1952 Atlantic hurricane season
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| First storm formed: | February 2, 1952 |
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| Last storm dissipated: | October 28, 1952 |
| Strongest storm: | Fox - 934 mbar (hPa), 150 mph (240 km/h) |
| Total storms: | 7 |
| Major storms (Cat. 3+): | 3 |
| Total damage: | $3.75+ million (1952 USD) $26.7 million (2005 USD) |
| Total fatalities: | 7 |
| Atlantic hurricane seasons 1950, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1954 |
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The 1952 Atlantic hurricane season officially began on June 1, 1952, and lasted until November 30, 1952. These dates conventionally delimit the period of each year when most tropical cyclones form in the Atlantic basin. However, the "Groundhog Day Tropical Storm" formed on February 2, well outside these limits. This is the earliest a tropical cyclone has ever formed in the Atlantic basin.
The February storm notwithstanding, it was a fairly quiet season. Hurricane Able made landfall as a Category 2 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale at Hilton Head, South Carolina. What became Hurricane Charlie struck Santo Domingo, capitol of the Dominican Republic, as a tropical storm. Hurricane Fox struck Cuba as a Category 4 storm; the next time a hurricane of this intensity would strike Cuba would be in 2001, when Hurricane Michelle struck the island.
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[edit] Storms
[edit] Groundhog Day Tropical Storm
- Main article: 1952 Groundhog Day Tropical Storm
Tropical Storm One apparently was not aware of the usual seasonal limits, and formed in the western Caribbean Sea on February 2. It moved quickly northeastward, hitting Florida the next day as a 50 mph tropical storm. The storm moved rapidly up the coast, and became extratropical on the 4th.
[edit] Hurricane Able
Hurricane Able developed from a tropical wave on August 18, just off the African coastline. The Bermuda-Azores High pressure system to the north moved the depression westward, where unfavorable conditions disallowed development until the 24th when it became a tropical storm. The path it took was similar to the 1893 Sea Islands Hurricane, but at a weaker pace. As Able passed north of the Lesser Antilles, it strengthened into a hurricane, but it remained disorganized, having two separate eyewalls. On August 31, as it was about to make landfall on southern South Carolina, Able reached its peak of 100 mph winds. It weakened after making landfall, turned to the northeast in response to a trough, and dissipated near Maine on September 9. The hurricane caused heavy flooding, resulting in $2,750,000 in damage (1952 US dollars) and 3 deaths.
[edit] Hurricane Baker
On August 31, Tropical Storm Baker formed just east of the Lesser Antilles, likely from a tropical wave. It moved northwest, bypassing the islands, and strengthened to a hurricane on the 1st. Baker reached a peak of 120 mph, but as it turned to the northeast, cooler waters and upper level shear weakened it until it became extratropical on the 8th. Baker brushed southeastern Newfoundland, but caused no damage.
[edit] Hurricane Charlie
An easterly wave became a tropical depression on September 22 in the eastern Caribbean Sea. It became a tropical storm the next day before hitting eastern Dominican Republic, and moved northward out to sea. Charlie attained a peak of 120 mph before becoming extratropical on the 29th over the north Atlantic. Charlie caused $1,000,000 in damage (1952 dollars) in Puerto Rico from heavy rainfall, as well as 4 deaths.
[edit] Hurricane Dog
A tropical wave developed into a tropical storm on September 25, east of the Lesser Antilles. Dog moved northwestward, reaching a peak of 85 mph before dissipating on the 29th. Reconnaissance Aircraft indicated that Dog may not have had a circulation, and thus, was possibly not a tropical cyclone.
[edit] Hurricane Easy
A small tropical depression formed on October 6, east of the Lesser Antilles. After moving northward, it looped back to the southwest, reaching a peak of 110 mph before dissipating on the 11th.
[edit] Hurricane Fox
The last and most severe hurricane of the season developed from an Intertropical Convergence Zone disturbance on October 20 over the central Caribbean Sea. A small storm, it steadily intensified as it moved northward across the Caribbean, reaching hurricane strength on the 22nd. As Fox approached the Cuban coastline on the 24th, it rapidly strengthened to its peak of 150 mph winds and hit south-central Cuba at that intensity. It rapidly weakened to a 100 mph hurricane while over land, and drifted over the Bahamas over the next 2 days. It was slowly absorbed by an approaching frontal boundary, and dissipated on the 28th. While Fox crossed over a relatively rural area of Cuba, it caused major damaged to the sugar crop, with 36 of Cuba's 261 sugar mills being damaged by the hurricane. 600 buildings were destroyed in the island town of Aguada de Pasajeros. [1] The hurricane caused moderate damage amounting to $10 million (1952 USD, $71 million 2005 USD) and 40 deaths. [2]
[edit] 1952 storm names
These names were used to name storms during the 1952 season. 1952 was the third and last time storm names were taken from the Joint Army/Navy Phonetic Alphabet. Names that were not assigned are marked in gray.
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