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Hurricane King
hurricane
Formed	October 13, 1950
Dissipated	October 19, 1950

Hurricane King was a Category 3 hurricane, the 11th named storm of the 1950 Atlantic hurricane season. It made landfall at Miami, FL, and caused extensive damage along the east coast of Florida. It was the second of two landfalls by major hurricanes in the state (Hurricane Easy) that year. This has happened only three other times: in 1964 (Hurricane Dora and Hurricane Isbell), in 2004 (Hurricane Charlie, Hurricane Ivan, Hurricane Jeanne), and in 2005 (Hurricane Dennis and Hurricane Wilma)

Storm history

Tropical Storm Dog was first observed as a 70 mph tropical storm on August 30 east of the northern Lesser Antilles, about 280 nautical miles northeast of Barbados. Its formation could possibly be placed to a tropical wave that exited the coast of Africa on August 24. Dog moved to the west-northwest, and strengthened to a hurricane early on the 31st. It turned to the northwest on September 1, and paralleled the northern Lesser Antilles as an intensifying hurricane.

While crossing the islands, Dog became a major hurricane, with a report of 115 mph and a pressure of 979 mbar. It drifted as it headed to the northwest, and, still strengthening, Hurricane Dog attained Category 5 status on September 5 over the open waters of the Atlantic Ocean. It turned to the north-northeast, and reached an estimated peak of 185 mph winds on the 6th.

A high pressure system blocked Hurricane Dog's passage out to sea on September 7 and 8th, causing the hurricane to stall over cooler waters. Away from the warm ocean temperature that allowed it to intensify so much, Dog quickly weakened, and was only a 90 mph hurricane on the 9th. After drifting westward, the hurricane turned to the north, where conditions permitted slight re-strengthening to a 95 mph hurricane. It again weakened to a minimal hurricane, and passed within 200 miles of Cape Cod and Nantucket. On September 12, Hurricane Dog became extratropical, but it persisted until the 16th, when it lost its identity near Ireland.

Impact

While crossing the Lesser Antilles, Hurricane Dog brought strong winds and rain, causing $1 million in damage to houses, roads, trees, and power lines. 2 people were killed when their boat sank.

Though it never made landfall in New England, passing over 100 miles away, its strong winds still caused 12 casualties, 11 by sinking boats. Damage amounted to $2 million.

Strength

Hurricane Hunter aircraft estimated winds of over 185 mph on September 6. Reconaissance practices were in their infancy at the time of Dog, so it is possible the hurricane was over-estimated. Although the wind speed measurements may not be accurate, Dog was still a formidable hurricane over the western Atlantic, producing wave heights of over 100 feet. It is unknown if Dog was at the same caliber of strength as Hurricane Gilbert or Hurricane Wilma, due to the lack of a pressure reading for it at its peak.

Hurricane Dog retains the record for longest continuous duration for a Category 5 Atlantic hurricane, although Hurricane Allen spent longer total time as a Category 5.

Trivia

From September 4 to the 6th, Hurricane Dog was one of three simultaneous Atlantic hurricanes, along with Charlie and Easy. This is a rare occurrence in the Atlantic Ocean, and has only happened six times since; in 1961, 1967, 1980, 1995, 1998, and 2005.

External links

Random stuff to consider

1950 Oct FL, SE3 3 955 ---- King [1]

Hurricane King--Another powerful storm in 1950, this particular hurricane affected the Miami area in October of that year. It was a compact, but very powerful hurricane much like Hurricane Andrew. It only carved a path of destruction some 7 to 10 miles wide, but had wind gusts as high as 150 mph, minimum pressure of 28.20 inches of Hg., and a storm surge of 19.3 feet. [2]

Hurricane King of 1950 was another October storm that started life in the western Caribbean, but King crossed central Cuba near Camaquey, farther east than most October storms. It accelerated northward and struck Miami. King was stronger than expected and its eye contracted from 30 miles to 6 miles in diameter in the last 18 h before landfall. This transformation is consistent with rapid deepening in low shear over the warm Gulf Stream. Its strongest winds were just below 100 kt as it passed through the city, but damage seems to have been confined within four or five miles of the hurricane's track. King caused $28M in damage (uncorrected) and killed 6 people. [3]

DEFINATELY THIS LINK [4]: Research indicates that the hurricane underwent a period of rapid intensification before landfall, similar to Hurricane Charlie in 2004. The lowest pressure recorded at landfall was (28.25")