Today in Hurricane History….
On this date in 1928…the famed San Felipe Hurricane was first detected by a ship in the open Atlantic near Longitude 48 west. The terrible storm would go on to devastate the island of Guadeloupe on the 12th. Then it turned its sights on Puerto Rico. The 13th was Saint Felipe’s Day in Puerto Rico, hence the name, since storms were traditionally named for the Saint’s Day on which they struck. Over one thousand people died in the Caribbean, but a greater calamity was ahead when the hurricane turned its fury on South Florida on the 16th. The storm’s 150 mph winds breached a dike along the southern end of Lake Okeechobee, causing tremendous flooding that killed over 1,800 people..
On this date in 1944: Washington, D.C. was under attack. Not by Axis powers, but by a great hurricane. Weather Bureau hurricane forecaster Grady Norton was concerned. He needed information. He asked that regular military flights fly into the storm to monitor it. Navy and Army Air Force B-24 Liberators flew missions into the storm through the 15th. The first flight came back missing 140 rivets from its wings, sheared away by the tremendous power of the cyclone. The reconnaissance flights, the first sanctioned military flights into a hurricane, were instrumental in keeping the storm’s eventual death toll low. The Great Atlantic Hurricane bypassed the nation’s Capital, but made landfall on Long Island. Twenty seven people were killed.
On this date in 1960...Hurricane Donna makes the first of her four United States landfalls as she crossed the Florida Keys near Marathon with winds of 140 mph and gusts to 170 mph. The anemometer at Tavernier was pegged at its maximum of 120 mph for forty five minutes. Tides reached thirteen feet in the Keys, causing near total devastation with the combination of wind and water. The central pressure at landfall was 930 mb. The storm would recurve to the northeast over Florida Bay and make landfall again near Naples and Fort Myers. Twelve people were killed and 1,794 injured in the Keys as 75% of the buildings between Marathon and Taverner were damaged.
On this date in 1961...As the center of intense Hurricane Carla approached Texas on the 10th, winds near the center were estimated at 150 mph. Reconnaissance aircraft indicated a central pressure of 931 mb just prior to its striking the coast. Only forty six people lost their lives because of early warnings. Severe damage along a wide expanse of the Texas coast was caused by unusually prolonged winds, high tides and flooding from torrential rains. Damage was about $2 billion in 1990 dollars.
More in this afternoon's weather forecast package...
On this date in 1928…the famed San Felipe Hurricane was first detected by a ship in the open Atlantic near Longitude 48 west. The terrible storm would go on to devastate the island of Guadeloupe on the 12th. Then it turned its sights on Puerto Rico. The 13th was Saint Felipe’s Day in Puerto Rico, hence the name, since storms were traditionally named for the Saint’s Day on which they struck. Over one thousand people died in the Caribbean, but a greater calamity was ahead when the hurricane turned its fury on South Florida on the 16th. The storm’s 150 mph winds breached a dike along the southern end of Lake Okeechobee, causing tremendous flooding that killed over 1,800 people..
On this date in 1944: Washington, D.C. was under attack. Not by Axis powers, but by a great hurricane. Weather Bureau hurricane forecaster Grady Norton was concerned. He needed information. He asked that regular military flights fly into the storm to monitor it. Navy and Army Air Force B-24 Liberators flew missions into the storm through the 15th. The first flight came back missing 140 rivets from its wings, sheared away by the tremendous power of the cyclone. The reconnaissance flights, the first sanctioned military flights into a hurricane, were instrumental in keeping the storm’s eventual death toll low. The Great Atlantic Hurricane bypassed the nation’s Capital, but made landfall on Long Island. Twenty seven people were killed.
On this date in 1960...Hurricane Donna makes the first of her four United States landfalls as she crossed the Florida Keys near Marathon with winds of 140 mph and gusts to 170 mph. The anemometer at Tavernier was pegged at its maximum of 120 mph for forty five minutes. Tides reached thirteen feet in the Keys, causing near total devastation with the combination of wind and water. The central pressure at landfall was 930 mb. The storm would recurve to the northeast over Florida Bay and make landfall again near Naples and Fort Myers. Twelve people were killed and 1,794 injured in the Keys as 75% of the buildings between Marathon and Taverner were damaged.
On this date in 1961...As the center of intense Hurricane Carla approached Texas on the 10th, winds near the center were estimated at 150 mph. Reconnaissance aircraft indicated a central pressure of 931 mb just prior to its striking the coast. Only forty six people lost their lives because of early warnings. Severe damage along a wide expanse of the Texas coast was caused by unusually prolonged winds, high tides and flooding from torrential rains. Damage was about $2 billion in 1990 dollars.
More in this afternoon's weather forecast package...