and came back, now crawling. Easy was nearly a Category 4 when it approached the coast.

Just as it was about to make landfall, it turned sharply north-northwest. The storm stalled again, made a loop, and came back again. This time it made landfall near Tarpon Springs north of Dunedin with sustained winds of 115 mph. As the storm crept slowly inland and started to emerge into the Atlantic, it played one final trick: it banked sharply northwest back inland and finally dissipated over western Tennessee.

The storm killed two people and caused $3.3 million in damage. The surprisingly low damage figure was due primarily to the sparsely populated area Easy hit. It is still remembered as Florida’s most erratic hurricane.

[edit] Hurricane King

Main article: Hurricane King

October 18, 1950 — Category 3 at landfall

King was a hurricane that passed directly over Miami as a Category 3 hurricane. It formed off the coast of Honduras on October 13. King moved gently northeast, steadily strengthening. It became the eighth and final hurricane of the 1950 season just prior landfall in Cuba. It weakened to a Category 2 in the middle of the Straits of Florida on a straight course for Miami. After re-strengthening rapidly to a Category 3 storm, it struck the bustling city directly on October 18, with sustained winds of over 120 mph. It was the most direct hit on the city by a hurricane in recorded history, striking the heart of Dixie Highway in the vicinity of present-day Mercy Hospital.

Damage within the city was heavy, yet damage was minimal elsewhere from the storm's trek up the peninsula and into Georgia. Georgia suffered moderate crop damage from King's flooding rains. Four people died in the storm, and it caused $28 million in damage, most in Miami.

[edit] Hurricane Donna

Main article: Hurricane Donna

September 10, 1960 — Category 4 at landfall

Radar image of Hurricane Donna making landfall in Florida.

Donna was a major hurricane that affected every state on the eastern seaboard. The storm formed from an easterly wave off Africa in late August 1960. After it became a hurricane in the south-central Atlantic, it began to strengthen rapidly, becoming a Category 4 hurricane barely 24 hours later. The strengthening trend continued and Donna reached Category 5 strength just east of the Leeward Islands. The storm diminished to a strong Category 4 before it reached the islands, where it struck with sustained winds as high as 155 mph. Despite advance warning, 107 people were killed there by floods. Donna then hugged the Cuban coast and threatened Havana briefly before turning north.

The hurricane next made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane on Key Vaca at the town of Marathon in the Florida Keys, and then struck land again on the mainland near Goodland, Florida with sustained winds of 140 mph and a pressure of 938 millibars (27.69 inches). It left a path of destruction across the entire peninsula of Florida. A storm surge of 13 feet was measured in the Middle Keys, causing heavy damage to buildings and vessels. Over half of the mangrove trees in the Everglades were wiped out. The hurricane exited Florida's east coast near St. Augustine, still a Category 2.

Donna would continue to hug the United States East Coast, moving on and off of land and causing very heavy damage as it crossed every coastal state on its way through Maine before finally becoming extratropical near Mount Katahdin.

Donna caused 364 deaths and $387 million in damage.