1926 Atlantic hurricane season

1926 Atlantic hurricane season

Season summary map
First system formed	July 22, 1926
Last system dissipated	November 16, 1926
Strongest storm	"Miami" – 930 mbar (hPa) (27.47 inHg), 150 mph (240 km/h)
Total storms	11
Hurricanes	8
Major hurricanes (Cat. 3+)	6
Total fatalities	≥1499
Total damage	$267.4 million (1926 USD)
Atlantic hurricane seasons 1924, 1925, 1926, 1927, 1928

The 1926 Atlantic hurricane season ran through the summer and the first half of fall in 1926. The 1926 season was relatively average in activity, but was very eventful. The season produced 11 tropical storms, of which 6 became major hurricanes.

Timeline

Storms

Hurricane One

Category 4 hurricane (SSHWS)
Duration	July 22 – August 2 (extratropical after July 31)
Peak intensity	140 mph (220 km/h) (1-min) ≤ 967 mbar (hPa)

The first storm of the season formed early on July 22 about 200 miles (322 km) east of the island of Barbados and gradually strengthened into a hurricane a day later. At 00 Universal Time Coordinated (UTC) on July 24, the hurricane made landfall at Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico, with maximum sustained winds of 105 miles per hour (169 km/h). Weakening as it crossed Puerto Rico, the cyclone quickly regained strength on July 25 as it moved through the Bahamas; rapidly reaching maximum sustained winds of 130 mph (210 km/h), it attained the equivalence of Category 4 intensity—one of only four Atlantic hurricanes to have done so in or before the month of July. After peaking at 140 mph (230 km/h) with an estimated central pressure of 938 millibars (27.70 inHg),^[1] the cyclone struck the island of New Providence, the seat of the Bahamian capital Nassau, on the morning of July 26, producing wind speeds estimated at up to 135 mph (217 km/h) there. Weakening thereafter, the storm moved northwestward, paralleling the east coast of the US state of Florida, coming ashore near New Smyrna Beach, Florida, on the morning of July 28 with winds of 105 mph (169 km/h).^[2] Thereafter, the cyclone quickly diminished in intensity, becoming a tropical depression on July 29, as it curved west-northwestward over Georgia; three days later, it became an extratropical cyclone and dissipated over Ontario, Canada, on August 2.^[3]

In passing over the United States territory of Puerto Rico, the storm produced hurricane-force winds and heavy rainfall that flooded all the rivers in the southern half of the island; crops in the western portion of the island were greatly damaged, and the entire island was affected by strong winds. At least 25 people were reported to have died as a result. The storm in Puerto Rico is known as Hurricane San Liborio.^[4][5] The cyclone caused hurricane-force winds in the Turks and Caicos Islands, but no deaths were recorded.^[5] In The Bahamas, the cyclone killed at least 146 people^[6] and produced severe damage to the capital Nassau; it was called the worst storm to affect Nassau since the 1866 Nassau hurricane, another Category 4 cyclone that struck New Providence, and caused major flooding throughout the Bahamas.^[7] More than a week after the storm, 400 people were reported to be missing in the British colony.^[6][8] On the east coast of Florida, the hurricane produced a large storm tide that damaged boats, docks, and coastal structures, and damaging winds destroyed barns and crops well inland;^[9] severe damage to structures and communications wires was reported at New Smyrna Beach, where the storm struck the state. The storm also produced heavy rainfall along the coast, peaking at 10.02 inches (254.51 mm) at Merritt Island.^[5] One person died from the effects of the storm in Florida.^[5] In all, the hurricane caused at least 287 deaths^[10]—the fourth deadliest July hurricane since 1492^[10]— and 1926 USD $16,401,000 in losses, at least $8,000,000 of which were in the Bahamas.^[5][8] It remains only the second of three recorded hurricanes since 1851 to have struck the east coast of Florida north of Cape Canaveral from the Atlantic Ocean, the others being a hurricane in 1915 and Hurricane Dora in 1964, although several storms with hurricane-force winds have crossed the region from other directions.^[3]

Hurricane Two

Category 3 hurricane (SSHWS)
Duration	July 29 – August 8 (extratropical on August 8)
Peak intensity	120 mph (195 km/h) (1-min) ≤ 968 mbar (hPa)

Early on July 29, as the preceding tropical cyclone weakened over the U.S. state of Georgia, a new tropical depression formed more than 1,200 mi (1,930 km) east of the island of Antigua in the Leeward Islands. Over the next few days, it moved west-northwest, becoming a tropical storm by 00 UTC on July 31. On August 1, the cyclone turned northwestward and began strengthening rapidly, reaching hurricane intensity by the early afternoon. The next day, it attained major hurricane intensity—winds of at least 115 mph (185 km/h), equivalent to the modern-day classification of Category 3 intensity—and over the next few days its track varied between north-northwest and northwest. Early on August 5, it reached a peak intensity of 120 mph (190 km/h) and then curved to the north, later weakening and passing about 80 mi (129 km) west of Bermuda on August 6. A few days later, it transitioned into an extratropical cyclone and then struck near Port Hawkesbury, Nova Scotia, with winds of 75 mph (121 km/h) and a central pressure at or below 1,000 mb (29.5 inHg), based upon a reading of 1,000.3 mb (29.54 inHg) at Port-Au-Basque.^[11][12]

The cyclone mostly remained and at sea and therefore impacted few land masses. However, ships at sea recorded hurricane-force winds and atmospheric pressures as low as 968 millibars (28.59 inHg), though none entered the eye of the hurricane and sampled the lowest pressure in the storm. As a small hurricane, the system produced winds up to 54 mph (87 km/h) and a pressure reading of 1,000 mb (29.53 inHg) on Bermuda as it passed very close to that island.^[12] About this time, five ocean liners near each other encountered the storm; some portholes of the Orca were damaged and 15 passengers treated for cuts, bruises, and contusions.^[13] Off Nova Scotia, the cyclone produced an unspecified number of casualties,^[14] including the sinking of the schooners Sylvia Mosher^[15] and Sadie Knickle.^[16] In the vicinity, hours before and just after the cyclone struck Nova Scotia, ships reported winds up to 70 mph (110 km/h) and pressures down to 996 mb (29.41 inHg), but reported deaths, if any, are unknown from existing reports.^[12]

Hurricane Three

Category 3 hurricane (SSHWS)
Duration	August 20 – August 27
Peak intensity	115 mph (185 km/h) (1-min)  955 mbar (hPa)

On August 20, a low pressure area producing unsettled weather in the western Caribbean Sea,^[14] and centered about 400 mi (644 km) west-northwest of Maracaibo, Venezuela, was determined to have become a tropical depression, though originally, prior to scientific reanalysis in April 2012^[12] based upon a 1975 report,^[17] it was not believed to have done so until two days later. Moving west-northwest, the depression strengthened to a tropical storm the next day, and then turned northwestward while strengthening steadily. As it approached Cape San Antonio at the western tip of Cuba on August 22, the cyclone then veered to the west-northwest, a movement that would persist for almost a day, during which time the storm became a hurricane over the southern Gulf of Mexico. Late on August 23, the cyclone, continuing to intensify, began curving northwestward, and by the afternoon of August 24, with winds of 100 mph (160 km/h), it turned north. Early on August 25, the cyclone peaked at 115 mph (185 km/h), equivalent to the modern classification Category 3, and in the afternoon struck west of Houma in Louisiana at that intensity.^[2] Less than 24 hours later, the storm rapidly weakened to a moderate tropical storm and curved west-northwestward, weakening to a tropical depression on August 27 and dissipating over Texas.

No known effects were reported from the Caribbean due to the cyclone. On the morning of August 24, the United States Weather Bureau in Washington, D.C., advised that the storm was likely to make landfall between Galveston, Texas, and Burrwood, Louisiana. Late that day, hurricane warnings were issued from Morgan City, Louisiana, to Mobile, Alabama. Although small in size at landfall, the storm caused a storm surge of 15 feet (4.6 m) south of Houma and hurricane-force winds in a small area near the center. The lowest recorded pressure was 959 mb (28.32 inHg) at Houma,^[18] though this was taken inland and is not believed to have been in the exact center, as recent estimates place the central pressure slightly lower at 955 mb (28.20 inHg).^[2] Along the Gulf Coast of the United States, the storm caused $6 million (1926 USD) in damage to crops and buildings, with substantial damage to vegetation. In all, 25 deaths were reported,^[19] although extensive ship reports and timely warnings by mail, telephone, radio, and telegraph reduced the number of casualties.^[18]

Hurricane Four

Category 4 hurricane (SSHWS)
Duration	September 1 – September 24 (extratropical after September 21)
Peak intensity	135 mph (215 km/h) (1-min) ≤ 957 mbar (hPa)

At 00 UTC on September 1, an area of low pressure about 1,000 mi (1,610 km) west of the Cape Verde islands off West Africa organized into a tropical depression, though prior to hurricane reanalysis it was estimated to have formed a day later as a tropical storm.^[12] Moving generally west-northwest over the next three days, the cyclone gradually intensified, first into a tropical storm on September 2 and later, based upon a report from the ship Stornest of hurricane-force winds and 990.5 mb (29.25 inHg), a minimal hurricane by 00 UTC on September 5.^[20][12] Late on September 7, the cyclone strengthened to a major hurricane with winds of 115 mph (185 km/h) and turned northwest; early the next day, the steamship Narenta passed through the eye of the storm and recorded a central pressure of 957 mb (28.26 inHg), the lowest during the life span of the cyclone, along with heavy seas.^[12] Thereafter, the storm for two days maintained its intensity while resuming a west-northwest track. Late on September 10, the storm abruptly turned north-northwest, a trend that continued for another day. On September 12, while centered about 400 mi (644 km) southwest of Bermuda, the cyclone briefly peaked at 135 mph (217 km/h)—equivalent to Category 4 intensity—though the cyclone was rather small and observations near the center were scarce at this time.^[12] Over the next two days, the cyclone headed north-northwest again and slowly weakened to Category 2 strength with winds of 110 mph (180 km/h), then afterward curved west-northwest for about a day. As a trough approached,^[21] the hurricane suddenly turned northeast late on September 16, and over the next three days, while located about 500 mi (805 km) south-southeast of Halifax in Nova Scotia, it executed a counterclockwise, S-shaped curve. It then weakened to a tropical storm, recurved northeast, and transitioned into an extratropical cyclone on September 22, whence it reacquired hurricane-force winds. The next day, the system weakened and hit Cape St. Mary's in eastern Newfoundland with winds up to 65 mph (105 km/h).^[12]

Although the storm impacted few land masses, several ships recorded hurricane-force winds and atmospheric pressures down to 974.6 mb (28.78 inHg).^[12][20] As the storm passed west of Bermuda on September 13, the island recorded a pressure of 1,006 mb (29.71 inHg) but otherwise reported no other impacts. The next day, the British steamship Mayaro entered the eye of the hurricane from 1515 to 21 UTC; her captain reported calm winds, visible patches of clear sky, and such undisturbed seas that “a small boat could have been used with perfect safety.”^[22] The ship recorded a minimum pressure of 974.6 mb (28.78 inHg), but this occurred at 12 UTC, more than three hours before the eye arrived, and in conjunction with southerly winds of 70 mph (110 km/h), so the actual pressure in the eye is believed to have been lower.^[12] As an extratropical storm, the cyclone continued to generate hurricane winds and attained a central pressure of 976 mb (28.82 inHg) early on September 22.^[20] The next day, it produced a pressure of 994.2 mb (29.36 inHg) at St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, the lowest there recorded all month,^[22] along with gale-force winds along the coast of Newfoundland that affected an Arctic expedition led by George P. Putnam of the American Museum of Natural History.^[23] Other impacts in Newfoundland, if any, are unknown. The cyclone is noted for being one of four cyclones occurring simultaneously on September 17 in the Atlantic Ocean,^[12][22] three of which, in a rare occurrence, were then hurricanes; three hurricanes have only twice been active at the same time in the Atlantic Ocean, on both August 22, 1893, and September 25–27, 1998.^[19] Lasting 21 days, the cyclone is also the sixth longest-lasting tropical cyclone in the Atlantic Ocean since official records began in 1851.^[3][24]

Hurricane Five

Category 2 hurricane (SSHWS)
Duration	September 10 – September 14
Peak intensity	105 mph (165 km/h) (1-min) ≤ 1000 mbar (hPa)

By 06 UTC on September 10, a strong tropical storm with winds of 70 mph (110 km/h) developed over the open Atlantic Ocean about 1,000 mi (1,610 km) southeast of Bermuda, but likely formed earlier and remained undetected due to a lack of ship observations.^[12] Over the next two days it headed north-northwestward and strengthened, remaining approximately 730 mi (1,170 km) east of Hurricane Four. Based upon a ship report of hurricane conditions—80 mph (130 km/h) from the east-southeast along with a pressure of 1,000 mb (29.53 inHg)—the cyclone was ascertained to have peaked at 105 mph (169 km/h), equivalent to Category 2 intensity, early on September 12, although no meteorological data were available near the eye. Shortly thereafter, the system began turning north and then north-northeast on September 13, followed by steady weakening. At 00 UTC on September 14, the cyclone diminished in intensity to a tropical storm and moved southeast, dissipating less than 24 hours later.^[12]

Tropical Storm Six

Tropical storm (SSHWS)
Duration	September 11 – September 17
Peak intensity	40 mph (65 km/h) (1-min) ≤ 1004 mbar (hPa)

Early on September 11, as Hurricanes Four and Five remained active in the Central Atlantic, a weak tropical depression formed in the western Caribbean Sea about 200 mi (322 km) east-southeast of the Swan Islands, Honduras. Without strengthening substantially, the depression moved west-northwest for the next day and a half, passing north of the Swan Islands based upon weather reports,^[22] and then curved northward. On September 13, the depression gradually curved to the northeast, and on the afternoon of September 14 its center made landfall southeast of the city of Cienfuegos, Cuba. The cyclone then crossed the central region of Cuba, entering the Bahamian islands in the evening. Shortly thereafter, by 00 UTC on September 15 the depression intensified into a weak tropical storm with maximum sustained winds of 40 mph (64 km/h), the strongest in its entire life span. The cyclone then turned north, passing about 15 mi (24.1 km) west of the Bahamian capital Nassau in the afternoon. The weak storm then turned abruptly to the northwest, having been trapped by a building ridge,^[21] and early the next day, while centered north of Andros Island, it assumed a gradual curve to the southwest. Late that day, it degenerated back into a tropical depression and dissipated over the Straits of Florida on September 17, as the Great Miami hurricane approached from just 550 mi (885 km) to the east-southeast.^[3]

In Cuba, impacts were apparently minimal. The cyclone produced sustained winds up to 43 mph (69 km/h) and pressures as low as 1,004 mb (29.65 inHg) in the Bahamas.^[12][22] In South Florida, the cyclone apparently did not produce tropical storm-force winds, although thunderstorms produced 1.20 inches (30.48 mm) of rainfall at Miami, Florida, on September 16. No severe effects occurred and the storm was not mentioned in the monthly notations of the local U.S. Weather Bureau office in Miami.^[25] However, its presence and that of the Great Miami hurricane, then of Category 4 intensity and in the South-Central Bahamas, caused confusion in the local press. On the morning of September 17, one day before the Miami hurricane struck, the Miami Herald published a front-page story on the weak tropical storm in the Straits of Florida and included statements by the editors that it was not anticipated to strike Florida;^[26] news articles on the hurricane, which was expected to deliver “destructive winds” to the area, were not published by other local newspapers until the afternoon, leaving Miami residents confused as to the extent of the danger.^[27]

Hurricane Seven

Category 4 hurricane (SSHWS)
Duration	September 11 – September 22
Peak intensity	150 mph (240 km/h) (1-min)  930 mbar (hPa)

By 12 UTC on September 11—just twelve hours after the formation of the preceding cyclone—a new tropical storm formed in the Atlantic about 1,100 mi (1,770 km) east of the island of Martinique, though it probably originated earlier and was undetected;^[12] operationally, the storm was not tracked until September 14.^[28] Steadily moving north of due west, the cyclone quickly became a hurricane the next day, and over the next three days, while bypassing the Greater Antilles to the north, it continued to intensify to a major hurricane, with maximum sustained winds of at least 111 mph (179 km/h),^[3] yet few ships were near the eye with which to determine its path.^[28] On the afternoon of September 16, the cyclone peaked at 150 mph (240 km/h), near the upper threshold of the modern-day classification of Category 4, and shortly thereafter passed just 10 mi (16.1 km) north of the island of Grand Turk, striking Mayaguana at peak intensity early the next day. Continuing over the South-Central Bahamas and Andros Island on September 17–18, the cyclone, with winds of 145 mph (233 km/h), then struck South Florida near Perrine, 15 mi (24.1 km) south of Downtown Miami, shortly before 12 UTC on September 18, with its large eye passing over the Miami metropolitan area.^[12][28] Swiftly crossing southernmost Florida, the potent hurricane weakened slightly before entering the Gulf of Mexico near Punta Rassa in the afternoon, and its path gradually curved northwest on September 19. Late on September 20, its path slowed drastically and curved west, making landfall near Perdido Beach, Alabama, with winds of 115 mph (185 km/h) and a measured pressure of 954.9 mb (28.20 inHg) in the calm eye.^[2][3] Quickly weakening thereafter, the cyclone paralleled the coasts of Alabama and Mississippi, dissipating more than two days later over Louisiana.

Throughout the Bahamas, reports of damage were relatively scarce despite the intensity with which the storm struck the region. However, numerous structures were completely destroyed.^[29] Within days of the hurricane striking Miami, newspapers reported death tolls as high as 1,200, fearing catastrophic damage in the city.^[30] This number gradually decreased as persons initially feared dead were found alive. According to estimates in the past decade, the storm was responsible for 372 deaths in the Southeastern United States,^[19] 114 of which took place in Miami and at least 150 at Moore Haven,^[31][32] where a storm surge estimated as high as 15 ft (4.57 m) overtopped portions of a levee on Lake Okeechobee.^[27] Prior to 2003, the U.S. death toll was long listed as 243.^[31] Many people in Miami, transients who knew little of hurricanes, perished after examining damage during the passage of the eye, unaware that the back end of the storm was approaching. Flimsy structures built to house workers during the Florida land boom of the 1920s were completely leveled.^[33][34] The hurricane partially contributed to the end of the land boom, which was in decline by early 1926.^[35] In terms of monetary losses, damage from the hurricane was estimated to be as high as $125 million ($1.7 billion 2015 US$).^[36] Up to 4,725 structures throughout southern Florida were destroyed and 8,100 damaged,^[25] leaving at least 38,000 people homeless.^[30] A storm surge of 14 ft (4.27 m) occurred south of Miami and winds on Miami Beach were recorded at 130 mph (210 km/h) before the anemometer blew away.^[12][27] The lowest pressure was estimated at 930 mb (27.46 inHg), the seventh most intense in a storm to strike the United States.^[2] The storm also produced significant damage, rainfall up to 16.2 inches (411.48 mm),^[37] and a storm surge up to 14.2 feet (4.33 m) in the Florida Panhandle.^[27] The entire state of Florida lost 35% of its grapefruit and orange crops combined, including nearly 100% losses in the Miami area.^[38] In a study of hurricane damage statistics conducted in 2008, it was estimated that if a storm similar to that of the Miami hurricane were to occur in 2005 it would result in over $140–157 billion in damage.^[39] In all, the storm caused at least 478 deaths along its path accounting for the revised toll in the U.S. since 2003.^[40]

Hurricane Eight

Category 2 hurricane (SSHWS)
Duration	September 21 – October 1
Peak intensity	105 mph (165 km/h) (1-min) ≤ 978 mbar (hPa)

Twelve hours after the Great Miami hurricane struck Alabama, the eighth tropical storm of the season formed in the east-central Atlantic about 2,000 mi (3,220 km) southwest of Horta in the Azores on September 21. Over the next three days, it moved north of due east and rapidly strengthened, becoming a minimal hurricane by 12 UTC on September 22 and later peaking at 105 mph (169 km/h)—equivalent to a moderately strong Category 2 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale—on the morning of September 24. For about 24 hours thereafter, the cyclone briefly curved to the northeast before turning sharply to the east early on September 26. Late that day, the cyclone swerved precipitously to the north, making landfall on the island of São Miguel near Ponta Delgada at peak intensity, becoming only the first of two confirmed hurricanes to strike the Azores since records began in 1851, the other being Hurricane Hannah in 1959, another landfalling Category 2 hurricane that struck the same island.^[3] Curving northwest and then south of due west, the cyclone weakened after striking São Miguel and reverted to a minimal hurricane late on September 27. It gradually completed a counter-clockwise loop through the western Azores, curving due south as a tropical storm, though its cool surface temperatures and enlarged size suggest it might have been a subtropical cyclone then.^[12] Just afterward, late on September 28, it hit Faial Island near Horta with sustained winds near 70 mph (110 km/h). Over the next two days, it moved generally south-southeast and slowly weakened, curving suddenly east-southeast beginning on September 30. Turning south of due east, it dissipated by 18 UTC on October 1.^[3]

Tropical Storm Nine

Tropical storm (SSHWS)
Duration	October 3 – October 5
Peak intensity	40 mph (65 km/h) (1-min) ≤ 1005 mbar (hPa)

Early on October 3, a tropical depression developed in the South-Central Caribbean about 100 mi (160 km) east of Serrana Bank and the Miskito Cays. It quickly intensified into a minimal tropical storm with maximum sustained winds of 40 mph (64 km/h), the strongest in its life span. Curving west-northwest without further intensification, the weak cyclone made landfall near Barra Patuca in Gracias a Dios Department, Honduras, shortly before 12 UTC on October 4. Shortly thereafter, the storm gradually turned just north of due west, and early on October 5, after degenerating into a tropical depression, it made a second landfall over Belize just south of Alabama Wharf in Toledo District. Less than 12 hours later, the cyclone dissipated over eastern Guatemala.^[3]

Hurricane Ten

Category 4 hurricane (SSHWS)
Duration	October 14 – October 28
Peak intensity	150 mph (240 km/h) (1-min)  934 mbar (hPa)

On October 14 a tropical depression developed in the southern Caribbean Sea about 350 mi (563 km) north-northwest of Colón, Panama. Strengthening into a minimal tropical storm the next day, it gradually curved to the north-northwest over the next four days, becoming a hurricane on October 18. It then quickly intensified to a major hurricane early on October 19 as it turned northward toward western Cuba. Shortly before striking the Isla de la Juventud (Isle of Youth) south of Nueva Gerona, it attained maximum sustained winds of 145 mph (233 km/h) on October 20. That morning, the eye of the hurricane crossed the island, passing over Nueva Gerona with a reported pressure of 939 mb (27.73 inHg). The cyclone then continued strengthening, peaking at 150 mph (240 km/h) before making landfall on the Cuban mainland south of Güira de Melena.^[3] The center passed just 10 mi (16.1 km) east of the capital Havana before entering the Straits of Florida about 80 mi (129 km) south of Key West, Florida. The cyclone then weakened and turned to the northeast on October 21, passing within 20 mi (32.2 km) of the Florida Keys while remaining east of Florida. Nearly two days later, about 48 hours after turning east-northeast, the cyclone passed over Bermuda late on October 22 with sustained winds up to 120 mph (190 km/h); Hamilton, Bermuda, recorded calm winds and 963.4 mb (28.45 inHg) in the eye,^[41] along with sustained winds up to 102 mph (164 km/h)^[12] with gusts to 138 mph (222 km/h) afterward.^[42][43] Three days thereafter, on October 25 the storm executed a clockwise, semicircular loop to the south-southwest, and a day later it lost hurricane intensity. Gradually curving to the west, the cyclone dissipated early on October 28, though it was once believed to have been an extratropical cyclone as early as October 23.^[3]

The hurricane inflicted devastation along its path, causing at least 709 deaths in Cuba and Bermuda.^[10] Upon striking Cuba, the hurricane caused catastrophic damage and as many as 600 deaths.^[44] Several small towns in the storm's path were completely destroyed and damage estimates exceeded $100 million ($1.3 billion 2015 USD).^[45] In the upper Florida Keys and on Key Biscayne, minimal hurricane conditions occurred,^[12] causing minor damage in South Florida. In Bermuda, 40% of the structures were damaged and two homes destroyed, but otherwise damage was light in the harbor.^[46] While weather forecasters knew of the storm's approach on Bermuda, it covered the thousand miles from the Bahamas to Bermuda so rapidly it apparently struck with few warning signs aside from heavy swells. On October 21, with the eye of the storm still 700 mi (1,130 km) from Bermuda, weather forecasts from the United States called for the hurricane to strike the island on the following morning with gale force. The Arabis-class sloop HMS Valerian, based at the HMD Bermuda, was returning from providing hurricane relief in the Bahamas and was overtaken by the storm shortly before she could make harbour. Unable to enter through Bermuda's reefline, she fought the storm for more than five hours before she was sunk with the loss of 85 men.^[47] The British merchant ship Eastway was also sunk near Bermuda. Although the Valerian‍ '​s commanding officer, Commander Usher, reported that there was no sign of a major storm at 08:00, when his ship was in sight of Bermuda, and when the British Army meteorologists at Prospect Camp measured the wind at 28 mph (45 km/h), by 10:00, the winds had reached 95 mph (153 km/h). When the centre of the storm passed over Bermuda at noon, the winds dropped to 8 mph (13 km/h), then increased to 114 mph (183 km/h), whereupon the Army took down its anemometer to protect it. The Royal Naval Dockyard was being hammered and never took its anemometer down. It measured 138 mph (222 km/h) at 13:00 (about the same time the Valerian went down), before the wind destroyed it.^{[42][43][48][49][50]}

Tropical Storm Eleven

Tropical storm (SSHWS)
Duration	November 12 – November 16
Peak intensity	40 mph (65 km/h) (1-min) ≤ 1007 mbar (hPa)

Around 06 UTC on November 12, a tropical depression developed about 115 mi (185 km) north of El Porvenir, Kuna Yala, Panama. Moving northwest, the cyclone rapidly attained peak winds of 40 mph (64 km/h) early on November 13 but failed to intensify further over the next three days. Passing less than 50 mi (80.47 km) west of the Swan Islands, Honduras, early on November 14, the cyclone gradually turned north by the afternoon. Curving parabolically to the northeast on October 15, it weakened to a tropical depression early the next day before hitting the Isla de la Juventud in Cuba. 12 hours later, after striking mainland Cuba, it dissipated over the southern Straits of Florida.^[3]

Other storms

Reports from the government of the Mexican state of Veracruz indicate that in late September 1926 a tropical disturbance formed in the northwest Caribbean Sea, then moved across the Yucatán Peninsula and the Bay of Campeche to strike Veracruz as a hurricane on September 28.^[51] The storm reportedly began with sudden fury at 1600 UTC and produced unspecified winds as high as 124 mph (200 km/h)—if sustained, equal to those of a strong Category 3 hurricane—causing boats to be stranded, roofs to be torn off, and trees and electric cables to be blown down,^[52] though the worst conditions reportedly lasted only two hours.^[53] The reported storm ruined most of the seashore as a storm tide destroyed the local breakwater, including at the historic Hotel Villa del Mar in the city of Veracruz, demolishing most of the hotel as well as the yacht club there,^[1] and forced train service to be suspended. The city was flooded to a depth of 5 feet (1.52 m), but well constructed buildings in the city center survived the wind. Several ships were sunk in the harbor, and several sailors were feared drowned.^[53] However, a peer-reviewed publication in 2012, which reanalyzed the 1926 Atlantic hurricane season, did not confirm its supposed existence.^[1]

Seasonal effects

Accumulated Cyclone Energy

The table on the right shows the ACE for each storm in the season. Broadly speaking, the ACE is a measure of the power of a hurricane multiplied by the length of time it existed, so storms that last a long time, as well as particularly strong hurricanes, have high ACEs. ACE is calculated for only full advisories on specifically tropical systems reaching or exceeding wind speeds of 34 knots (39 mph, 63 km/h), or tropical storm strength. Accordingly, tropical depressions and subtropical cyclones are not included here.^[54] Due to the presence of several long-lives, major hurricanes, 1926 generated an ACE of 230 which was the second-highest on record at the time, behind 1893 by one unit. Since then, it has dropped to fourth as the 1950 and 2005 seasons have surpassed it.^[55]

See also

• List of tropical cyclones
• List of Atlantic hurricane seasons

References

Bibliography

• Attaway, John A. (1999). Hurricanes and Florida Agriculture. Lakeland, Florida: Florida Science Source. ISBN 978-0944961056.
• Barnes, Jay (1998). Florida's Hurricane History. Chapel Hill, North Carolina: Chapel Hill Press. ISBN 0-8078-2443-7.
• Stronge, William B. (2008). The Sunshine Economy: An Economic History of Florida since the Civil War. University Press of Florida. ISBN 978-0813032016.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to 1926 Atlantic hurricane season.

• Monthly Weather Review
• NHC FAQ E12