1942 Atlantic hurricane season
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 Season summary map |
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| First storm formed: | Aug. 17, 1942 |
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| Last storm dissipated: | Nov. 11, 1942 |
| Strongest storm: | #2 - 100 knots (115 mph) |
| Total storms: | 10 |
| Major storms (Cat. 3+): | 1 |
| Total damage: | $30.6 million (1942 USD) |
| Total fatalities: | 17 |
| Atlantic hurricane seasons 1940, 1941, 1942, 1943, 1944 |
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The 1942 Atlantic hurricane season officially began on June 16, 1942, and lasted until October 31, 1942.[1] These dates conventionally delimit the period of each year when most tropical cyclones form in the Atlantic basin.
The 1942 season was fairly quiet. A few storms of note were two Category 1 storms striking north and central Texas and a Category 2 hitting Belize. Most of the rest of the season's storms stayed out to sea. Only 1 major hurricane formed during the season and the only other landfall was a weak tropical storm that struck the Outer Banks as a tropical depression.
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[edit] Storms
[edit] Hurricane One
A tropical storm was first observed on August 17 near the Yucatán Peninsula. It tracked northwestward, where it slowly intensified to a minimal hurricane. The hurricane made landfall on the eastern Texas coast on the 21st at Crystal Beach near the entrance to Galveston Bay, and dissipated two days later over extreme southern Missouri. The hurricane caused around $600,000 in damage.
[edit] Hurricane Two
The precursor to Hurricane Two was a tropical wave that developed into a tropical storm on August 21 over the Windward Islands. It moved westward over the Caribbean Sea, strengthening to a hurricane on the 25th south of Jamaica. The hurricane crossed over the northeast tip of the Yucatán Peninsula on the 28th. While over the Gulf of Mexico, the hurricane reached a peak of 115 mph (185 km/h) winds, and it made landfall near Palacios as a major hurricane.[2] The next day it dissipated over northwestern Texas, after resulting in $26.5 million in damage and eight casualties.
[edit] Hurricane Three
The third storm of the season was first detected as a minimal hurricane southeast of Bermuda on August 25 heading northwest. It passed Bermuda to the east, strengthening to a Category 2 storm as it did so, recurving to the northeast. It continued to gain intensity and peaked just below major hurricane status with winds of 110 mph (180 km/h). It weakened as it reached cooler waters, droping below hurricane strength at 39N latitude and looping back south and then west before dissipating on September 2.
[edit] Tropical Storm Four
A Caribbean storm, Storm Four formed roughly 100 miles (160 km) northeast of Barbados in mid September and moved on a steady west-northwest track, not strengthening much. It's winds never rose above 50 mph (80 km/h). Storm Four turned more to the west after it passed south of Jamaica and struck northern Belize as a weakening tropical storm. It dissipated shortly thereafter.
[edit] Tropical Storm Five
The fifth storm of the season was short-lived. It formed not far southwest of Bermuda on September 18 and moved generally northward for the next four days. Its winds peaked at 50 mph (80 km/h) before becoming extratropical on September 22.
[edit] Tropical Storm Six
Another weak Bermuda storm, Storm Six formed several hundred miles southeast of that island in late September and ended up making a horseshoe-like track around it, never coming within 100 miles (160 km) and passing to Bermuda's west. Winds topped out at 50 mph (80 km/h). It dissipated some 300 miles (480 km) north of the island in cooler waters on September 30.
[edit] Tropical Storm Seven
Storm Seven formed near the Turks and Caicos Islands on the first day of October and headed due northeast for almost its entire lifespan. It passed just to the southeast of Bermuda (an oft-visited island this season) and reached its peak intensity of 60 mph (97 km/h) shortly thereafter. It became extratropical on October 4 as it approached 40N.
[edit] Tropical Storm Eight
The season's eighth storm was a very weak system that formed in the open waters of the Sargasso Sea several hundred miles west-southwest of Bermuda on October 10. It curved gently west-northwestward and then northwestward toward the North Carolina's Outer Banks, making landfall near Cape Lookout shortly after weakening to a tropical depression two days following formation. It dissipated later that day. Eastern North Carolina suffered heavy rainfall, but little, if any, damage resulted.
[edit] Tropical Storm Nine
Storm Nine formed near Jamaica on October 13 and moved due north through southern Cuba and the Bahamas before shifting to the northeast for the remainder of its lifetime, parallelling the eastern seaboard of the United States but remaining well offshore. It lost its identity near Sable Island, Nova Scotia. No damaging effects were reported from any of the affected islands.
[edit] Hurricane Ten
On November 5, a tropical storm was first seen over the northern Lesser Antilles. It headed west-northwestward, becoming a hurricane on the 6th over the southern Bahamas. A ridge of high pressure to its north forced the storm west-southwestward, where it hit Cuba later that day. After weakening over the island, the now tropical storm re-strengthened to a hurricane on the 8th over the western Caribbean Sea. It attained a peak of 95 mph (153 km/h) winds before hitting Belize on the 9th. After crossing the Yucatán Peninsula, the ridge of high pressure built to its northwest, forcing the storm back southeastward. It hit the western Yucatán Peninsula on the 11th, and dissipated shortly thereafter over land. The hurricane was responsible for 9 deaths, $4 million in damage, and unavailable damage figures elsewhere.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Port Arthur News. Weather Bureau Goes On 24-Hour Schedule For 'Hurricane Season. Retrieved on 2008-06-06.
- ^ Blake, Rappaport, and Landsea (2006). The Deadliest, Costliest, and Most Intense United States Tropical Cyclones (1851 to 2006). NOAA. Retrieved on 2007-06-08.
[edit] External links
| 1940-49 Atlantic hurricane seasons | |
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