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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 simultaneous storms were active in the Atlantic (Eight, Nine, and Ten).
[edit] Storms
[edit] Tropical Storm One
The season started on June 8 with a tropical storm that formed in the western Caribbean Sea. The storm quickly strengthened to a peak of 50 mph (80 km/h) winds the next day, and the system maintained intensity as it moved northward and eventually made landfall near Panama City on June 13. The storm then quickly weakened to a depression as it moved inland, and the system became extratropical over Tennessee on June 14. It dissipated shortly thereafter.
[edit] Hurricane Two
On June 14, a 40 mph (65 km/h) tropical storm formed just north of Cuba. The storm rapidly strengthened, reaching hurricane status two days later as a Category 1 hurricane before grazing the Florida Keys and striking the southeast tip of Florida on June 17. After moving offshore, intensification continued as the hurricane moved northeast, and the hurricane reached Category 2 status the next day and attained its peak of 105 mph (170 km/h) on June 19. The storm then began weakening and turned to the east-southeast on June 20 as a minimal hurricane as it went out to sea. The hurricane weakened to a tropical storm on June 21, turned eastward, and weakened to a depression and became extratropical on June 23.
[edit] Tropical Storm Three
A tropical depression formed on August 22 in the central North Atlantic. The system intensified to a tropical storm on August 23 as it moved west-northwest. The system then began to turn northward and north-northeast, quickly reaching its peak of 70 mph (110 km/h) on August 24—just 4 mph (6 km/h) below hurricane status. The storm then began to weaken on August 25, becoming an extratropical storm shortly thereafter. The system dissipated later on the same day.
[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 hurricane then weakened to a Category 3 hurricane on September 6 and turned northeast on September 7. Continuing to move northeast while maintaing intensity, the hurricane passed near Bermuda on September 9, where the pressure fell to 988 mbar (29.18 inHg)[1] and winds reached 70 mph (110 km/h) (Tucker, 1966). 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 formed on September 3 out in the eastern tropical Atlantic. The storm moved northwest and slowly intensified before turning to the west-northwest on September 10. The storm intensified to a Category 1 hurricane on September 12, turned northwest on September 13, and reached its peak of 90 mph (145 km/h) on September 14. The hurricane then turned back to the west, maintained intensity, and made landfall near Myrtle Beach on September 17. The hurricane quickly weakened to a tropical storm after moving inland, and it dissipated on September 18 in eastern Tennessee. Shipping was heavily damaged in the Charleston area, but other damage was relatively minor.
[edit] Hurricane Six
A tropical depression formed in the southwestern Caribbean Sea on September 19. The system slowly intensified to a 40 mph (65 km/h) tropical storm on September 20 and moved to the north-northwest through the western Caribbean Sea. After maintaining intensity, it began to intensify on September 22, and the developing tropical cyclone intensified to a hurricane on September 24 near the entrance to the Yucatán Channel. The hurricane continued to intensify as it moved north-northwest, attaining Category 2 status with winds of 100 mph (160 km/h) as it slowly entered the southern Gulf of Mexico on September 25. The hurricane continued to intensify to a major hurricane later on the same day, and the storm reached its peak of 120 mph (195 km/h) on September 26 in the central Gulf of Mexico. After maintaining intensity, the hurricane began to slowly weaken as it continued to move north-northwest on September 27, and the hurricane weakened to a 110 mph (180 km/h) Category 2 hurricane as it made landfall near Biloxi late on the same day. The hurricane weakened to a minimal hurricane and a tropical storm on September 28 after moving inland, and it dissipated on September 30 after moving northward through Missouri and turning briefly to the southeast in western Kentucky.
[edit] Tropical Storm Seven
A tropical storm with winds of 60 mph (95 km/h) formed in the eastern North Atlantic Ocean west-southwest of the Canary Islands near Africa on September 22. Moving southwest, the tropical storm attained its peak of 70 mph (110 km/h) on September 23, and remained 4 mph (6 km/h) below hurricane status for six consecutive days. The tropical storm turned to the north late on September 26 and rapidly to the northeast on September 27 and September 28. After continuing to move northeast, the tropical storm began to weaken on September 30, and the system became extratropical on October 1 after moving rapidly through the Azores. It dissipated the following day on October 2 as it moved northeast toward Europe.
[edit] Hurricane Eight
Also known as the 1906 Florida Keys Hurricane, this hurricane formed in the southwestern Caribbean Sea west of Cartagena, Colombia on October 8. Moving westward, the tropical storm intensified to a hurricane on October 9 and reached its first peak of 115 mph (185 km/h) on October 10, turned to the west-northwest, and made landfall in Nicaragua as a Category 3 major hurricane. The hurricane weakened to a tropical storm on October 11 after moving inland, turned northwest, and the system re-emerged in the southern Gulf of Honduras on October 12. The system then began to reintensify to a hurricane, and the storm made landfall shortly thereafter near Chetumal as a 90 mph (150 km/h) Category 1 hurricane. The hurricane weakened to a tropical storm on October 14 as it drifted slowly inland and northward over the far southeast Yucatán Peninsula, turned to the northeast on October 15, and re-emerged into the western Caribbean basin early on October 16. It began to restrengthen to a hurricane, and on October 17 it regained major hurricane status as it neared western Cuba. It reached its second peak intensity of 120 mph (195 km/h) shortly before making landfall near Pinar del Río late on October 17, maintained intensity as it crossed the mainland of Cuba on October 18, and made landfall in the Florida Keys near Marathon later on the same day as a Category 3 hurricane. The hurricane turned northeast, exited near Miami, and weakened to a Category 2 hurricane in the western Atlantic after crossing southern Florida. The weakening storm turned to the north and northwest, looped, and made a second landfall near Jacksonville on October 21. It moved southward through the state, re-emerged into the Gulf of Mexico, and dissipated near Cancún on October 23.
The hurricane caused severe damage in Nicaragua, where precipitation fell continuously for hours; floods and landslides washed away homes. Damage in Cuba was relatively light, likely due to the hurricane's small size and short duration; however, loss of life was heavy. The hurricane caused heavy damage in the Florida Keys, where many construction workers were working on the Overseas Railroad.[2] Few, if any, of the workers had evacuated. Over 130 workers were killed. The transport boat that had headed for Miami, full of evacuating workers, sank during the storm. Miami received $160,000 in damage (1906 dollars). In total, at least 193 people were killed.[3]
[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 15; 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.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
[edit] Printed Media
- Terry Tucker. Beware the Hurricane! Hamilton Press: Bermuda, 1966.
[edit] External links
