| Category 5 hurricane (SSHS) | |
|---|---|
| Man dwarfed by heavy surf near Miami | |
| Formed | September 4, 1947 |
| Dissipated | September 21, 1947 |
| Highest winds | 1-minute sustained: 160 mph (260 km/h) |
| Lowest pressure | 940 mbar (hPa; 27.76 inHg) |
| Fatalities | 51 direct[1] |
| Damage | $110 million (1947 USD) |
| Areas affected | The Bahamas, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi |
| Part of the 1947 Atlantic hurricane season | |
The Fort Lauderdale Hurricane (or Pompano Beach Hurricane or Hurricane George) was an intense Category 5 hurricane that affected the Bahamas, Florida, Louisiana, and Mississippi in September of the 1947 Atlantic hurricane season. The fourth tropical cyclone, third hurricane, and first intense hurricane of the 1947 Atlantic hurricane season, it developed 230 miles (370 km) east of Praia, Cape Verde. It quickly strengthened to a hurricane on September 4. Later, it turned southwest on September 7, and it steadily resumed a northwest motion on September 10. A large, powerful hurricane, it attained its peak intensity of 160 mph (260 km/h) over the Abaco Islands, and it made landfall near Pompano Beach, Florida. It passed over southern Florida, and it eventually struck southeastern Louisiana as a weaker Category 3 hurricane. It killed 51 people and caused $110 million (1947 USD) in damage. The tropical cyclone is one of only five hurricanes to strike the United States with maximum sustained winds of at least 155 mph (250 km/h).[2]
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Hurricane four, commonly referred to as the Fort Lauderdale hurricane, was first monitored as an area of low pressure over French West Africa on September 2, 1947. Steadily tracking westward, the system was quickly classified as a depression before moving into the Atlantic Ocean, near Dakar, on September 4. Once over water, weather agencies lost track of the system due to a lack of ships in the region.[3] However, the Atlantic hurricane database, also known as HURDAT, states that the cyclone had obtained tropical storm status, with maximum sustained winds of 50 mph (85 km/h) during the afternoon of September 4. At that time, the storm was located roughly 200 miles (320 kilometres) west-southwest of the Cape Verde Islands. The storm quickly intensified as it tracked nearly due west, attaining winds of 75 mph (120 km/h), equivalent to a modern day Category 1 hurricane on the Saffir–Simpson Hurricane Scale, roughly 18 hours after being classified a tropical storm.[4] The hurricane maintained this intensity for nearly five days, taking a southwest turn on September 7 before resuming its westward track two days later.[3][4] This storm was named George by the Weather Bureau office in Miami, which worked in conjunction with the military at that time.[5]
Operationally, the hurricane was not officially classified until September 10;[3] however, in a re-analysis of the storm, it was determined that maximum winds had reached 100 mph (155 km/h) by that time.[4] Continuing its gradual intensification, the cyclone began to increase in forward motion and took a more northwesterly track. Between September 10 and 15, reconnaissance missions into the storm were made by the United States Navy as it tracked towards the Bahamas.[3] On September 12, the hurricane attained Category 3 status, with sustained winds reaching 115 mph (175 km/h). The storm had also accelerated to a forward speed of 25 mph (35 km/h) during this period. Several days later, the storm slowed near the eastern Bahamas, nearly stalling at one point. Early on September 16, the hurricane intensified into a Category 5 hurricane, the highest rank obtainable. At this time, the cyclone reached its peak strength winds of 160 mph (260 km/h) roughly 95 miles (155 km) east of Hope Town, Abaco Islands.[4]
The storm crossed the northern portion of the Abaco Islands, where a weather station claimed a wind reading of 160 mph (260 km/h).[3] As the storm passed over the Gulf Stream, it lost some strength before landfall.[2] The storm made landfall on September 17 near Fort Lauderdale, Florida as a strong Category 4 hurricane with maximum sustained winds near 155 mph (250 km/h). Winds of hurricane force extended out roughly 120 miles (195 km) from the center in all directions.[3] The cyclone produced peak gusts of 155 mph (250 km/h) and sustained winds of 122 mph (195 km/h) at Hillsboro Inlet Light near Pompano Beach;[3][6] the reading was the highest measured wind speed recorded in the state of Florida until Hurricane Andrew.[7] The hurricane moved slowly inland near 10 mph (16 km/h),[3] and it diminished to a Category 2 hurricane over the Everglades.[2] The cyclone entered the Gulf of Mexico near Naples, and it produced gusts of 120 mph (190 km/h) at Sanibel Island Light near Fort Myers.[3]
On September 18, the hurricane's maximum sustained winds diminished to 90 mph (145 km/h).[2] It turned west-northwest, and its forward motion increased to 15 mph (25 km/h).[3] On September 19, the hurricane moved ashore over Saint Bernard Parish, Louisiana as a major hurricane.[8] The hurricane weakened as it moved over the New Orleans metropolitan area, although it's strong winds gusted to 110 mph (175 km/h) in New Orleans. 96 mph sustained winds with 120 mph gusts were recorded near Baton Rouge, and the cyclone diminished to a strong tropical storm over central Louisiana.[2] On September 20, it weakened to a tropical depression over northeastern Texas.[2] The remnant circulation turned northeast over southeastern Oklahoma and northwest Arkansas. On September 21, it dissipated over southern Missouri.
Hurricane warnings were issued for the Florida east coast from Titusville to Miami.[9] Northern commercial flights were grounded at Jacksonville. 1,500 National Guard troops were ready for mobilization if "deemed necessary" by Florida Governor Millard Caldwell.[9]
Damage and deaths in the Bahamas are unknown. Green Turtle Cay was flooded by 2 feet (610 mm) of water.[10] The cyclone's strong winds damaged or destroyed many homes on the western end of Grand Bahama; all docks received damages.[11]
At the storm's first landfall, an 11-foot (3.4 m) storm surge was reported along the Florida coast. Large stretches of State Highway A1A between Palm Beach and Boynton Beach were washed out by the wave action.[12] The Boca Raton Airport, known then as Boca Raton Army Air Field, received significant damage from the storm, reporting $3 million in damages.[13] The hurricane was unusually large: some reports indicate hurricane-force winds may have extended 120 miles (190 km) out from the eye center (from Cape Canaveral to Coral Gables).
At Lake Okeechobee a 20 foot (6 m) storm surge was reported along the south shore between Clewiston and Moore Haven, nearly overrunning the Herbert Hoover Dike that surrounded the lake. Unlike in the 1928 Okeechobee Hurricane, the dike held and a much larger catastrophe were averted. However, this 1947 storm prompted a further strengthening of the dike in the 1960s.
The storm was also slow-moving (about 10 mph) and dropped a prodigious amount of rain over the area–records for single-month rainfall were set in many areas, some of which still stand today (others were broken in the 1992 or 2004 seasons), and flooding was among the worst in southern Florida's history.[14] The storm killed 17 people in Florida.[15] The hurricane damaged Citrus crops in the Fort Pierce area, and losses were estimated at $4,000,000.[16]
A large part of Greater New Orleans was flooded, with two feet of water shutting down Moisant Field and six feet of water in parts of Jefferson Parish. The storm produced an estimated 100 million US dollars worth of damage to the city.[17]
A 12-foot (3.7 m) storm surge was reported along the western half of the Mississippi coastline, causing heavy damage in Bay St. Louis (which received a 15-foot (4.6 m) storm surge),[15] Gulfport, and Biloxi.
Although the storm had weakened by its second landfall, the hydrology of this location makes it particularly vulnerable to hurricanes. 12 people were killed in Louisiana and 22 in Mississippi.[15]
Coming as it did shortly after the end of World War II and at the start of the Cold War, and striking an area that had recently been hit by other, even more destructive hurricanes, this hurricane was largely forgotten. Building codes and hurricane awareness had improved in Florida since the destructive hurricanes of the 1920s, limiting both damage and loss of life. Yet if this same storm were to hit today it would probably do around $11.72 billion (2004 USD) in damages.[18]
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