1919 Florida Keys hurricane

The 1919 Florida Keys hurricane (also known as the 1919 Key West hurricane) was a massive and damaging tropical cyclone that swept across areas of the northern Caribbean Sea and the United States Gulf Coast in September 1919. Remaining an intense Atlantic hurricane throughout much of its existence, the storm's slow movement and sheer size prolonged and enlarged the scope of the hurricane's effects, making it one of the deadliest hurricanes in United States history. Impacts were largely concentrated around the Florida Keys and South Texas areas, though lesser but nonetheless significant effects were felt in Cuba and other areas of the United States Gulf Coast. The hurricane's peak strength in Dry Tortugas in the lower Florida Keys made it one of the most powerful Atlantic hurricanes to make landfall in the United States.

The hurricane developed near the Leeward Islands as a tropical depression on September 2 and gradually gained in strength as it tracked on a generally west-northwesterly path, crossing the Mona Passage and moving across the Bahamas. On September 7, the storm reached hurricane intensity over the eastern Bahamas. On September 9–10, the storm made its eponymous pass of the Florida Keys, passing over the Dry Tortugas with an intensity equivalent to that of a modern-day Category 4 hurricane. Over the next several days, the intense cyclone traversed the Gulf of Mexico, fluctuating in strength before making landfall near Baffin Bay, Texas on September 14 as a large Category 3 hurricane. As it tracked further inland, land interaction caused the storm to gradually weaken; the storm was last noted on September 16 over West Texas.

Meteorological history

Based on isolated observations east of the Lesser Antilles on September 1, the precursor to the 1919 Florida Keys hurricane may have been a disorganized tropical wave that tracked westward towards the Leeward Islands. The next day, additional observations indicated that the disturbance had acquired a cyclonic circulation; thus, the system was determined to have become a tropical depression by 12:00 UTC that day just east of Guadeloupe. Gradual strengthening occurred as the depression tracked west-northwest, attaining tropical storm intensity at 06:00 UTC on September 3. Twelve hours later, the tropical cyclone clipped the extreme-southwestern portion of Puerto Rico with maximum sustained winds of . The cyclone maintained a low-end tropical storm intensity as it paralleled the northern coast of Hispaniola the following day. On September 6, the storm abruptly turned towards the north in the direction of the Turks and Caicos before resuming a more westerly trajectory a day later. After landfall, the storm slowly moved westward into the Gulf of Mexico.

From September 10 to September 14, the tropical cyclone traversed the Gulf of Mexico, maintaining a powerful intensity. On September 12, the hurricane briefly weakened to Category 3 intensity before restrengthening shortly thereafter. The following day, the storm reached a secondary peak intensity with winds of and a minimum pressure of over the western Gulf of Mexico before weakening precipitously afterwards.

thumb|225x225px|[[Surface weather analysis|Synoptic weather map of the hurricane nearing landfall in Texas on September 14]]

At 21:00 UTC on September 14, the hurricane made its final landfall near Baffin Bay as a Category 3 hurricane with winds of and a central pressure of . Upon moving ashore, the storm was unusually large; its radius of maximum winds measured compared to the average of for storms of similar intensities.

thumb|Remains of the White Street Garage after the hurricane in [[Key West]]

On the 10th at 10:30 p.m., northeast storm warnings were issued from Carrabelle, Florida to New Orleans, Louisiana. On the 11th at 4 p.m., the storm warnings for the northeast Gulf coast were changed to hurricane warnings, and extended westward along the length of the Louisiana coast. At 9 p.m., northwest storm warnings were issued for the northwest Gulf coast from Port Arthur to Velasco, Texas. At 4 p.m. on the 12th, storm warnings were in effect from Mobile, Alabama to Pensacola, Florida, with hurricane warnings in effect along the Mississippi and Louisiana coasts. On the evening of the 13th, northwest storm warnings were in effect for the entire Texas coast.

Impact

The Bahamas and Cuba

thumb|left| [[La Casa de Beneficencia y Maternidad de La Habana during the hurricane of 1919 with the statue of Antonio Maceo above the water.]]

While passing through the Bahamas on September 8, the Ward Line steamer Corydon struck land and later sank during the storm. The ship was not found until September 11, at which time it was discovered that 27 people on board had drowned while nine others managed to survive after swimming to shore. On the islands, strong winds produced by the hurricane destroyed numerous homes and sank several schooners, leaving many homeless. In the Florida Strait, a Cuban vessel carrying 45 people was stranded during the storm. However, another ship in the area managed to reach the Cuban vessel and rescue all passengers.

Although the hurricane never made landfall on Cuba, the storm's close proximity to the northern stretches of the island led to considerable impacts. A strong storm surge combined with wind-swept waves topped the Havana seawall, flooding areas of the city as far as six blocks inland and prompting the evacuation of homes at risk. The inundation also disabled some of Havana's tram systems and halted automotive traffic.

United States

thumb|alt=Front page of a newspaper| The Seattle Star - Front Page - September 16, 1919

A tornado, spawned by the hurricane, struck Goulds, Florida on September 10, moving inland from Biscayne Bay. It caused US$25,000 (1919 dollars) in damage. Of the approximately 600-900 people officially reported killed in the storm, roughly 500 of them were aboard ten ships lost at sea. By comparison, South Florida outside the Florida Keys remained relatively unscathed. Winds in Tampa only reached as the hurricane passed to the city's south.

thumb|A picture in 1915 of the Valbanera that was lost in the hurricane|left

Damage and casualties on the Texas coast were also severe, in part due to false rumors that the storm had turned north into Louisiana, which warranted taking storm warnings in Corpus Christi down the day before landfall. Though warnings were posted again early the following day, the citizens were ill-prepared when the hurricane made landfall south of the city as a major hurricane; the storm surge was as high as .

This large storm spread winds of across Miami, Florida, Burrwood, Louisiana, and Galveston, Texas. A total of 1500 cattle were driven off of Padre Island into Laguna Madre. Heavy rains were common across southern Texas, with numerous locations recording of rainfall within 24 hours, which set daily rainfall records. Storm surge and abnormally high tides resulted in extensive damage. thumb|Damage to the Monroe County Courthouse at 500 Whitehead Street caused by the hurricane

About 23 blocks of homes were destroyed or washed away in Corpus Christi. A total of 284 bodies were recovered in the city and damage totaled at least $20 million. In Matagorda, Palacios, and Port Lavaca, wharves, pop houses, and small boats were significantly impacted. The docks and buildings in Port Aransas were swept away, while school building remained standing. Houses and crops were also flattened in Victoria. At least 310 deaths were reported in Texas, but there may have been as many as 600 fatalities. Among eight former Navy patrol yachts lost in the hurricane was the USS Helena I (SP-24).

Aftermath

The storm surge caused by this hurricane prompted the city of Corpus Christi to construct a breakwater in 1925, and a seawall was subsequently built in 1940. Robert Simpson, a storm survivor who was 6 years old at the time, related his experience in an interview in 1989. Simpson, citing inspiration from this hurricane, pursued a career in meteorology and later served as the first director of the National Hurricane Research Project and as a director of the National Hurricane Center (NHC). Additionally, he co-developed and published the Saffir–Simpson scale with Herbert Saffir in 1973, a hurricane intensity scale implemented by The Loop Organisation in 1974.

Notes

References

External links

Hurricane info on about.com
History of the 1919 Atlantic Gulf Hurricane at the National Weather Service, includes many damage photographs
Historic photos of the 1919 Hurricane from the Corpus Christi Museum of Science and History, hosted by the Portal to Texas History