| Category 5 hurricane (SSHS) | |
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| Formed | August 29, 1935 |
| Dissipated | September 10, 1935 |
| Highest winds | 1-minute sustained: 185 mph (295 km/h) |
| Lowest pressure | 892 mbar (hPa; 26.34 inHg) |
| Fatalities | 408–600 direct |
| Damage | $6 million (1935 USD) |
| Areas affected | Bahamas, Florida Keys, Big Bend, Florida Panhandle, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia |
| Part of the 1935 Atlantic hurricane season | |
The 1935 Labor Day Hurricane was the strongest tropical cyclone of the 1935 Atlantic hurricane season, and one of the most intense hurricanes to make landfall in the United States in recorded history. The second tropical cyclone, second hurricane, and second major hurricane of the season, the Labor Day Hurricane was the first of three Category 5 hurricanes at landfall that the United States endured during the 20th Century (the other two being 1969's Hurricane Camille and 1992's Hurricane Andrew). After forming as a weak tropical storm east of the Bahamas on August 29, it slowly proceeded westward and became a hurricane on September 1. It underwent rapid intensification while crossing the Florida Straits and struck the Upper Keys on Labor Day, Monday, September 2. The storm continued northwest along the Florida west coast, weakening before its second landfall near Cedar Key, Florida on September 4.
The compact and intense hurricane caused extreme damage in the upper Florida Keys, as a storm surge of approximately 18 to 20 feet (5.5-6.1 metres) swept over the low-lying islands. The hurricane's strong winds and the surge destroyed most of the buildings in the Islamorada area, and more than 200 World War I veterans housed in work camps were killed[1] by the storm surge and flying debris. Portions of the Key West Extension of the Florida East Coast Railway were severely damaged or destroyed. The hurricane also caused additional damage in northwest Florida, Georgia, and the Carolinas. The hurricane killed more than 400 people, nearly all in the Florida Keys.
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The storm was born as a small tropical disturbance due east of Florida near the Bahamas in late August. The disturbance moved westward toward the Gulf Stream, and U.S. weather forecasters became aware of a potential tropical storm. The tropical storm strengthened to a Category 1 hurricane as it neared the southern tip of Andros Island in the Bahamas early on September 1.
As the hurricane passed over the warm Gulf Stream late on September 1 it underwent rapid deepening. It intensified without pause for a day and a half while its track made a gentle turn to the northwest, toward Islamorada in the Upper Keys. The hurricane reached peak intensity on September 2, making landfall between 8:30 and 9:30 p.m. EST at Craig Key.
| Most intense Atlantic hurricanes | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Hurricane | Season | Pressure | ||
| hPa | inHg | ||||
| 1 | Wilma | 2005 | 882 | 26.0 | |
| 2 | Gilbert | 1988 | 888 | 26.2 | |
| 3 | "Labor Day" | 1935 | 892 | 26.3 | |
| 4 | Rita | 2005 | 895 | 26.4 | |
| 5 | Allen | 1980 | 899 | 26.5 | |
| 6 | Katrina | 2005 | 902 | 26.6 | |
| 7 | Camille | 1969 | 905 | 26.7 | |
| Mitch | 1998 | 905 | 26.7 | ||
| Dean | 2007 | 905 | 26.7 | ||
| 10 | "Cuba" | 1924 | 910 | 26.9 | |
| Ivan | 2004 | 910 | 26.9 | ||
| Source: HURDAT[2] | |||||
After striking the Keys the hurricane moved northward, weakening as it paralleled the west coast of Florida. It made a second landfall in northwest Florida near Cedar Key as a Category 2 hurricane on September 4. It quickly weakened to a tropical storm as it moved inland, passing over Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina before emerging into the Atlantic Ocean near Norfolk. The storm quickly re-intensified to hurricane status on September 6 as it reached winds of 90 mph (145 km/h). It quickly weakened and the system rapidly became extratropical. The remnants continued northeast until it became non-tropical south of Greenland on September 10.
The Labor Day Hurricane was the only storm known to make landfall in the United States with a minimum central pressure below 900 mbar; only two others have struck the country with winds of Category 5 strength. It remains the third-strongest Atlantic hurricane on record, surpassed only by Hurricanes Gilbert (1988) and Wilma (2005).
The maximum sustained wind speed at landfall is estimated to have been near 185 mph (260 km/h). Recent re-analysis studies conducted by the NOAA Hurricane Research Division (HRD), however, suggest that the maximum sustained winds were more likely around 200 mph (295 km/h) at landfall.[3] A landfall intensity of 200 mph makes it both the most intense land-falling hurricane and hurricane in general on record in the Western Hemisphere in terms of maximum sustained wind speed. The recorded central pressure was reported as 26.35 inHg (892 mbar hPa). This was the record low pressure for a hurricane anywhere in the Western Hemisphere until surpassed by Hurricane Gilbert in 1988 and Hurricane Wilma in 2005.
The main transportation route linking the Keys to mainland Florida was one railroad line, the Florida Overseas Railroad portion of the Florida East Coast Railway. A 10-car evacuation train, sent down from Homestead, was washed off the track by the storm surge and high winds on Upper Matecumbe Key. Only the locomotive remained upright on the rails, and had to be barged back to Miami several months later. The National Weather Service estimated 408 deaths from the hurricane. Bodies were recovered as far away as Flamingo and Cape Sable on the southwest tip of the Florida mainland.
| Rank | Hurricane | Season | Landfall pressure |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Labor Day" | 1935 | 892 mbar (hPa) |
| 2 | Camille | 1969 | 909 mbar (hPa) |
| 3 | Katrina | 2005 | 920 mbar (hPa) |
| 4 | Andrew | 1992 | 922 mbar (hPa) |
| 5 | "Indianola" | 1886 | 925 mbar (hPa) |
| 6 | "Florida Keys" | 1919 | 927 mbar (hPa) |
| 7 | "Okeechobee" | 1928 | 929 mbar (hPa) |
| 8 | Donna | 1960 | 930 mbar (hPa) |
| 9 | Carla | 1961 | 931 mbar (hPa) |
| 10 | Hugo | 1989 | 934 mbar (hPa) |
| Source: National Hurricane Center | |||
The hurricane left a path of near destruction in the Upper Keys, centered on what is today the village of Islamorada. Nearly every structure was demolished, as well as some bridges and railway embankments were washed away. The links — rail, road, and ferry boats — that chained the islands together were broken. The Islamorada area was devastated, although the hurricane's destructive path was narrower than most tropical cyclones. Its eye was eight miles (13 km.) across and the fiercest winds extended 15 miles (24 km.) off the center, less than 1992's Hurricane Andrew, which was also a relatively small and catastrophic Category 5 hurricane.
Craig Key, Long Key, and Upper Matecumbe and Lower Matecumbe Keys suffered the worst. After the third day of the storm corpses swelled and split open in the subtropical heat, according to rescue workers. Public health officials ordered plain wood coffins holding the dead to be stacked and burned in several locations.
The United States Coast Guard and other state and federal agencies organized evacuation and relief efforts. Boats and airplanes carried injured survivors to Miami. The railroad would never be rebuilt but temporary bridges and ferry landings were under construction as soon as materials arrived and, within a few years, a roadway (Overseas Highway) linked the entire Keys to the mainland. The storm caused wind and flood damage along the Florida panhandle and into Georgia.
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Florida Keys Memorial
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| Location: | Mile marker 82, Islamorada, Florida |
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| Built: | 1937 |
| Governing body: | Private |
| NRHP Reference#: | 95000238 |
| Added to NRHP: | March 16, 1995[4] |
Standing just east of U.S. 1 at mile marker 82 in Islamorada, near where Islamorada's post office stood, is a simple monument designed by the Florida Division of the Federal Art Project and constructed using Keys limestone ("keystone") by the Works Progress Administration. It was unveiled in 1937 with more than 4,000 people attending. A frieze depicts palm trees amid curling waves, fronds bent in the wind. In front of the sculpture a ceramic-tile mural of the Keys covers a stone crypt, which holds victims' ashes from the makeshift funeral pyres. The memorial was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places on March 16, 1995.
The text on a plaque entitled "The Florida Keys Memorial" in front of the monument reads:
The Florida Keys Memorial, known locally as the "Hurricane Monument," was built to honor hundreds of American veterans and local citizens who perished in the "Great Hurricane" on Labor Day, September 2, 1935. Islamorada sustained winds of 200 miles per hour (322 kph) and a barometer reading of 26.36 inches (66.95 cm) for many hours on that fateful holiday; most local buildings and the Florida East Coast Railway were destroyed by what remains the most savage hurricane on record. Hundreds of World War I veterans who had been camped in the Matecumbe area while working on the construction of U.S. Highway One for the Works Progress Administration (WPA) were killed. In 1937 the cremated remains of approximately 300 people were placed within the tiled crypt in front of the monument. The monument is composed of native keystone, and its striking frieze depicts coconut palm trees bending before the force of hurricane winds while the waters from an angry sea lap at the bottom of their trunks. Monument construction was funded by the WPA and regional veterans' associations. Over the years the Hurricane Monument has been cared for by local veterans, hurricane survivors, and descendants of the victims.
Local residents hold ceremonies at the monument every year on Labor Day (on the Monday holiday) and on Memorial Day to honor the veterans and the civilians who died in the hurricane.
In the 1948 Warner Brothers film, Key Largo, Lionel Barrymore recalled the effects of the 1935 hurricane, as another hurricane bore down on the Florida Keys. Special effects were used on the Warner lot in the film to re-create a powerful hurricane.
Storm of the Century: The Labor Day Hurricane of 1935 (Adventure Press) by Willie Drye (Author)
Category 5: The 1935 Labor Day Hurricane (University Press of Florida) by Thomas Neil Knowles (Author)
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Tropical cyclones of the 1935 Atlantic hurricane season |
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