1919 Atlantic hurricane season

1919 Atlantic hurricane season

Season summary map
First storm formed	June 1, 1919
Last storm dissipated	November 15, 1919
Strongest storm	"Florida Keys" – 927 mbar (hPa) (27.39 inHg), 150 mph (240 km/h) (1-minute sustained)
Total depressions	5
Total storms	5
Hurricanes	2
Major hurricanes (Cat. 3+)	1
Total fatalities	600-900
Total damage	$22 million (1919 USD)
Atlantic hurricane seasons 1917, 1918, 1919, 1920, 1921

The 1919 Atlantic hurricane season ran through the summer and the first half of fall in 1919. The first of the tropical storms formed on July 2, while the last system dissipated on November 15. The season was a below average season. Five tropical cyclones formed and only two became a hurricane. Three of the season's cyclones made landfall. The most damaging storm of the season was the 1919 Florida Keys hurricane, which killed hundreds along its path from the Florida Straits into southern Texas.

Timeline

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Storms

Tropical Storm One

Tropical storm (SSHS)

Duration

July 2 – July 5

Peak intensity

65 mph (100 km/h) (1-min) 995 mbar (hPa)

The first storm of the season formed in the southeast Gulf of Mexico. This tropical storm moved northward and struck Pensacola, Florida several days later, causing US$25,000 (1919 USD) in damage.

Hurricane Two

Category 4 hurricane (SSHS)

Duration

September 2 – September 16

Peak intensity

150 mph (240 km/h) (1-min) 927 mbar (hPa)

Main article: 1919 Florida Keys hurricane

The most notable storm of the season, however, was the Florida Keys hurricane. The storm passed south of Key West as a Category 4. The storm passed over main Gulf of Mexico shipping routes as a strong Category 4 before making landfall just south of Corpus Christi, Texas as a Category 3 hurricane.^[1] Damage totaled US$22 million (1919 dollars). The death toll in Texas was officially 286, but the overall death toll of at least 600 was due to ships lost at sea during the cyclone.

Hurricane Three

Category 2 hurricane (SSHS)

Duration

September 2 – September 4

Peak intensity

100 mph (155 km/h) (1-min) <977 mbar (hPa)

On September 2, a tropical depression strengthened to a tropical storm in the western Atlantic Ocean. It intensified to a hurricane, and it rapidly strengthened to a peak intensity of 100 mph (155 km/h) on September 3. A ship reported a pressure of 977 mbar (28.86 inHg) away from the center. The cyclone weakened and transitioned to an extratropical system on September 4.^[2]

Tropical Storm Four

Tropical storm (SSHS)

Duration

September 29 – October 2

Peak intensity

45 mph (75 km/h) (1-min) <1005 mbar (hPa)

On October 1, a minimal tropical storm formed offshore the northwest Bahamas, which then moved west-northwest and made landfall on Georgia. It caused only minimum damage to land.^[2]

Tropical Storm Five

Tropical storm (SSHS)

Duration

November 12 – November 15

Peak intensity

70 mph (110 km/h) (1-min) <1003 mbar (hPa)

A late season tropical storm approached hurricane intensity and remained south of Bermuda in mid-November.^[2]

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References

^ National Hurricane Center. Atlantic Hurricane Database. Retrieved on 2008-09-30.
^ ^a ^b ^c Hurricane Research Division. "HURDAT Meta-Data". NOAA. Archived from the original on 16 March 2008. Retrieved 2008-03-12.