Military code names were used for hurricanes starting in the 1950 season. The fifth named storm in 1950 was Easy. The strange name would only begin to portend the bizarre nature of the storm.
Easy passed into the Gulf of Mexico on September 3rd. The storm was under nearly constant surveillance by Air Force Reconnaissance flights and later by a new experimental radar at the University of Florida. This up-to-the-minute technology had never been available to forecasters.
The hurricane passed Tampa on the 4th and slowed to nearly a stop. As Easy sat over the warm Gulf waters, it slowly intensified, making a slow counter-clockwise loop before crossing the coast south of Cedar Key on the morning of the 5th. The erratic hurricane made another loop, circling around Cedar Key. The storm then passed out over the Gulf again. It’s final landfall would occur near Homosassa Springs. The storm pounded the Cedar Key area with hurricane force winds, extremely high tides and torrential rains for over 18 hours.
It was the worst storm in the town’s history, with winds recorded to 125 mph before the anemometer blew away. Every building in the town was damaged. 150 homes and buildings lost their roofs. High tides isolated the island for 2 ½ days. One hundred fishing boats were destroyed. The barometer reading of 28.30 inches. An official twenty four inch rain gauge overflowed. An amazing 38.70 inches of rain was recorded in just twenty four hours at Yankeetown, Florida, still the rainfall record for the state of Florida. Yankeetown was in the eye of the storm for an amazing five hours.
The economic infrastructure of Cedar Kay was decimated. The town’s main employer, Standard Fiber, a maker of brooms and brushes, had its plant severely damaged. It would close two years later. Today Cedar Key is a resort and fishing village. A total of three people died.
Easy passed into the Gulf of Mexico on September 3rd. The storm was under nearly constant surveillance by Air Force Reconnaissance flights and later by a new experimental radar at the University of Florida. This up-to-the-minute technology had never been available to forecasters.
The hurricane passed Tampa on the 4th and slowed to nearly a stop. As Easy sat over the warm Gulf waters, it slowly intensified, making a slow counter-clockwise loop before crossing the coast south of Cedar Key on the morning of the 5th. The erratic hurricane made another loop, circling around Cedar Key. The storm then passed out over the Gulf again. It’s final landfall would occur near Homosassa Springs. The storm pounded the Cedar Key area with hurricane force winds, extremely high tides and torrential rains for over 18 hours.
It was the worst storm in the town’s history, with winds recorded to 125 mph before the anemometer blew away. Every building in the town was damaged. 150 homes and buildings lost their roofs. High tides isolated the island for 2 ½ days. One hundred fishing boats were destroyed. The barometer reading of 28.30 inches. An official twenty four inch rain gauge overflowed. An amazing 38.70 inches of rain was recorded in just twenty four hours at Yankeetown, Florida, still the rainfall record for the state of Florida. Yankeetown was in the eye of the storm for an amazing five hours.
The economic infrastructure of Cedar Kay was decimated. The town’s main employer, Standard Fiber, a maker of brooms and brushes, had its plant severely damaged. It would close two years later. Today Cedar Key is a resort and fishing village. A total of three people died.