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Home , 1926 Miami hurricane, Great Gale of 1871, Hebert Box, Hurricane Agnes, Hurricane Andrew, Hurricane Betsy

HURRICANES AND TROPICAL STORMS

1871-1995: An Historical Survey

Fred Doehring, Iver W. Duedall, and John M. Williams

'+wcCopy~~ I~BN 0-912747-08-0

Florida SeaGrant College is supported by award of the Office of Sea Grant, NationalOceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce,grant number NA 36RG-0070, under provisions of the NationalSea Grant College and Programs Act of 1966. This information is published by the Sea Grant Extension Program which functionsas a coinponentof the Florida Cooperative Extension Service, John T. Woeste, Dean, in conducting Cooperative Extensionwork in Agriculture, Home Economics, and Marine Sciences,State of Florida, U.S. Departmentof Agriculture, U.S. Departmentof Commerce, and Boards of County Commissioners, cooperating.Printed and distributed in furtherance af the Actsof Congressof May 8 andJune 14, 1914.The Florida Sea Grant Collegeis an Equal Opportunity-AffirmativeAction employer authorizedto provide research, educational information and other servicesonly to individuals and institutions that function without regardto race,color, sex, age,handicap or nationalorigin.

Coverphoto: Hank Brandli & Rob Downey LOANCOPY ONLY Florida Hurricanes and Tropical Storms

1871-1995: An Historical survey

Fred Doehring, Iver W. Duedall, and John M. Williams

Division of Marine and Environmental Systems, Florida Institute of Technology Melbourne, FL 32901

Technical Paper - 71

June 1994

$5.00

Copies may be obtained from:

Florida Sea Grant College Program Building 803 P.O. Box 110409 Gainesville, FL 32611-0409 904-392-2801 II Our friend andcolleague, Fred Doehringpictured below, died on January 5, 1993, before this manuscript was completed. Until his death, Fred had spent the last 18 months painstakingly researchingdata for this book. Fredhad a genuineinterest in Florida Tech, and in helping students find information on weather. We thoroughly enjoyed working with Fred and we are hopeful that this book will enhance hurricane awareness for all Florida resi- dents. We dedicatethis book to his family.

W. Dued

hn . Williams IV

The hurricane as a heatengine, is inefficient, hard to start, and hard to sustain; but once set in motion, once mature, is an awesome natu- ral event!

Frombirth, the hurricanelives in an environmentthat constantly tries to kill it...... and ultimately succeeds

Dr. Robert C. Sheets Director National Hurricane Center 1990 Table of Contents

List of Tables, Figures, and Plates Vll Tables...... V 11 Figures Vll Plates 1X

Preface Xl

Chapter 1..... Introduction

Chapter 2...... 5 Historical Discussion of Florida Hurricanes .. 5 The Early Years, 1871-1900 6 The SecondThirty Years, 1901-1930 . 10 The Third Thirty Years, 1931-1960 .. 18 The Last Thirty-two Years, 1961-1993 26

Chapter 3 39 39 On Sabbatical with Hurricane Andrew 41

Chapter 4...... 45 Andrew Epilogue...... 45 The 1993 Hurricane Season 46

References 47

Tables, Figures and Plates 51

Glossary

Hurricane Preparedness 111 Be PreparedBefore the Hurricane Season 111 When a Hurricane Watch is Issued..... 111 When a Hurricane Warning is issued 112 Evacuation ...... 112 Index of Named Hurricanes 115

Subject Index...... 116

Citation Index 118

About the Authors...... inside back cover vii

List of 'tables, Figures, and Plates

Tables 53-67

Table l. Saffir-Simpson Scale Table 2. Numberof Hurricanes,Tropical Storms and Combined Total Stormsby 10-YearIncrements Table 3. Hurricane Classification Prior to 1972 Table 4. Florida Hurricanes 1871-1993

Figures . 68-95

Figure l. Home in , , September1926, Hurricane Courtesyof NationalHurricane Center!. Figure 2. Meyer-KiserBuilding, N.E. 1stStreet, Miami, Septem- ber 1926 Hurricane; the building had to be tom down Courtesyof NationalHurricane Center!. Figure 3. Sunkenboat, Miami, September1926 Hurricane; the boat was onceowned by KaiserWilhelm of Germany Courtesyof NationalHurricane Center!. Figure 4. Damagein PalmBeach, 1928 Hurricane Courtesy of National Hurricane Center!. Figure 5. Destruction in West Palm , 1928 Hurricane Cour- tesyof NationalHurricane Center!. Figure 6. Train blown off track, 1935 Great Labor Day Hurri- cane,in Islamorada,. From News/Sun- Sentinel! Figure 7a. Monument to 1935 Hurricane, Islamorada, Florida Keys. Figure 7b. Inscriptionplaque commemorating those who died in the 1935 Hurricane. Figure 8. HurricaneDonna. Even thoughHurricane Donna did not strike Miami, this photographshows typical damage alongthe Dade County shoreline Courtesy of National Hurricane Center!. Figure 9. Radarof HurricaneDonna Courtesyof National Hurricane Center!. Figure 10. Track andtime of HurricaneCleo in 1964 from Dunn and Staff, 1967!. Figure 11. 27thStreet, Miami, in 1965 Courtesy of !. Figure 12. Recordof barometricpressure, Hurricane Betsy in 1965 Courtesyof NationalHurricane Center!. Figure 13. HurricaneDavid in 1979in CaribbeanCourtesy of Henry Brandli!. Figure 14a. HurricaneDavid in 1979in Florida Courtesyof Henry Brandli!. Figure 14b. HurricaneDavid, track Fromcollection belonging to John Williams!. Figure 15. HurricaneElena 985! damage From Clark, 1986a!. Figure 16a. HurricaneJuan 985! damage From Clark, 1986a!. Figure 16b. HurricaneJuan 985! damage From Clark, 1986a!. Figure 16c. HurricaneJuan 985! damage From Clark, 1986a!. Figure 17a. HurricaneKate 985! damage From Clark, 1986b!. Figure 17b. HurricaneKate 985! damage From Clark, 1986b!. Figure 18. DopplerRadar Image of HurricaneAndrew, 1992. Courtesyof NationalWeather Service, Melbourne, Florida Office!. Figure 19. Businesssign along US 1 in Homestead,Florida. Figure 20a. Last ChanceSaloon, which survived several hurricanessuch as Donna,Cleo, Betsy,Inez and An- drew, located on US 1 near Homestead,Florida. Figure 20b. Treesblown down just southof the Last ChanceSa- loon. Before Andrew, area around the saloon was heavily wooded. Figure 21. Typicaldebris scene from Andrew U.S. Army Corpsof Engineers,1993!. Figure 22. Familyhome damage from Andrew U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 1993!. Figure 23. Themobile home and the hurricane U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 1993!. Figure 24. Theroof and the hurricane U.S. ArmyCorps of Engineers, 1993!. Figure 25. Oneof the39 debrisburning sites U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 1993!. IX

Plates

Hurricaneand TropicalStorm Tracks by 10-yearperiods

Plate l. 1871-1880 Plate 2. 1881-1890 Plate 3. 1891-1900 Plate 4. 1901-1910 Plate 5. 1911-1920 Plate 6. 1921-1930 Plate 7. 1931-1940 Plate 8. 1941-1950 Plate 9. 1951-1960 Plate 10. 1961-1970 Plate 11. 1971-1980 Plate 12. 1981-1990 Plate 13. 1991-1993

XI

preface

Thisbook presents, by historicalperiods, a summaryof the hurricanesand tropical stormsthat struckFlorida's more than 1200- milelong coastline during the 122 years from 1871 through 1993. Prior to the publicationof this book, the only booksor reports exclusivelywith Floridahurricanes were R.%. Gray'sreport, revised

GordonE. Dunn and staff of the NationalHurricane Center NHC! also titled Florida Hurricanes. GradyNorton and Gordon Dunn were important figures during theearly creation of whatis nowknown as the National Hurricane Center.Grady Norton was considered by manyas one of thebest hurricaneforecasters. After Grady Norton'sdeath in 1954,Gordon Dunn wasnamed director of the NHC. After GordonDunn retired, Dr. RobertSimpson became NHC Director. He wasfollowed by Dr. Neil Frank. The currentNHC Director is Dr. RobertC. Sheets. In additionto the reportFlorida Hurricanes,the very recent 1992NHC report titled The Deadliest Costliest and Most Intense UnitedStates Hurricanes of this Centu providesinvaluable informa- tion on bothhistorical and recent hurricanes affecting Florida and the . Ourprimary goal in preparingthis book was to updatethe historicalwork as it pertainsto Florida,to consolidateand standard- ize technicalterms published at thebeginning of eachhurricane seasonon hurricanetracking maps, and to introducethe following newmaterial pertaining to Florida:! a detailedhistorical discus- sion,! a chronologicallisting of all Floridahurricanes, ! 13 platesof hurricaneand tropical storm tracks grouped into 10-year increments,and ! a tableshowing the number of tropicalstorms andhurricanes by 10-yearincrements. The book is writtenon a non-technicallevel for thegeneral reader who is interestedin know- ingwhen and where hurricanes affected Florida and the magnitude of damageinflicted by the storms. Those wishing more technical infor- mationon hurricanescan consult the referencesor contactthe NHC directly. Principalreference documents used in preparingthis book, in additionto theones mentioned above, came from theNational Oce- anicand Atmospheric Administration NOAA! publication, HistoricalClimatolo Series6-2 Tro ical C clonesof the North AtlanticOcean 1871-1986, and U.S. Weather Bureau publications, Climatolo ical Data for Florida 1897-1965. It shouldbe noted that this bookdeals primarily with thecharac- teristicsof FloridaHurricanes and some eyewitness accounts. Amountsof precipitationassociated with Florida hurricaneswere not discussedin this book because of their frequent occurrence resulting fromother systems such as tropical depressions or non-tropical sys- tems.However, we shouldpoint out that from a hurri- canecan be very great and can cause major damage and flooding. Whiletropical depressions cancause heavy flooding problems anddamage, rainfall from tropical depressions is not discussed. Also, tropicalwaves and depressions are not namedeither. Weshould mention that some of thedirect quotes we usemake referenceto the earlier used term "Great Hurricane" and "Major Hurricane".The reader is referredto theglossary and tables for a detailedexplanation of all terms,including the Saffir-Simpson Scale nowin useto categorizehurricanes. In someinstances, we have madeinserts, indicated by [...], into quotationsto provideclarifica- tion. The[...] notationwas also used to providean estimate of the damagein dollars, adjustedto 1990. Weare especially thankful to thereviewers of theoriginal manuscriptwho pointedout severaldeficiencies and errors in the first writingand who provided important suggestions leading to an improvedand accurate final manuscript andto friends,colleagues, assistants,and organizations whose help we couldnot have done without.Specifically, we thank Bill Mahanwho encouraged usto preparethis book,Annette Bernard, Ann Bergonzoni, Derrick Doehring,Rosary Pedreira, Arnold Samreth, and Huan Feng for manuscriptpreparation, to Henry Hank! Brandli for graciously providingus with his satelliteimages of FloridaHurricanes, to Rob Downeyfor thecolor photograph of HurricaneAndrew, to Anita Brombergand John Reposa who assisted in thepreparation of the platesshowing the hurricane tracks, Victoria Tori! Smithand Jea- netteC. Sparksof theFlorida Tech Evans Library for searching historicaldocuments, to the Melbourne Office of the National WeatherService for providingthe Doppler radar image of Hurricane Andrew,to FloridaSea Grant College who provided financial assis- tanceto completethis work and to JayHumphreys who read the manuscriptand provided suggestions for improvementand to Susan Grantham for the layout and design, to the News/Sun Sentinel, Ft. Lauderdale, and the Miami Herald, Miami, for the use of their photographs,to Ms. Ruth Warnerfor kindly providingus with her grandmother's account of the , to,Lois Stephensfor allowing us to use her personal account of Himicane Andrew entitled "On Sabbaticalwith Hurricane Andrew", and to the NationalHurricane Center for providingphotographs. xiv Chapter 1

Introduction

A hurricaneis an extremelyviolent whirling and spiraling tropical ,shaped somewhat like a funnel,that frequently originates in tropical regions of the North , , Gulf of and easternNorth PacificOcean. The tenn cyclone,used by weathermenand meteorologists, refers to anarea of low pressurein which movearound the pressurecenter and are usually attendedby foul weatherand strongwind speeds.A is a nonfrontal,warm-core, low pressuresynoptic scale storm that developsover tropical or subtropicalwaters and has a definiteorga- nized circulation. Tropical are called typhoons in the western North Pa- cific Ocean,hurricanes in the easternnorth Pacific, baguiosin the SouthChina Sea,cyclones in the IndianOcean, and willy-willies in Australia. The sizeof a typicalhurricane can vary considerablydepending on the extent of the tropical storm's fields and fields. In a relatively large hurricane, such as the Florida hurricane of September 1947, hurricane force winds can extend 100 miles from the center i.e. a distance from Palm Beach to Melbourne!. However, in Au- gust 1992 Hurricane Andrew, the most destructive hurricane ever to strike Florida, or the U.S. mainland for that matter, had maximum winds with a radius of only about 12.5 miles. Thus hurricanes vary considerably in their size. To be classified officially as a hurricane, wind speed in a tropical cyclone must be 74 miles per hour or greater. The direction of rotation of wind in a hurricane is counterclockwise in the northern hemisphere,and clockwisein the southernhemisphere. The average hurricane's center, referred to as the , is about 14 miles in diam- eter. The eye is surrounded by hurricane force winds, and is known as the wall cloud, or eye wall. Outside the wall cloud, or area of maximum winds, winds decreasefairly rapidly to tropical storm or force. Within the hurricane, barometric pressure is 1-3 inches of mer- cury below the standardatmospheric pressure at sea level which is 29.92 inches of mercury. The North seasonoccurs during the months of Junethrough November, withSeptember generally having thelargest number.The total number ofhurricanes ortropical storms show greatvariation fromyear to year. In fact, certain pastmulti-decade periodsha4signifgaady gr ternumbers ofhurricanes thanothers. Thisis su.yted by'@g t studyofWilliam M. Grayin 1990 whorepo thatthe +od omthe late 1940s through thelate 1960shad a uch lar~pu erof hurricanes i.e. a strongcycle! thanduring 197Gsmd 1 Os,except for 1988 and 1989 i.e. a weakcycleT, Quotinga passage from Gray's 1990 article entitled Strong Asso- ciationBetween West African.Rainfall and U.S, Landfill of Intense Httrricanel't':,",',.'-.-':==~~.'='.-'-,' ~.:"" its<, Seaionaland rmkti-deeadal variations ofintense hurricane activityare closely i&ed to seasonal andmulti-decadal variations of summa~ amountsindeWestern Sahelregion ofWest . In/~2, tIteaural frequency ofintense Atlantic hurricanes wasappreciably greater f'rog 1947 to 1969,when plentiful amounts of rainfalloccurred in est Africa, thanduring the years between A 1970to 1987,when conditions prevailed.

Theaverage forward movement of a hurricaneapproaching the Floridacoastline is about6-15 milesper hour. The directionof hurricanemovement relative to thecoastline has a largebearing on addeddestructive forces, with theperpendicular of a hurri- canebeing the most dangerottk situation. This is becausethe wind fieldin a hurricaneis typically asymmetric with the strongest wind generallywithin the right-front quadrant of thestorm as viewed from thedirection of movementand with the forwardspeed added to the windspeed. The right-front quadrant is the side of thewind field whichproduces the strongest , which, in mostcases, is themost destructive part of thehurricane. A stormsurge, also called a hurricanesurge, is theabnormal rise in sealevel accompanying a hurricane or anyother intense storm. Theheight of thestorm surge is thedifference between the observed level of the sea surfaceand the level in the absenceof the storm. Thestorm surge is estiinated by subtractingthe normal or astronomi- cal from the observedor estimatedstorm tide. Surgeheights vary considerablyand result frotn a combinationof direct winds and atmosphericpressure. Water transportby wavesand swells, rainfall, and shoreline configuration,bottom topography,and tide heightsat the tiine the storm or hurricane hits the coast are also factors. As an exampleofan extreme storm surge, Hufitcg ttonna wtuch struck theFlorida Keys in 1960,caused a surgeof «6'estimated i2 to 14 feet,which is very significantconsidering the Iact thatthere are few structuresand little terrain that high in the Keys. A more cata- strophicsurge was the 24.4 foot surge wnhic~&ulted fromm'Hurricane Camillewhich struckthe coastlinem 1969. The poten- tiallydevastating effects of the stormsurge are furtherillustrated if oneconsiders that a cubicyard of seawaterttIeighs ne'arIy 4ree- fourthsof a tonwhich pretty well guarantees Zestructiott +anything gIri.' in its path. Thestorm surge has a tendencyto dissipatethe f~ Pand it goes,particularly if the land rises in elevation.' ow3W",winds and somedegree of floodingare still reinainmgprob~kWigk winds, the storm surge,battering waves, and high tide make a hurricanea potentially deadly killer with accompanyingdevastation and huge lossesto property. In addition, tornadoescan be spawnedby hurricanes,adding to the overall threat. Torrential rainfall, which can also occur in a hurricane, adds to life-threateningand major dainagingeffects of a hurricaneby causing floodsand flash . For example,the aftermathof ,which wasa relativelyweak Florida hurricane, but well known as one of the costliest hurricanes in the rnid-Atlantic states, resultedin severeinland floodingfrom torrentialrainfall from its mergingwith another weathersystem in mountainousareas. In this casethe hurricanesurge had little part in the destructionthat re- sulted. High windsalone can lead to a barrageof flying debris, including treelimbs and branches, signs and sign posts, roofing including entireroofs in major storms!,and metal siding, all of which can movethrough the air like missiles. Exceptwhen crossingcompletely fiat, wet areas,such as extreme southFlorida, hurricanesusually weaken rapidly as they move in- land. However, the remnantsof a hurricanecan bring 6 to 12 inches of rain or more to an area as the stormpasses. Shoulda weakened hurricaneon land return to the sea, it can regain strength.

hurricanes before the scalewas developed!,and recenthurricanes.

Tile EarlyYears, 1871-1900 ' e '.' Starting'in1871, only a fewyears after the Civil War,tropical cyclonedata became part of the historicalinventory of theU.S, SignalService and later the U.S. Departmentof Agriculture Weather Bureauwhich collected, archived and published these data. Relying on earlyworks of authors,such as WestIndian Hurricanes Garriott, 1900!, annualtropical cyclone tracks for theyears 1871-1990 were laterpublished in the NOAA Historical Climatology Series 6-2, TropicalCycknes of theÃorsh Atlantic, I871-1986. The yearly trackswere extractedfrom that NOAA publicationand are presented hereby 10-yearperiods. Lookingat the first 10 years of tropicalcyclone tracks Plate 1!, theinost striking featu> is thatonly four tropicalcyclones entered Florida's coast from the east, southeast,Atlantic, or Caribbean, In contrast,17 tropicalcyclones entered the westcoast and panhandle regionfrom thesouthwest, the northwestern Caribbean and . Theperiods from 1881-1890 Plate 2! and1891-1900 Plate 3! showessentially the samepattern except that the concentrationof northeasterlytracks shifts further to the south. We shall see froin an exatninationof the other plates that this patternchanged after the turn of thecentury, Principally all of the stormswhich enteredthe West Coastof Florida camefrom the north- westernCaribbean or the southernportion of theGulf of Mexico. Noreal explanation canbe found for thishigh frequency. Thereare some contradictory events reported during these early yearswhich deserve discussing. They pertain to thehurricanes of 1876, 1880,and 1885. In an interviewpublished June 4, 1978,in the FloridaToday newspaper",' thethen NationalHurricane Center Director Dr. Neil Frank said:

In {August]1871 the center of a hurricaneslammed into Central

1 Plates 1-3. Florida near Cocoa Beach., In [September/October]1873 a major Hurricaneexited Florida near Melbourne.....In [August/September] 1880 another major hurricane battered the coast south of Cocoa Beach.

In reference to the 1880 hurricanethat "batteredthe coastsouth of CocoaBeach", this hurricanewas classifmtf in Richard W. Gray's FloridaHurricanes Revised Edition! as'"It Hurrictlne. Accordingtohis notes, it affected thePdm ch LakeQkeechobee sectionof Florida;nothing is saidabout C, ut Dunnand Millerin their book Atlantic Httrricanes"guaiPtk& ttt39'l4 said that the hurricane affected Vero Beach. However, the 1880 track as extractedfrom NOAA's 987! HistoricalClimatology Series 6-2, showsa hurricaneentering the East Coast near Qr8!s"'Cocoa n. The areaaffected by this hurricane could not hald keen the Beach- section if the hurricane entered the Fl east coastfrom the east-south-eastnear CocoaBeach. If, on" other hand,R. Gray is correct in his finding, then the 1880 h~cane track reportedby NOAA has to be a considerabledistance south of Cocoa Beach;this contentionis amply supportedby the hurricanetrack of August26-31, 1880, reportedby Garriott in 1900 in his book West IndianHttrrieanes and by the August1880 track published by Tanne- hill in 1938 in his book. In referenceto the August 1885 hurricane,the track publishedby NOAA 987! alongthe east coast may also be in error in that the publishedtrack is at least20 iniles offshore.According to B. Ra- bac's986! book The City of CocoaBetrch:

The hurricane that hit in 1885 discouraged further settlement. The stormpushed the oceanwaves ovel'the elevation Bi+ 10 feet!, floodingout the homesteaders,'"The beachnear the Canav- eralLight House was severely eroded, prtImpting President Clevelandand the Congress to allot matey for an effort to movethe tower one mile west.

The fact that President Cleveland was in office from 1885-1888 providesfurther supportthat this was the year of occurrence.It is certainlypossible that the 1885 northerlytropical cyclone track shownover the ocean along the Florida Mt Coaston the NOAA 987! trackchart was slightlydisplaced from the correct position!, andthat the eye of the hurricaneactually passed Cocoa Beach. In factthe report by Sugg,Pardue and Carrodus in 1971shows the 1885track passedthe central East Coast. The final controversyconcerns the hurricaneof 1876. Historical information from G,W. Holmes in a letter to a friend in 1876 indi- catesthat the eyeof a terriblehurricane passed over Eau Gallic now partof Melbourne!on the Indian on a northerlycourse during the early morning no date or month was given! of 1876. Dr. Holmesis quotedas follows:

The wind came from the east at over a hundred miles an hour until about 3:30 AM. The vortex [the eye] came on us for about four hours, during which not a leaf stirred. We began to look for our boats when all at once with a tremendous roar the wind came from the west,with equalviolence in the early part of the night.

The quotationimplies that the hurricanetraveled north along the Indian River or . NOAA 987! shows a northerly hurricane track for the year 1876, about 30-40 miles east of the coast passing CapeCanaveral during September12-19, 1876. The 1876 hurricane could easily have been off by 30 miles which brings the eye over Melbourne, and makesthe effect which Mr. Holmes quotes very valid. In October 12-22, another hurricane exited near West Paltn Beach from the west. However, until hurricane tracks for 1876, 1880and 1885 are officially modified by NOAA, they have to be ac- ceptedas given from NOAA's track book and shown in Plate l. Beginning with the year 1886, tropical storm and hurricane trackswere published separately. In this report, they are presented by dashedand solid lines with the year circled at the beginning of eachtrack Plates 2 and 3!. A solid line prior to 1886 indicates either a tropical storm or hurricane. From 1886 on, a solid line crossingthe coast indicatesa hurricane, and a dashedline indicates a tropical storm. Beginning with the year 1899, tracks became more detailedand categories were used to describethe relativemagnitude of hurricanes. We conclude this section with quotations about two hurricanes which entered Florida in 1898 and 1899. Hurricane of October 2-3, 1898, Fernandina Beach

The damageto Fernandina and vicinity was very great. It is conservativelyestimated at $500,000. Nothingescaped damage and a greatdeal wasabsolutely destroyed. Giant oakswere snappedoff at the base, housesblown down, and vesselsswept inland by an irresistible in-rush of water. The wind signal display man Major W.B.C. Duryee, who has resided in Fernandina more than thirty years, statesthat no previousstorm was so severe U.S. Weather Bureau, October 1898!.

In 1898, Professor F.H. Bigelow provided this rather elegant description of a hurricane, published in the Yearbookof the Depart- rnent of Agriculture for 1898.

The physicalfeatures of hurricanesare well understood.The approachof a hurricaneis usuallyindicated by a long swell on the ocean,propagated to greatdistances and forewarningthe observer by two or threedays. A faint rise in the barometeroccurred before the gradual fall, which becomesvery pronounced at the center; fine wisps of cirrus clouds are seen, which surround the center to a distanceof 200 miles: the air is calm and sultry, but this is graduallysupplanted by a gentlebreeze, and later the wind increasesto a gale,the cloudsbecome matted, the searough, rain falls, and the winds are gusty and dangerous as the vortex core comes on. Here is the indescribable tempest, dealing destruction, impressingthe imaginationwith its wild exhibitionof the forces of nature, the flashes of lightning, the torrents of rain, the cooler air, all the elementsin an uproar, which indicate the close ap- proachof the center. In the midstof this turmoil there is a sud- den pause,the windsalmost cease, the sky clears,the waves, however,rage in the greatturbulence. This is the eye of the storm, the core of the vortex, and it is, perhaps, 20 miles in diameter, or one-thirtieth of the whole hurricane. The respite is brief andis soonfollowed by the abruptrenewal of the violent wind andrain, but now comingfrom the oppositedirection, and the stormpasses off with the featuresfollowing eachother in the reverseorder. Thereis probablyno featureof naturemore inter- estingto studythan a hurricane,though feelings of the observer may sometimesbe divertedby thoughtsof personalsafety! 10

Hurricane of August 1, 1899, Carrabelle

After reaching the coast and maintaining very high velocities from the northeastbacking to the North and West for 10 hours, the storm gradually abatedleaving the town of Carrabelle a wreck. The results to shipping were disastrous, 14 Barks transport sail boats! and 40 vesselsunder 20 tons having been wrecked. The loss of life was amazingly small, the total being only six. The property loss, including vesselsand cargo will amount to $500,000 U.S. Weather Bureau, 1899!.

The Second Thirty Years, 1901-1950

This thirty-year period had less tropical storm and hurricane activity than the preceding871-1900! period or the following thirty- year period 931-1960!. From 1901 to 1930, there was a combined total of 39 tropical stormsand hurricanesas comparedto 63 during the previous 30 years 871-1900! and 51 for the following thirty years931-1960!. Stormsduring this periodcame primarily from the southwest. U.S. Weather Bureaurecords 901-1930! show that there were 22 hurricanesduring this period; specific hurricanes are listed in Table4. With the availabilityof morefactual data published in the Climatological Data bulletin since 1897, information now becomes more accurateand detailed, consisting of actual reports for those years. Looking at the first 10-year segment901-1910!, the Great Hurricaneof October1910 did a loopnorth of the westerntip of Gray, 1949!, passedthrough and entered the coast nearFt Myers, wherea low pressureof 28.20 inchesof mercurywas reported. This was probably one of the most destructive hurricanes to hit Florida. At Key West, therewas a 15 foot stormtide andSand Key re- ported 125mile per hour winds. The U.S. Army and Marine Hospital Docks were swept away at Key West in this hurricane, but little othernarrative information is availableon this stormexcept that

2 Plates 4-6. 11 it made landfall near Cape Romano. Actually, Key West,which is toutedin storiesand moviesas a typicalhurricane setting, is not all thathurricane-prone. The last encounterwas 1987'sHurricane Floyd, aboutnoon on the 12thof October. Highestwinds were about80 milesper hour and pressure wasabout 29.32 inches. Floyd's eye was reportedat Key West, Marathon and Islamoradaand was a weak category one storm. BeforeFloyd, it hadbeen 21 years,all the way backto , sincea hurricanehad struckthe Keys. In 1965, Hurricane Betsysideswiped the "ConchCapital" as did Isbell, in 1964. These stormsfollowed a 14-yearlull duringwhich the Keys were untouched by hurricanes.In 1950,Easy struck the Keys bringing to an endthe area's 28 years of calm going back to 1919. From 1871to 1987,Key Westwas hit by 14 hurricanesor about 10% of the storms discussed here. Otherhurricanes during the 1901-1910period were the hurricane of September1906 which practicallydestroyed Pensacola and the hurricane of 1909. These two storms have good documentation which is worth further discussion.

Hurricaneof September19-29, 1906,Mobile-Pensacola Area

Accordingto the 1906U.S. WeatherBureau report this wasa major storm.

This was the most terrific storm in the history of Pensacola, or since the Village of Pensacolaon Santa Rosa Island was swept away 170years ago .... During the heightof the storm,the water rose8 '/, feet abovenormal high watermark, being the highestknown. The entire water front property wasinundated; train servicein and out of the city wascompletely paralysed ... MuskogeeWharf, belongingto the L&N RailroadCo., wasbroken in two in the middle, and the tracks on either side of the Main Creek were washedaway [including thirty-eight coal cars] ...The greatesthavoc waswrought along east Main Street,the southside of which has beencompletely washed away. The total damagefrom this hurricanewill be threeto four million dollars equivalentto $80- 100 million in 1990!. 12

This hurricane made actual landfall in but affected Pensacola;because of this storm 164people lost their lives. Otherstorm notes by the U.S. WeatherBureau for the hurricane of September1906 are from St. Andrews,Washington County.

On the26th, a tidalwave sweptthis place; the water was higherthan any timeduring the past19 years,and every wharf in St. Andrewswas completely destroyed.

A reportfrom Apalachicola,Franklin County:

On the 27th, the wind blew a gale from the southeast,and on the 28th, it increasedto a hurricanevelocity. The amountof rain- fall was 10.12 inches.

And from Gait, SantaRosa County:

The storm of the 26-28th was the worst ever known in this section; on the 26th, the tide rose 14 feet. Two lives were lost here.

Hurricaneof October6-13, 1909, SandKey

Tannehill938! providesthe followingdiscussion of the October 1909hurricane that struckSand Key andresulted in 15 deaths:

The hurricaneof October1909, was one of exceptionalinten- sity. It recurvedover the extremesouthern tip of Florida, at which time it had attained tremendous force. TheWeather Bureau had a stationat SandKey, Florida which wasabandoned at 8:30a.rn., and suppliesand instrumentswere carried to the lighthouse. The wind was then 75 miles an hour; shortlythereafter, the anemometercups were carriedaway and the wind was estimated at 100 miles an hour. All the trees were blown downand at 9:35 a.rn.heavy seas swept over the island. At 10:30 a.m., the WeatherBureau building wentover and wasswept out to sea. The lowestbarometer reading was 28.36 inches. At Key West the barometer fell to 28.50 inches and the extreme wind velocity was94 miles. Propertydamage there amountedto $1,000,000[equivalent to $20 million in 1990]. About four hundred buildings collapsed. Duringthe second 10-year segment 911-1920!, there were four hurricanesincluding one Great hurricane which deserves mentioning. Threeof these,all with winds over 100miles per hour, affectedthe Pensacolaarea again like thehurricane of September1906.

The Hurricaneof July 1916,Mobile-Pensacola Area

The U.S. Weather Bureau July 1916! reported that:

.... at 1 PM, a 92 mile per hour galeoccurred with severepuffs from the southeast.The durationof the gale was extraordinary,and the total damageto the cropsand the property will easilytotal $1,000,000[equivalent to $20 million in 1990]for the section.

This hurricane made landfall in Mississippi where four lives were lost.

The Hurricane of October 1916, Pensacola

The barometricpressure in this stormwas 28.76 inchesat Pensa- cola.

The wind instrument tower at the Weather Bureau Office blew down at 10:14AM, after registeringan extremerate of 120miles per hour at 10:13'AM. Oak treesthat withstoodthe July storm were uprooted;about 200 treesthroughout the city were blown down U.S. Weather Bureau, October 1916!.

The Hurricane of September1917, Pensacola-ValparaisoArea

This was a very severe storm, doing much damage on the coast and to crops. The lowestbarometer reading, 28.51 inches,was a record for the PensacolaStation. The highest wind velocity during the storm was 103 miles an hour with an extreme rate of 125 miles an hour from the southeast U.S. WeatherBureau, September 1917!.

TheGreat Hurricane of September,1919, Key West

Thefollowing citation for theGreat Hurricane of September 1919 was taken from NOAA 987!.

The stormthat passed over Key Weston September9 and 10 was, withoutquestion, the most violentof any recordedat this station.Property loss is estimatedat 2 million equivalentto 40 milliondollars in 1990!.In theterrific gusts that prevailed during the height of the storm, staunch brick structures had walls blown out, and largevessels which had beenfirmly secured,were tom fromtheir moorings and blown on thebanks U.S. Weather Bureau, September 1919!. Lowestbarometric pressure was 27.51 inches of mercuryat Dry Tortugaswith 300lives lost in KeyWest where winds were 110 milesper hour. Accordingto a recentNOAA reportby Hebert, Jarrell,and Mayfield 992! this stormranked third amorigthe most intensehurricanes to strikethe UnitedStates this centuryuntil hurri- caneAndrew took over that ranking in Augustof 1992. Duringthe last ten years of theperiod from 1901-1930,there weresix interestinghurricanes, including two GreatHurricanes whichcould be considered equivalent to category4 hurricanes,ac- cordingto theSaffir-Simpson Scale; some descriptions of these stormsare briefly eitherquoted or describedhere.

TheHurricane of October20, 1921,Tarpon Springs

Greatdamage resulted at Tampaand adjacent sections from the combinedeffects of highwinds and storm . The tide at Tampa was10.5 feet, the highest since 1848. Eggmond and Sanibel Island werepractically covered by water U.S.Weather Bureau, October 1921!. Barometricpressure was 28.17 inches at TarponSprings and 15

winds were more than 100 miles per hour. Only one hurricane and one tropical storm were recorded for Florida in 1925. The storm that came ashore near Tampa on Novem- ber 30 was significant from a statistical standpoint it was the latest any storm had hit the U.S. during hurricane season.

The Hurricane of July 26-2S, 1926 Indian River

The Center was near Palm Beach on the morning of the 27th, then north-northwestward. The high winds and seassweeping before them boats, docks, boat housesand other marine property on the ocean front as well as that on the Indian River. Trees were uprooted, including citrus trees; houseswere unroofed or otherwise damaged. The observer at Merritt Island remarks that there was a tremendouswave this on the Indian River! and with the high wind all boats, docks, and other property from the river front were swept ashore ... U.S. Weather Bureau, July 1926!.

The Great Miami Hurricaneof September11-27, 1926'

From the viewpoint of property loss, low barometric pressure, and maximum wind velocities at Miami, the hurricane of Septern- ber, 1926, standsunchallenged in the meteorological records of the Weather Bureau, save only in respect to the loss of life at Galveston during the hurricane of 1900. The storm waters of the Atlantic united with the waters of and swept westward into the City of Miami...... This was the most severe storm that ever visited this city. The extreme velocity was registered at 7:26 AM. The average velocity for the 20th was 76.2 miles an hour. Never before have hurricane winds been recorded for so long a time and never has the wind maintained a velocity of 100 miles for more than a hour U.S. Weather Bureau, September 1926!.

Windsand barometric pressure of this stormwere 138 milesper hour and 27.61 inches of mercury, respectively. The following excerpts are from copies of letters kindly donated

3 See Figures 1-3. 16 by Mrs. RuthWarner of BarefootBay, Florida, documentingher Grandmother'sexperience in the 1926Miami Hurricane; her Grand- motherwas Mrs. LuciaLawrence and the following are taken from her letters written in Septemberand October 2, 1926.

The weatherbureau broadcasted that a hurricaneof great inten- sity washeaded for theeast coast, but that aroundjupiter would be the centerof the storm,but Miami got it. Aboutmidnight, the wind wasblowing a galeand the electric lights went out; everytlling in darkness. Whenwe got candleslighted, [we] foundthe waterpouring through the ceihngs on the rear half of the house so we knew the roofing was off. With daylight Saturdaycame a lull in the wind for about 45 minutes. A good many [people] didn't know it was the center of the storm and so were fooled. Mrs. Moran a friend at who' s housethey were staying!says the worst is yet to comebut it will comefrom anotherdirection. Sureenough the puffs soonbegan coming, but from the south east. Before that it was from the north east. We all huddledin the dining room andkitchen until it was over,expecting every moment to feel and seethe housegoing to pieces,at least,the front caving in asit rockedand swayed as the gustsstruck. We nailedthe doors,watched as the screensand awningsgo. Said we had done all we could do and left the rest with God. Thefury of thestorm was terrible. It madesuch a peculiar muffledroaring soundin the air above. Thereare about 18,000 homes,either completely demolished or roofs tom off. About 5,000injured and a goodtnany more dead than the papers give, I believe. Probablya goodmany from the boatswill neverbe found. It's somemess to haveall onesbedding blankets, clothing and bureau contents soaked at the same time.

The Hurricaneof August7-8, 1928,Indian River

Damageto propertywas heaviestfrom SouthBrevard to St. LucieCounties... substantialhouses were unroofed and frail ones wererazed, Highways were flooded and badly washed. Many 17

bridges were undermined requiring replacement. Many citrus trees were uprooted, the loss of fruit estimated at 1,000,000 boxes. Large oaks, sentinels of a century, were uprooted U.S, Weather Bureau, 1928!.

The Deadly Great Lake OkeechobeeHurricane of September6-20, 19284

This category 4 storm tracked acrossLake Okeechobee'snorth- ern shore,causing the shallowwaters to reachheights of more than 15 feet. This surge was forced southward, causing terrible flooding in the lowlands at the lake's south end. This area was farmed pri- marily by migrant workers. Thousandsof migrant farmers died as water rushed over the area. After the storm, the Red Cross counted 1,836 dead, but still more bodies and skeletons were discovered in later years. The barometric pressurewas measuredat 27.43 inches. To prevent future similar ,dikes were built around the lake by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The 1928 storm caused$25 million equivalentto $300million in 1990dollars! in damage. From the Hebert et al. 992! report this hurricane ranked second among the deadliesthurricanes to strike the U.S., and was ranked fourth among the most intense hurricanes to strike the U.S. But this storm falls to fifth place, as far as intensity, after Hurricane Andrew, which struck in August 1992 with a low barometric pressureof 27.23 inches.

The Hurricane of September 28, 1929,

Tannehill 938! provides the following account of this hurricane striking the Keys.

The center passedover Key Largo on the 28th, barometer about 28 inches and wind estimated at 150 miles an hour. There wasa ten-minutelull as the centerpassed. At Long Key the ba- rometer was 28.18 inches. At the , the wind was esti-

4 See Figures 4-5. 18

mated at 100 miles an hour, barotneter 28.95 inches. The storm reachedPanama City on the 30th, barometer28.80 inches, Althoughthere wasenormous damage at Nassauin the Baha- masand many lives werelost there, its coursein Florida wassuch thatdamage probably did notexceed $500,000 $6 millionin 1990 dollars!and only threelives were lost. The populationhad been thoroughlywarned by the WeatherBureau and there hadbeen ampletime for all possibleprecautions.

The Third Thirty Years,1951-1960'

Thisthirty-year period had more storm activity than the previous thirty-yearperiod i.e., 51 totalstorms compared to 39!. Therewere 21 hurricanes,almost the sameas reportedfor the previousperiod. However,tropical storms' numbered 30 ascompared to 17for the previousthirty years, which accounts for thehigh number of total storms. Thetemporal distribution of hurricanesfrom 1931-1960is inter- esting.While there were few hurricanes from 1931-40 six! and 1951-1960 three!, therewere 12 hurricanesfor the 10-yearperiod 1941-1950alone. This made the 1941-1950 segmentthe most de- structiveand costliest period to that datein termsof equivalentdollar valuesince records were kept for the state. Yet ten yearslater, in 1960,one single hurricane, Donna, a Category4, was evenmore costlyand destructive than all the stormsoccurring in thetotal 10 yearperiod from 1941-1950 Hebert et al., 1992!. Lookingat thefirst 10years 931-1940!, out of a totalof 6 hurricanes,there were two Category3 stormsand one Category5 hurricanein 1935which wasone of the only two Category5 hurri- canesto ever hit the U.S. coast with that intensity - the other was HurricaneCamille which struckMississippi in 1969. ,which struck in 1980,reached Category 5 intensity threetimes during its pathbut weakenedto Category3 atlandfall Hebert et al., 1992!.

5 See Plates 7-9. TheMajor Hurricane of September1933, Jupiter

In Julyand September 1933, two hurricanesentered the east coastof Florida within a shortdistance of eachother. The secondof thesetwo, which occurredon Labor Daydeservesreview.

Therewas much property damage on theeast coast from Vero Beachto Palm Beach;a few houseswere totally demolished,quite a numberblown off their blocks. More thanthe equivalentof 4 million boxesof citrus were blown from the treesstatewide. The propertyloss in IndianRiver, St. Lucie, and Palm Beach Counties probablywas about 2 milliondollars $25 million in 1990! U.S. WeatherBureau, September 1933!.

In additionto the abovereport, an elderly citizen from Ft. Pierce recallsthat the 1933storm was the mostdevastating in the history of Ft. Pierce Yanaros, 1986!. In 1935,two hurricanesvisited southernFlorida. The first was theGreat Labor Day Hurricane of September1935 and the other was the October30th throughNovember 8th, storm calledthe Yankee Hurricane becauseit came in from a northeasterlycourse and struck the extreme south Florida coast and the west coast. TheGreat Labor Day Hurricane was the most violent in the historyof Floridaand the United States. It wasthe only Category5 storm ever to strike Florida; its central barometric pressure of 26.35 inchesof mercurywas the lowest ever recorded at thattime in the westernhemisphere. As of 1988,, which did not affect Florida, hasthe record26.22 inchesof mercuryfor the lowest barometricpressure in the westernhemisphere!. Thefollowing excerpts from the 1935storm are quoted from Mr. Gray's 1949paper entitled Florida Hurricanes.

No anemometerreading of the wind was obtained,but the gradientformula gives 200-250 miles per hour and the engineer's estimateby stressformula is in substantialagreement ... thepath of destruction was less than 40 miles in width. More than 400 people werekilled, mostby drowning. The tracksof the Flagler Railroad werewashed from the Long Key viaductat an elevationof 30 feet abovemean low water. A surveyby the U.S. Engineerssome time after the storm indicated that the tide level never reached the rails 20

there,but the hurricanesurge superimposed on the tide probably assistedin carryingthe tracks away.

Maximumstorm surge with was 24.2 feet!.

In 1938 Tannehill describeda tragic event of the storm.

A rescue train that was sent to remove World War I veterans andresidents from theFlorida Keys, on September2, 1935,was sweptfrom the tracksby the hurricaneand the storm wave.'

The following 10-Yearperiod, 1941-1950,was the most devastat- ing in Florida's history sincerecords were kept. Out of 12 hurri- canes,11 of thesetook place between 1944 and 1950. In this rela- tively shortperiod therewas one category4 in 1947,and six cate- gory 3 hurricanes, one eachin 1944, 1945, 1948, 1949, and two in 1950;a Category1 stormstruck Ft. Myers on the westcoast in 1946. All are discussed here. The following is a quotationdescribing the 1944storm, taken from U.S. WeatherBureau in their reportof October1944.

Dangerouswinds extended fully 200miles to the right or east of the center, about100 miles to the left or west, thusaffecting the entirepeninsula of Florida.[Even at ,barometric pressure was 28.02 inchesof mercury.] Winds of hurricane force velocity surroundedthe central core, with gustsup to 100mph at Tampaand Orlando. Tideswere high from Sarasotasouthward on the Gulf and from Melbournenorthward on the Atlantic, Naples, andJacksonville Beach both reported12 foot tides. Citrus loss was over 21 million boxes averageharvest was 80 million!. Throughout the statethere wasdamage to telephone,telegraph and power lines, trees,roofs, chimneys,signs, and radio towers. Of the interior cities,Orlando seems to havesuffered the most damage, being estimated at over one million dollars.

Thenext hurricane of importanceentered the coastin September 1945at Homestead,curving northward right up throughthe center of

6 See Figures 6 and 7. 21

Florida. Duringthe course of thestorm, it decreasedin windspeed, but maintained itself as one with minimal hurricane force. It also remainedover land to exit near Jacksonville Beach. The tragic event with this storm was the destruction at Richmond, Florida, of the three Navyblimp hangars which were used as evacuation shelters for 25 Navyblimps, 183 military planes, 153 civilian planes and 150 automobiles.The threegreat hangars were tom to piecesat the heightof the storm,and then caught fire andburned with all their contents;the total losswas estimated at 35 million dollars U.S. Weather Bureau, September1945!. Thencame the Category4 hurricaneof September17, 1947, clockingthe highest recorded windspeed, except for HurricaneAn- drew in 1992,in Florida'shistory with a 1-minutemaximum wind- speedof 155miles per hour, recorded from a reliableinstrument at the Hillsboro PompanoBeach! light station. The following describes thisexceptionally strong hurricane U.S. WeatherBureau, September 1947!.

Hurricaneforce winds wereexperienced along the Florida East Coastfrom aboutCape Canaveral to CarysfortReef Light southof Miami!, a distanceof about240 miles, while windsof 100 miles perhour, or over,were felt fromthe northern portion of Miainito well north of Palm Beach, or about 70 miles. This classifies this hurricane as one of the great storms of recent years.

ThisSeptember 1947 storm had a barometricpressure of 27.97 inchesof mercuryat Hillsboro, with tides at Clewistonand Moore Havenof 21.6 feet and 20.9 feet, respectively.This storm wasnearly as bad as the 1928 hurricane at the lake. Fifty-one people died. DuringOctober 9-16, a hurricanecame across western Cuba into southwestFlorida, northeast into the Atlantic around Palm Beach. It wasa Category1 andwas seeded for thefirst time.It split in twoin the Atlantic and the worst part hit Savannah,. Two hurricanes occurred in 1948. The first one ran from 18 Septemberto 25 Septemberand was classified as a Category3. The systemstarted just westof Jamaicaand moved west to northwestthen north over western Cuba into the Florida Straits. It struck Florida nearEverglades City in the 10,000islands, then movednortheast throughFlorida to emergeinto theAtlantic near Jupiter. A 22

wasreported in Homesteadon the21st of September.Lowest baro- metricpressure was 28,44 inches, and top winds were 122 miles per hour. Thehurricane killed 3 peopleand caused 105 million dollars damage. The second1948 storm ran from the 3rd to the 15thof October and startedjust off the Nicaraguan/Hondurascoast in the northwest CaribbeanSea. Thishurricane also moved across western Cuba into theFlorida Straits and even crossed the September hurricane's path nearthe coordinates 24.0N and 82.0W. This storm passed through theKeys and extreme south Florida into Island. At about31N latitude it dida giganticloop in themiddle of the Atlantic andfinally became a non-tropical cyclone. A tornadowas reported in FortLauderdale onthe 5th of October.Lowest barometric pres- surewas 28.92 inches, and top winds were around 90 miles per hour. In August1949, another major hurricane, taking a coursesimilar to theGreat Hurricane of September1928 entered the coast near PalmBeach. It wasthe worst hurricane felt in the LakeOkeechobee areasince 1928. Hurricane force winds were reported atSt. Augus- tine,, andMelbourne, and winds of 120miles per houror greater were felt from Stuart to Pompano. The highest re- cordedwind speed gust, 153 miles per hour, was at Jupiter, only 2 milesper hour less than the wind speed record set on September 27, 1947.The amount of damagein dollars, 45 million equivalent to $270million in 1990!,was almost twice that of the1928 hurricane. Thestorm was not classified asbeing among the Great Hurricanes in Florida'shistory, but it fellinto the category ofonly being slightly belowthem U.S. Weather Bureau, August 1949!. Tides were 24 feetand 23 feet at Belle Glade and Okeechobee, respectively. Finally,here are some brief quotations,taken from theU.S. WeatherBureau reports, 1950, for the last two major hurricanes of the1941-1950 decade; during this period the storms were named usingWorld War II phoneticalphabet: Able, Baker, Charlie, Dog, Easy, etc.

HurricaneEasy, September 1950, Cedar Key Oldresidents saythis was the worst hurricane in 70 years... halfof thehouses were severely damaged ordestroyed... Thefish- 23

ing fleet upon which the town dependsfor a livelihood,was com- pletelydestroyed by wind and waves...The tide in TampaBay rose 6.5 feet., the highest since 1921.

This hurricanelooped twice on the westcoast, had top winds of 125miles per hour anda barometricpressure of 28.30 inches,caused 38.7 inchesof rain at Yankeetownin the September5-6 period, and broughtunfounded accusations of seedingby the WeatherBureau from residents of the area.

Hurricane King, October 1950, Miami

The path of principaldestruction was only 7-10 miles wide throughthe greaterMiami areaand northwardto WestFort Lauder- dale on the 17 of October. It was at first reported that the damage was the result of a tornado or tornadoes.... after careful inspection there was no evidence of tornado action ... It was simply that of a small violent hurricane.

Gusts were 150 miles per hour at Miami and 138 miles per hour at Ft. Lauderdale. Barometric pressure fell to 28.20 inches and tides were 19.3 feet at Clewiston. Three people died during this storm. Following is a personal eyewitnessreport on de- scribed by one of the authors J.M. Williams!.

To begin, this storm, Hurricane King, formed down in the northwest Caribbean not too far from Swan Island. It curved its way northwardto clip the westtip of . From there King traveled almost due north across Cuba to slam into Florida close to Miami and made passagethrough western Ft Lauderdale. I was home on leave from Army duty on the 17th of October, 1950, visiting my folks who lived in Country Club Estates, which is now Plantation. This was my first hurricane on land I had been in one on a shipat seacoming back from OccupationDuty in . In the afternoon of the 17th, rain was coming intermittently in sheets and the wind was gusting pretty high. Then, as if nothing was going on, it would calm down and the sun would come out. We were from Iowa where when it looked stormy, you were going to get it! That, I found out didn't mean anything down here in Flor- ida. My mother had two cats who were progressively getting noisy 24

andmean. We foundout later thatthey were affectedby the baro- metricpressure drop as the stormapproached. By the time the stormhit they werecliinbing the walls! The housewas CBS constructionso we felt okay becauseshutters had beeninstalled someyears ago. On the front porchwere aluminum jalousies. Themain part of King hit usin thelate evening and it was really something, to me at least! The street in front of the house wasgravel back then and the windspicked the rock up andblasted the front of the house! The noiseon thosealuminum jalousies was sobad we couldn't hear each other talk. Therewas a lotof lighten- ing in the stormand we could seeout throughthe shutters. News- paperswere flying all over the place.The only troublehowever, the newspaperswere not newspapersbut were tiles off the roof. Wewent outside during the eye and I foundout whatevery- bodyhad always said about the eye:we could seestars, the , anda fewclouds, and we could feel a slightbreeze. We detecteda smell, some said was ozone. But ozone is odorless! Nevertheless we experiencedthe HurricaneEye Smell. Thefamous backside of thehurricane came right away, like now, and we rode out the remainder of the storm like we did the first part. Now the wind came from the other direction and it loos- enedup everything. After the passageof HurricaneKing we took a long look at the damage.Out of six fruit trees,only one wasstill standing. About halfof theroof tiles were lost and would need to be replaced,The aluminumjalousies were dented and stripped of all paint. Debris couldbe seenall over the place. As the areawas woodedin that periodof time,trees were down here and there. A bigtree, about twofeet in diametertook down the power and telephone lines. I hadreturned to Fort Benningby thetime powerhad been restored. Weheard that a tornadowas running around in theeye of King and wipedout a trailerpark in the townof Dania, southof us. Some peoplewere killed due to King.

Thelast 10-year period, 1951-1960, of the 1931-1960thirty-year segmentwas marked by a sharpreduction in majorhurricane activity; it wasduring this period when the Weather Bureau began giving hurricanesfemale namesin 1953. In October1951, Hurricane How, as a tropicalstorm, crossed mid-Florida. In 1952,a tropicalstorm crossed south Florida in February.In 1953,tropical storm Alice struck northwest Florida in 25

June.Another tropical storm crossed south Florida in August.Yet anothertropical storm crossed in SeptemberandHurri- caneFlorence hitnorthwest Florida also in September.Tropical stormHazel crossed mid-Florida in Octoberto finishout 1953. In 1956, struck northwest Florida in Septem- ber.In 1957two tropical storms hit thesame region, one was un- namedand one was named Debbie. In October1959 two more tropi- calstorms came ashore in Florida Irene into northwest Florida, and Judithcrossing mid-Florida. None of thesewere of majorconse- quence. HurricaneDonna stole the show in 1960,while Brenda, asbarely a tropicalstorm, crossed north Florida in September,andFlorence alsoa veryweak storm, crossed south and a week earlier. HurricaneDonna ranked fifth, priorto HurricaneAndrew in 1992,among the most intense hurricanes everto strike the U.S. this century Hebert etal., 1992!. Except for the western Panhandle, whereFlossy with a barometricpressure of 28.93 inches affected Pensacolain 1956 with gusts at 98 miles per hour, Donna was the firsthurricane to have a majoraffect on Florida since Hurricane King in 1950. HurricaneDonna caused $300 million $1.9billion, 1990 dollars! indamages tothe state and was one of the most destructive hurri- canesto affectFlorida in moderntimes Dunn and Miller, 1964; Hebertet al., 1992!,although Hurricane Andrew in 1992will replace Donnaas Florida's mostdamaging storm. At ConchKey, pressure was 27.46 inches on the 10th of Septem- ber,1960, and tides were 13 feet 40 miles northeast and 20 miles southwest.Donna was at her peak here, moving only 8 milesper hour. Thestorm killed three people in theKeys. Top winds of 180- 200miles per hour were recorded in the Keys, with gusts to 150 milesper hour at Everglades Cityand Naples. In centralFlorida, the pressurewas28.60 inches atLakeland, 28.66 inches atOrlando, and 28.73inches at Daytona.Barometric pressure was 28.05 inches at Ft.Myers. Fifty people died when a U,S.airliner crashed off ,Africa, at the beginningof the storm. Followingare some quotations from the U.S. Weather Bureau records, September 1960! about this hurricane. Stormdamages range from very severein the Middle Keys and the southwestcoast from EvergladesCity to PuntaGorda, to rela- tively minor in northwestFlorida and points north of the storm track.At Naplestides pushed inland to the centerof the city damag- ing buildingsand smashingdocks all alongthe intrusion.Everglades City, a townthat hadbeen largely evacuatedwas alsoinundated by stormtides and about 50% of thebuildings in thatcity werede- stroyedby tides andwinds. Evenwell outsidethese areas, the wind toppledthousands of trees,demolished many weaker buildings, blewoff or damagedroofs, and shatteredmany windows. Power and communication facilities fell throughout central and south Florida. Grapefruit losseswere between25 and 35% of the state's crop. Gusts of 99 miles per hour recorded at the FAA tower in DaytonaBeach marked Donna's exit from Florida, havingretained hurricanestatus throughout its entirepassage in Florida.' Donnainflicted majorecological damage. Dunn andMiller in 1964reported that one of the world's largeststand of mangrovetrees was 50%wiped out in manyareas and that 35 to 40% of the white heron population was killed. In EvergladesNational Park, a monumenton the road to Fla- mingo reminds visitors today about .

The Last Thirty Two Years, 1961-1995

Therewere 27 stormsduring this 32-yearsegment. Comparing thesefigures with the 21 humcanesand 30 tropical stormsfor the previous 30 years, one can easily seethe overall reduction in both hurricanesand tropical storms Table 4!. In the 1961-1992period, 6 hurricanes category 3 or higher!, Betsy,Eloise, Elena,David, Inez, and Andrew,occurred as comparedto 11 from 1931-1960.Hurri- canesInez and Kate did strike Floridabut were categories1 and2 stormsthen. Inez and Davidwere Category4 stormsin the Carib- bean. Hurricanes Juan and Elena, in 1985, affected northwest Flor- ida without a strike. During the first 10-yearperiod, 1961-1970, sevenhurri-

7 See Figures 8 and 9.

See Plates 10-13. 27 canes Clco, Dora, Ishell, Betsy, Incz, Alma, and Gladys hit Flor- id;t, a sharpincrease over the previous10-year period, 1951-1960. While there were no storms from 1961-1963, 3 hurricanes struck Floridain 1964alone, making this year the costliest $350 million andmore, which is equivalentto $1.75billion dollarsin 1990!so far in Florida's history In 1962, Alma as a tropical depressionpassed Florida's cast coast on 26 August. In 1965,a tropicalstorm crossed northwest Florida on 15 June lrom the Pacific. In late , was the first hurricaneto strike the Miami area since Hurricane King in 1950. Cleo moved up thepeninsula about 20 miles inlandparalleling the eastcoast. It pro- duced138 mile per hour gustsat BahiaMar Marina, Ft. Lauderdale, andknee-deep water was observedin somelocations. Due to its small size, Cleo soon weakenedto below hurricane strength around the Fellsmcre-Melbournearea, yct the total storm damagewas esti- mated at $125 million $600 million in 1990 dollars!. Cleo sailed throughGeorgia, , and North Carolinato breakinto the Atlantic on the 1st of September. She regainedhurricane status on the 2nd, hut died in the north Atlantic near on the 5th of September. According to the U.S. Weather Bureau report of August 1964, principallosses caused by HurricaneCleo were from glassand water damagein the Miami Beacharea, and agricultural losses in the Indian River citrus belt. Author John M. Williams provides the following personal ac- count of Cleo whose path was tracked semi-hourly through southeast Florida Figure 10!, in the Ft. Lauderdalearea.

Cleo was the worst in the southeast coastal area. Cleo was of CapeVerde vintage and traveledthrough the Atlantic and the Carihhean as a "textbook" storm. Between Jamaica and , however, she turned northward into the GuantanamoNaval Base in Cuba causing considerable damagethere and in Cuba. Passing across Cuba brought the usual decreasein strength, but once into the Florida Straits she regained her hurricane status. The following is my eye-witness report on the passageof Cleo in western Ft. Lauderdale area. There were winds and rain all day of the 26th August. Some gusts were in the 60 miles per hour category. It seemsthat I had 28

the only ladderin the neighborhoodand sincethe peoplethere knew I was in the weather business, a line of them formed as I was fitn- ishingthe preparations on my house.I didn'tsee the ladder again until after the stortnhad passed,but I heardit got as far as two blocksaway. I knew'the stormwas going to hit this area after dark so we decidedto havesupper and get all theother amenities out of the way. %e put all the kids to bedearly but that didn't last for long, after all, it wastheir first hurricane! It was lucky that we toweled up all the doorsand had the shutterson the windowsbecause at the heightof the stormwe had watercoming in the front door and throughsome of the windows we hadglass jalousies throughout the housel It peakedlate in theevening just before the eye passage with guststo 130 milesper hour at my locationand there wasconsider- ablelightning, alongwith that tremendousroar. You could see almost like daylight through the shutters. My childrenwill neverforget the 'little leaf, obviouslyshel- teredby the house,hopping across the yard, in the oppositedirec- tion from the wind. About ten minutesbefore the eye,a Floridaroom aluminum shutter,about 3 by S feet,ripped off the housenext to mine. It slammedinto the corner of my houseand ricocheted out into my front yard. I had a smallpalm treeout therewhich wasbending over from the winds and the shutter managedto wedge itself be- tween the tree and the ground. The eye passagelasted one hour and twelve minutes at my location. I opened the door at that time to a rush of water about two inches deep. While the wife moppedthat up, I stepped off the porch into nearly knee-deepwater and waded to the palm tree. As hard as I tried, I couldn't free the shutter from the tree. I could seethe stars in a beautiful sky about me and there was that umnistakable stillness and smell that only happens in the eye of a hurricane! The guy acrossthe street yelled over to me that he had lost all the glass jalousies from his Florida room and had to move inside the house. He had only taped his windows! I tugged again and again at the tree and big shutter but to no avail. I couldn't move it. I checked around the house and every- thing seemedall right or passable. But now it was time to get back in the house because the backside of a hurricane comes on like 29

'Gang Husters'! Since the witni comes from thc opposite direction ~tndri ht now, it is there hef'oreyou know it! And it came! The palm tree straightenedup and the hig shutter came loose and was last seen, in lightning flashes, heading north, up over the house across the street! We never saw it again. The hack side of the storm was drier than the front hut not hy much. Since the house leaked all houses leak in a storm like Cleo!, we had a lot ol mopping to do. The pea-rock on the flat roof of the garage was all gone and there was a dent in the decklid of the car parked in the carport; something was flying around loose. When the water subsided, it left a mass of dehris all over the place and power was off in some parts of town for five days. Our power came on again hy late afternoon of the 27th of August one day after the storm passedby. There was widespreaddamage throughout the area hut only occasional catastrophic type. In a few days, we had the place almost cleaned up; I had my ladder hack and the kids still wanted to know what happened to the 'little leaf'. For a period after the storm when I mowed the lawn, the clippings were a combination of grass and pea-rock shrapnel.

In ,just a few weeks after Hurricane Cleo, struck the Florida coast at a near 90 degree angle from the east at St Augustine, Florida. It was the first hurricane to do so, north of Stuart, since the Great Hurricane of 1880. The hurricane's winds of 125 miles per hour at St. Augustine resulted in a 12-foot storm tide which swept acrossAnastasia Island St. Augus- tine! and also produced a 10 foot storm tide at Fernandina Beach, and Jacksonville. These massive storm tides caused extensive beach erosion, inundated most beach communities, washed out beach roads, and swept buildings into the sea. There was also considerableflood- ing along the St. Johns River in Jacksonville. Total damagewas estimated at $250 million dollars more than $1 billion in 1990 dol- lars! U.S. Weather Bureau, September1964!. , while not a strong hurricane, struck Florida in October 1964 and is described as an eyewitnessaccount by one of the authors, J.M. Williams.

This storm grew down south of the western tip of Cuba and proceeded northeast, across Cuha, the Florida Straits, and into the Ten Tluiusand Islands region of . From there, 30

Isbell took a more northeast course acrossFlorida. On the evening of October14th, the stormpassed just northwestof Fort Lauder- dale, Florida. Windswere 50 to 60 milesper hour with a recorded gustof 120miles per hour. Manytornadoes, spawned by Isbell, causedas muchdamage as the hurricanedid. Rainswere extremely heavyin theearly period of the stormbut slacked off to nearlydry conditions at the end. A tornado, less than a block from where I lived, tore the wholeFlorida room, constructedof block, off a house. Isbell passedout to seabetween the cities of Palm Beach andVero Beachand dissipated in the Atlantic.

The following year, in September1965, Hurricane Betsy, a Category3 storm,struck extreme southern Florida from the east. Windgusts up to 60 milesper hourwere reported as far northas Melbourne. In south Florida, an observerat Grassy Key reported windsof 160miles per hour beforethe anemometerwas blown away at 7:15 AM on the 8th September.Six to eight foot stormtides and waveaction caused considerable flooding between greater Miami and the PalmBeaches; rising watersflooded extensive sections of ,covering virtually all of theisland U.S. WeatherBureau, September1965!. See Photographs!. HurricaneBetsy, Figures 11 and 12! was uniqueand formed far out in the Atlantic around the 27th of August, and was obviously a CapeVerde type hurricane. After movingwest for a fewdays, it developedan erraticcourse starting around Sugg, 1966!. The pathwas a zig-zag,generally in a northwestdirection to a pointabout 300 miles almost due east of CapeKennedy, as the Capewas known in thosedays!. Shebecame stationary there for nearlytwo days,then suddenly moved in a south-southwestdirection which took her right into the centralBahamas. Just east of Nassau, Betsystalled again. For 20 hours,wind's of 120-140miles per hour buffeted the area causing death and destruction. Thefollowing eye-witness J.M. Williams!report is aboutthe passageof Betsyin westernFt. Lauderdale.

Duringthe 7th of Septemberwe were intermittently pelted with rainand strong wind gusts. Nassauis onlyabout 150 nautical miles from Ft. Lauderdale and since Betsy was a large 'Cane', we were gettingall sortsof weatherin the area. During the early morningof the 8th, we weregetting rain in sheets with severalgusts in the 125miles per hour category. Sustainedwinds easily hung in there between 65 or 90!' Even thoughwe did not experiencethe eye, thingswould calm down to almost sunshineconditions but this would not last long. There wasa lot of floodingand house seepage but not as bad aslast year's Cleo. Betsy'seye, which washuge and about 40 miles in diameter, was south of us and our pressurebottomed out at 29.12 inches. This combinationof peltingrain and heavywinds continued all day long, andeven at suppertime it was still not advisableto ven- ture outside. Our power was off for more than ten hours and the usual mass of debris was all over the place. There was a lot of and grapefruit damage as well as damageto other crops; againmost of the pea-rockwas blown off the garageroof. Our placewas wet for a longtime and I recordedmore than eightinches of rain for the passageperiod. Whenthere is no break up to the continuityof a storm the eye!, you get the effectsall the time: more , more winds, more everything.

Inez was a type hurricane with a classic track throughthe Caribbean,across Haiti and Cubaand into the Florida Straits. From there she earned the name, "the Crazy One" by the National Hurricane Center. She took a very erratic course, first north, then south, then east, and finally west and this had every- body's fingernails completely gone! Before she died in the mountains near , Mexico, Inez had killed more than 1500 people, had recorded top winds of 190 milesper hour, andplanted a barometricpressure of 27.38 inches from air reconn! in the books! Back then, that was called a "Se- vere" Hurricane. Today that would be a strong category 4. The following eyewitness report J.M. Williams! is of the pas- sageof the storm in western Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

I had put the wife and kids to bed early that night and told them that Inez was heading northeast. As erratic as it had been though,I was going to stayup andkeep a checkon it. I was off duty so there was nothing else to do, and I was a Storm-Hunter anyway. I was glued to the weather radio, TV, barometer and the rest of the instruments at my station. But as enthusiasticas I was 32

aboutthe whole thing, I wasguilty of dozing off twoor threetimes. Thewinds here were gusting more than 40 milesper hour and I hadpulled down the shutters just in case. At 0800,3 October,the pressure atthe house was 29.65 inches,temperature was 78 F, DewPoint was 78 F, humiditywas 100%,winds were north at 29 milesper hour sustained and it was overcastwith rain. Inezwas 93 miles east-northeast of Miami movingnorth-northeast at 7 milesper hour. We had it made. At 1100,the storm waa 75 mileswest-northwest of Nassau movingnorth-north east. At 1400,she was stationary about 85 mileswest-northwest of Nassau. At 2300,hez was drifbng slowly south-southwest pushing 25 footseas as reported by a CoastGuard Cutter. The Southeast Floridacoast had gusts of morethat 55 miles per hour. I dozeda coupleoftimes even though I knew it wasnow coming this way. At 0345,4 October,I awoke to shutters rattling and pelting rain!%iada were gustlng more than 60 miles per hour. Barometer was29.59 inches, temperature was 75'F, dew point was 73'F, humiditywas 91% and it wasovercast with thunder and lightning! At 0700,Inez was 45 miles southeast of Miami with winds of atleast 85 miles per hour and moving west at 7 milesper hour. At 1100,the storm was moving west-southwest at8 miles per hourwith gale-force winds 175 miles to thenorth, and 100 miles south.Here, we had hurricane gusts frequently and with heavyrains all day. U.S. Highway No. 1 inthe Keys was under water.The eye of thestorm was 30 miles in diameter. At 2000,my barometer: was reading 29.67 inches and I was stillgetting gusts in excess of 45miles per hour. By 1500, 5 October,Inez was stationary near Dry Tortugas with winds of 120 milesper hour. From there, she finally continued west to Mexico. Wegot a bitof minor damage onthe house and there was a lot trashto pick up around the yard. Everything was wet for a few days,however, we considered ourselves lucky!

Theearliest hurricane to hit theU.S. wasAlma. She struck northwestFlorida June 9, 1966. Duringthe 18th and 19th of October,1968, struckthe west coast of Floridabetween Bayport and Crystal River aboutmidnight on the 18th. Gladysformed inthe western Caribbean nearSwan Island and 33

steadilymove in a northtrack acrosswestern Cuba, over Dry Tortu- gasand into Florida's westcoast. Dry Tortugasand Plantation Key both reported winds near 90 milesper hour. Thestorm's forward speed was about 15 milesper hour. Tidesalong the westcoast were 6.5 feet abovenormal causing beacherosion and flooding mostlybetween Clearwater and Bayport. Maximumgusts were over 100miles per hour and lowest pres- surewas 28.76 inches. Citrus washeavily damaged and mobile- homedamage was extensive, as usual,as far inlandas Ocala. Gladys brokeout into the Atlantic nearSt. Augustinehaving killed 3 people in Florida and one in Cuba. One more death was added in Nova Scotiaand the total damagewas nearly$17 million in 1968. The next to the last 10-yearperiod, 1971-1980,had the lowest stormtotal of the 122-yearhistory. Threehurricanes and one tropi- cal storm. The threeFlorida hurricanes were Agnes, Eloise and David. Hurricane Agnes, which occurred in 1972, was barely a Cate- gory 1 hurricanein Floridabut resultedin major devastationin the middle, southern, and northeasternstates, and caused 122 deaths and six billion dollars damagein 1990 dollars. Agnes struck the ,then mergedwith anothersystem in the mid-U.S., trigger- ing torrential rains and extreme flooding throughout the entire eastern seaboard. The threat of a hurricane usually diminishes rapidly as it moves inland and loses its oceanic heat source, however, sometimes the storm will encounter an environment that supplies an auxiliary source of energy to maintain strength far inland. Such is the case with Agnes, which from landfall near Apalachicola, Florida, where losses were less than $10 million, she traveled nearly a thousand more miles to becomeone of the most destructive storms in U.S. history. , in 1975, was a Category 3 hurricane. Hurri- caneDavid, in 1979, had weakenedfrom a Category 4, to a Cate- gory 1 hurricanewhen it struck Florida, but David still caused over $400million in damage. Hurricane Eloise, which came in September1975, made landfall aboutmidway between Ft. Walton Beachand PanamaCity Balsillie, 1985!. It was the first direct hit by a major hurricane in the 20th Centuryin that area.. Measurementsof high water marks by the U.S. Army Corpsof Engineersindicated hurricane tides of 12-16 feet 34 abovemean sea level. EglinAir ForceBase, 20 mileswest of the center,reported the highest sustained wind of 81 milesper hour when the instrument failed; 14.9 inchesof rain fell. However, maximum sustainedwinds were estimatedat about 125 miles per hourwith gusts to 156miles per hour. The combined effects of winds and tides underminedor demolishednumerous structures along the beachfrom Ft. WaltonBeach to PanamaCity North Atlantic TropicalSeries, volume 26, 1975!;the lowest barometric pressure was28.20 inches. Damagewas over$1 billion in 1990dollars from thiscategory 3 hurricane;there were 21 deathsin theUnited States. In 1979,the National Hurricane Center decided to integrateMale andFemale names for the hurricanesin the Atlantic for the first time.. Bob wasthe first Atlantic hurricaneand the 'guys' decidedto out-dothe 'gals'....andthey did! In September1979, moved inland south of Mel- bourneon the eastcoast and then northwardalong the Indian River tn exitat NewSmyrna Beach. It wasthe first hurricaneto strikethe CapeCanaveral area since the hurricane of 1926. Severebeach erosionfrom a nearfive foot storm tide was reportedin Brevard Countyand the southern portion of VolusiaCounty. Somehomes, businesses,and public buildings were severely damaged or destroyed, however,most of the damage,though widespread, was minor be- causethe strongest winds were just offshoreover the adjacent Atlan- tic Ocean. Figure13 shows Hurricane David from the 22,000mile high GeosynhcronusOperational Environmental Satellite GOES! orbiting theearth. At thispoint, August31, Davidwas about to makeland- fall on Hispaniolaabout 1800 EST. Windswere near 150 miles per hourand the central pressure was 27.34 inches. Earlier, about 125 miles south of Puerto Rico, sustainedwinds of 150 miles per hour andcentral pressure of 27.29inches was David's strongest point, thenrated as a category4 hurricane. On 1 Septemberat 0600, David broke into thesea north of Hispaniolaand Haiti. Windswere down to about75 milesper hour aftercrossing a 10,000-footmountain in theDominican Republic. Laterthat day, a hurricanewatch was posted for southFlorida with the weakenedstorm some 350 miles southeastof Miami. In the late eveningof thesame day, hurricane warnings were up asthe now strengthenedhurricane, with 90 mileper hour winds, was 300 miles 35

from Miami. At 0700on September3rd, Davidwas 35 mileseast of Ft. Laud- erdalewith 85 mileper hour winds and a pressureof 28.85inches. Ft. Lauderdaleexperienced torrential rain, in squallswith gustsover 75 milesper hour. Sincethe eye and strong side of thestorm were over the ocean,this conditionkept up mostof the day. Figure14 shows David, at about 1800 that evening. David made landfallabout 20 milessouth of Melbournewith 90 mile-perhour windsand central pressure of 28.75inches, a Category1 hurricane. From there,the hurricanemade it to Savannah,Georgia, before downgradingto a tropicalstorm, on September4th. On the7th, Davidwas no longera threatand died near see Figure 14a!. Fatalitieswere: 5, UnitedStates; 7 PuertoRico; 56 ; and 1200in the DominicanRepublic. The damagewas $5 million 990 dollar value!in the U.S. andFlorida. While HurricaneFrederic 979! did not strikeFlorida directly, hurricanewarnings extended over to PanamaCity on September 11th,and gale warnings were displayed south to CedarKey Balsillie, 1985!. Frederichad a developmentthat was similarto David. This causedmuch apprehension because people were not ready for another storm so soon, one week, after David. The final thirteenyears 981-1993! of the thirty-two year pe- riod, had severalstorms and hurricanes,marking an upswingin overallstorm activity Table4!. Someof thestorms became hurri- canesafter they passed Florida, and will be mentionedbriefly here. On August17 and 18, 1981,tropical struck Flor- ida. Dennisstarted as a tropicalstorm southwest of theCape Verde Islandson the 6th of August,and continuedat this level nearBarba- dos. Dennisbecame a tropicaldepression south of PuertoRico and then turned into a mere disturbance. Just west of Jamaica, Dennis regainedtropical storm status, turned north and slammed into the southwestFlorida coast. The track wasup throughcentral Florida to becomestationary between Ft. Myersand southwest Lake Okeecho- bee. SoutheastFlorida had 10 inches of rain, and Homesteadhad 20 inches. Winds were more than 55 milesper hour. Finally, Dennis moved across the lake and out to seanear Melbourne and Cape Canaveral, Florida. 36

On the 20th, eastof , Dennis becamea hurricane. On August25th, 1983,tropical storm Barry struckFlorida. This stormcrossed Florida on a trackfrom Melbourneto Tampaon the 25th,first asa tropicalstorm and then as a tropicaldepression. After crossing the Gulf, Barry becamea hurricane southeastof Brownsville,Texas, on the 28th of August. HurricaneDiana, which gained hurricane status on September 10, 1984,scraped the Florida coast between Daytona and Jackson- ville on the 9th-10thas a tropicalstorm; winds were in excessof 70 miles per hour. Tropicalstorm Isidore occurred during the period between Sep- tember25 andOctober 1, 1984. On the 27th, it hadwinds of 50 milesper hour. Landfalloccurred between Vero Beachand Mel- bourneon the eveningof the 27th. From thereit went to Orlandoat aboutmidnight, then travelled west, to about75 milesnorth of Tam- pa. Onthe 28th it madeanother turn, headed northeast, crossing overto Jacksonvilleand then out to sea;the storm was accompanied by heavy rains. HurricaneBob wasrelatively short-lived and struckthe southwest Floridacoast near Ft. Myers on July 21-25, 1985 as a tropicalstorm. Windswere 50-70 miles per hour. Bob crossedLake Okeechobee andwent out to seanear Vero Beach on the 23rd of July, followed by a sharpturn to thenorth, skirting Daytona on the24th. Bob becamea hurricaneat seaon the 24th, east of Georgia. OnOctober 9-13th, 1987, appeared. It moved acrossthe westerntip of Cubaon the 11thon a northeasttrack. A moreeastern turn wasmade across the Dry Tortugasand into the Keyson the 12th of October.It becamea hurricane near Key West with windsof 80 milesper hour. Theeye of the hurricanecrossed overKey West at aboutnoon. Warningswere given all acrosssouth Florida;some tornadoes occurred in thesouthwest coast of Florida. Theeye of thestorm appeared over Marathon later and over Key Largoat about 1800 on the 12th. Floyd'swinds were 75 miles per hourand the barometric pressure was 29.32 inches. About 30 miles southof Miami,Floyd broke out into the Atlantic near midnight on the12th. Winds and rains attributed to Floydwere felt as far as Palm Beach. HurricanesElena, Juan, and Kate, which occurred in 1985,are briefly discussedbelow. 37

Hurricane Elena, a Category 3 hurricane in August/September 1985, deservesdiscussion although it never actually made landfall in Florida Figure 15!. Its centerpassed within 40 milesof the West Coast, where it stalled for about 24 hours offshore from Cedar Key, and then moved west northwest, passingwithin 30 miles of Cape San Blas. In its passagethe storm tide that was createdcaused heavy waterfrontdamage in the City of CedarKey and the disappearanceof 1500 feet of the exposedsouth tip of Cape San Blas. Becauseof the offshore location of Elena's peak winds, most of the damageto the coast was due to the storm tide -9 feet! and wave activity causing destruction which stretchedfrom Venice to Pensacola. Nearly a million people were evacuatedfrom low lying coastal sections in the warningareas posted for HurricaneElena Case, 1986!. While not directly striking the Florida coastline, Juan Figure 16! in October/November 1985, nevertheless,impacted the extreme northwest Florida panhandle. Also, Pinellas, Manatee, Sarasotaand Lee Counties were continuously poundedby the storms spiral bands through the evening of Halloween see Figures 16a, b and c!. On November 21, 1985, Figure 17!, a category 2 storm, struck the coast near Port St. Joe in the Florida Panhandle. It was the only hurricane to strike Florida so late in the seasonthis far north. Just prior to making landfall near Mexico Beach, about halfway between PanamaCity and Port St. Joe, Kate slowed her forward speedand weakenedin the early morning becauseof cooler seasurface temperatures in the northern Gulf of Mexico. The total damage,was mainly due to the storm tide and wave activity. A sizeable$300 million in damages adjusted to 1990 dollars! resulted, yet it causedonly about one-fourth of the damageinflicted by Hurri- cane Elena. As with Elena, damageto the coast was mainly due to the storm tide and wave activity. Hurricane Chris was a tropical storm during the period August 21-29th, 1988. Chris, with heavy rains, skirted the Florida east coast from Miami to Jacksonville, first as a tropical depressionthen as a tropical storm on the 27th and 28th. was a tropical storm during November 17-24, 1988. The storm moved into Florida's west coast between Ft. Myers and Tampa on the 22nd, a tropical storm with 65 miles per hour. The storm crossed the state intact and came out into the Atlantic near Melbourne and Cape Canaveral on the 23rd. Heavy rains and some 38 tornadoeswere sightedthroughout the state. While 1990produced 14 namedstorms, the mostsince naming beganin 1953, only Marco, a tropical storm affected the northwest portionof Floridaslightly and Klaus, as a final disturbancegot into the centraland north central part of Florida. 1991couldn't rally anything more than a brush with tropical storm Fabian on the ex- treme southeasttip of Florida. HurricaneBob, the most potential of the 1991 seasonheaded toward the Miami-Palm Beach area but 200 to 300 miles off the Florida coast he executedan almost 90 degree turn to the north and missedall of Florida. Sothe SunshineState escaped once again. Thus, in 1991 no hurricanes struck Florida. Chapter 5

Hurricane Andrew

Exceptfor severaltropical depressions, June, July and half of Augustof the1992 hurricane season was quiet. The last late start wasAnita back in 1977on the 28th of August, in the Gulf of Mex- ico. But on August 14th, 1992, satellitephotos indicated a strong tropicalwave off theAfrican coast in thearea of theCape Verde Islands.This system moved west for two daysand developed into a tropicaldepression near 11.6N and 40.4W early on the 17th. By noonof the 17ththe windswere 40 milesper hour and Tropical StormAndrew was named. This positionwas about 1175 miles east of the . By the20th, Andrew was in trouble,with windsless than 45 milesper hour and the barometric pressure was that of normalsea level;the whole systemwas shaky. At this point, SanJuan, Puerto Rico,was only 350 miles southwest,but Andrewhad slowed down! The next morning,however, winds were up to 60 miles per hour andpressure had dropped to 29.71inches. By 2300on the21st, Andrew was 610 miles east of Nassau,in ,with 65 mile per hour winds. The morningof the 22nd of August,air reconnconfirmed that, "Andrew is now a hurricane". Winds were 76 miles per hour, pres- sure was 29.35 inches and he was 800 miles east of Miami, Florida. By 2300 on the 22ndAndrew wasmoving dead west at 15 miles per hour with 110mile per hour windsand a pressureof 28.32 in- ches, a Category 2 hurricane. But by noon of the 23rd we hada Category4 hurricane! Winds were135 miles per hour, pressurehad dropped to 27.46 inches,and the storm was 330 miles east of Miami, still moving west at 16 miles per hour. By 1415that sameafternoon, Andrew was at his peakwith 150 mile per hour winds and 27.23 inches Andrew was very close to a Category5 storm!. At this point a HurricaneWatch was posted from Titusville south to Vero Beach and Hurricane Warnings covered from Vero Beach south through the keys and up the west coast to Ft. Myers. By 2100 on August23rd, Andrewwas in the Bahamas180 miles

41 hour winds, with tornadoes. By the morningof the 28th, the systemwas in easternTennessee, tryingto mergewith a coldfront, theremains of hurricaneLester, a . Andrew finally died out in Pennsylvaniaon Au- gust29, 1993.

On Sabbatical with Hurricane Andr.w

After anchoring their 40-foot sailboat named Sabbatical! in ManateeBay in the upper Keys, Dr. and Mrs. Stephenstook refuge in a friend's home in Southwest Miami. The following is an eye witness account written by Lois Stephens of Melbourne Beach, Florida.

Sleepwas difficult, but I think we all managedto sleepsome. About 2:00 AM it started. The wind was howling and shutters were banging. The five of us all crowded into the hallway, just like the usual pre-hurricane instructions stated. Fortunately, Karen had put out candles for us. So far so good. The lights went out, the rain started. The wind got many times stronger and the house almostshivered. The force becameso great we ran almostpanicky into the bathrooms. There were two, both without windows. Ron and Karen headed for one, Lee, Tom and I the other. We sat on lawn chairs, nestled close together, in the dark with our eyes closed. We opened the door only long enough to get a small votive candle, but the force became too great to open it. The wind grew more ferocious. Suddenly, the windows began to blow out, one at a time, fiercely smashing against the tiled floors. One huge crash I assumedto be the TV, but it was the newly purchased computer. Glasskept smashing. I had been aware for some time of my two root . It was strange, but the teeth had piercing pain. I rememberedonce before being in an airplane with inadequate pressureregulation and experiencing the same pain. Then it hit. The drop in pressure in the house was so intense it causedpain in your earsand you had to keepswallowing, something like whena planetakes off, but much, muchworse. We tried to openthe bathroom door, but the force was too great. So three and two of us sat in silence, eyes closed, waiting for the horror to end. The small door to the "attic" storage space blew in and the rain followed. Watercrept in aroundour feet, andI had a dreadof it rising. But 42

it did not. Sometimeafter 6:00, I think, the wind subsided substantially,and we had nerveenough to leaveour sanctuary. The housewas all but demolished.The bed whereTom and I had slept a fewhours before was full of glassand wet soggydebris. My emergencybag of clothing,etc. waswaterproof, but I had left it unzippedso it waslikewise wet andfull of junk.! The newly tiled andin 3 rooms,newly carpeted! floors were coveredwith roof shingles,nails, much glass of all sizes, furniture, books, and of course,with a coupleof inchesof water. Ceiling fansstill clung to theirmountings, but under each, the light globes were full of dirty water. Wateroozed from holesin the walls whereKaren's she is anartist! newlyframed tropical paintings had beenhung. Paint was strippedI'rom the walls. The carport a sturdy "permanent"one! anddoor overhang were gone. Thenew roof waswithout shingles, and had gaping holes. A look outside showed that all trees and fenceswere down. It was, of course,light now, so being cautious but ignoring someof the warnings we had heard, we walked around theneighborhood. It was sickening,horrifying. Not one househad escapedmajor damage. Trees, even the largest,were sprawled overhouses, cars and streets. Somecars had only brokenwindows and dents as did our friend"s!, and some were blown about and overturned.One had burned from a fallenpower line. Notjust the powerlines were down, but heavyduty power poleswere also broken. Exceptfor no smokeor fires at this point, it musthave been what a "bombedout" area looks like in wartime. Mirac- ulously,quick checks with neighborsfound no one injured. Since roadsin everydirection were impassable,any hopeof gettingback to whatmight or mightnot be left of our boatwere given up for the present.

...LATER...

Highwayswere somewhat clear by thistime, except for some questionablepower lines. Treesand large downedpoles lined the way. Whatwas most amazing, though, was that literally thousands of carshad found their way to the samearea where we were. Trafficwas next to impossible,lights and signs inoperative, and carsin extremelyquestionable condition. We' ll neverknow the numberof traffic accidentsthat day alone. We passedthe hotel, the HolidayInn, where we had tried so desperatelyto get a room.It wasstanding, but barely,with all windows, balconies, etc. blown away. We passedhouses with wallsonly andhouses without any walls. Devastationwent on for miles. We passedlines of hundredsof peoplewaiting for water. Hugetrucks had apparentlybeen placed there at somepoint to distribute bottled water. One truck had blown uselesslyon its side. Eventuallywe got to our boat- it wasnot wherewe had left it, of course, but it looked good and was tightly nestledback in a groveof ,aground. Miraculously,even the little Zodiac dinghywas still tied to it, snuggledalongside like a loyalpuppy nestledagainst its master. A windowwas out, glasswas every- where and branches were entwined in some lines. A stanchion Tom says!was out and leavesand red mud coveredone sideof the boat. It was beautiful - we were ecstatic. The carpet was wet - the galleywas soakedand coveredwith glass,but everythingelse was as we left it. That night, Tom and I were alonein the middleof Manatee Bay, the mostbeautiful anchorage of our entiresailing experience. The sky wasclear and burstingwith starswith no electrichghts to distractfrom their beauty. Therewere no airplanes,distant cars, trainsor any noises. The mostamazing phenomena was taking placein thewater around us. Wehad seen luminous fish on occasion,but we saw intenselybrilliant greenfish swimming aroundthe boat. We droppeda line in the waterand swirled it aroundand it left a trail of light behindit, somewhatlike a comet. If we splashedthe water, we splashedthousands of tiny lights. All of this, of course,sent us later to our referencebooks to seewhat we had discovered.!We were so fortunate,so thankful,and we sipped our champagne.

... THE NEXT DAY...

We werestopped by theMiami Police in a hugeinflatable boat and advised we were on the Coast Guard "list" missing persons and boats! and to "call home". 44 Chapter 4

Andrew Epilogue

As of this writing,assessment of Hurricane Andrew is incotnplete.However, the following is a reasonablepreliminary estimateof deathand destructionand some important characteristics of the storm. Current death toll standsas 41. This is far less than what has oc- curredin pasthurricanes of comparablestrength. Hurricane Andrew is the most destructive natural in U.S. history!Damage estimates are fluctuating between $15 and $30 billion,most of whichis in southernDade and Monroe Counties, Florida,from Kendallsouthward to Key Largo. The Bahamasare estimatingat least$250 million dollars in damageand more than $1 billion. Florida'sagricultural industry loss was $1.04 billion alone. Therewas moderate impact damage to theoffshore reef areas down to a depthof 75 feet U.S. Army Corpsof Engineers,1993!. 117,000homes were destroyed or hadmajor damage and 90% of all homesin DadeCounty had majorroof damage U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 1993!. Accordingto the U.S. Army Corpsof Engineerswho worked cooperativelywith otheragencies to determineenvironmental im- pacts,12.7 million cubic yards of debrisresulting from Andrew were hauledaway; there were 39 approveddebris burning sites Figure 25!. Damageto theTurkey Point nuclear powerplant belonging to FloridaPower and Light Co. was$100 million U.S. Army Corpsof Engineers, 1993!. In termsof damageto mooredrecreational vessels within Bis- cayneBay, a totalof 918hurricane damaged vessels were found. Accordingto Antoniniet al. 993!, ... "roughly... one-thirdof the damagedvessels were completely or partiallysubmerged, damaged but floating,and damage aground." The site of thegreatest devastationwas in the areaof DinnerKey Marina nearCoral Gables in Miami. Massive evacuationswere ordered in Florida and Louisiana. This accountsfor the low death rate. It's called Hurricane Preparedness. The recoveryprocess is still underway Figures19 and 20!, but it shouldbe emphasizedthat the resultsof tremendousstructural 46

damageby Andrew'swinds could becomeaccumulative in the future. Andrewwas a compactsystem with a radiusof maximumwinds of about 12 miles. A slightlylarger system or one with a landfall a few milesfurther north would have been even more catastrophic by affectingthe moreheavily populated areas of GreaterMiami, Miami Beach,and Fort Lauderdale. was relatively spared also. Suchstatistics as the 16.9 foot stormtide in BiscayneBay, Miami, is a record maximum for southeastFlorida. Louisiana had 7 foot storm tides. OnlyHurricane Camille in 1969and the "GreatLabor Day Hurricaneof 1935"in the FloridaKeys had lower Barometric pressuresat landfallin this century. Barometricpressure associated with Andrew bottomed out at 27.23 inches. A maximum10-second flight-level wind speedof 170knots, or 196miles per hour, wasreported by the reconnaissanceaircraft in the vicinity of northern EleutheraIsland in the Bahamason the 23rd of August. The stormsurge there was 23 feet! Andrew will not be the last hurricane to cause such massive devastationand havoc. Another similar storm may appear next year, or ten yearsfrom now there is no way to know when. However, thebitter lessons we have learned should provide us with ample ammunitionto survivethe nextbig one.

The 1995 Hurricane Season Nohurricanes or tropical storms struck Florida or seriously affectedFlorida in 1993.The most powerful storm of the 1993 seasonwas , August 22 to September6. Shewas a Category3 hurricanewith top winds of 120miles per hour and a low pressureof 28.38inches. This storm came directly at Floridauntil the 28th of August,at whichtime sheturned to the northwest. Emily,because of Andrew in 1992,did a first-classscare-job on the Floridacoast from Miami to Jacksonville but she never got to within 800miles of theFlorida coast at any point. Emily scraped the Cape Hatterasarea with minimal damage then turned back east again to die out some480 miles south, southeast of CapeRace, Newfoundland. 47

References

Anon., 1926. Tropical Hurricane SpreadsDisasters Along East Coast, Melbourne Journal, Melbourne, Florida, J'uly 27, 1926.

Antonini, G.A., P.W. Box, E. Brady, M. Clarke, H.R. Ledesma, and J.L. Rahn. 1993. Locationand Assessmentof HumcaneAndrew Damaged Vesselson Biscayne Bay and Adjoining Shores. Florida Sea Grant Col- lege Program, Gainesville, FL 58 pp.

Anon., 1928. NorthernExtremity of TropicalHurricane Sweeps through Melbourne,Melbourne Times-Journal, Melbourne Florida, August 10, 1928.

Balsillie, J.H. 1985. Post-Storm Report: The Florida East Coast Thanks- giving Holiday Stormof 21-24November 1984 Department of Natural Resources,Division of Beachesand Shores,State of HorithtTallahassee, 74 pp.

Bigelow,F.H., 1898. Featuresof Hurricanes Originally publishedin Yearbookof the Departmentof Agriculturefor 1898!. QuotedIn: West IndianHurricanes by E.B. Garriott,Weather Bureau, Washington, D.C., 69 pp + tracking charts.

Case, R.A. 1986. Atlantic Hurricane Season of 1985. Review, Volume 114, No. 7, 1390-1405.

Clark,R.C. 1986a. The Impactof HurricaneElena and TS Juanon Coastal Constructionin Florida.Beaches and Shores Post-Storm Report 85-3. Departmentof Natural Resources,Division of Beachesand Shores,State of Florida, Tallahassee,142 pp.

Clark,R.C. 1986b.Hurricane Kate Beachesand Shores Post-Storm Report 86-1.Department of NaturalResources, Division of Beachesand Shores, Stateof Florida, Tallahassee,114 pp.

Dunn,G.E. and B.I. Miller. 1964. Atlantic Hurricanes.Louisiana State UniversityPress, Baton Rouge, 377 pp.

Dunn,G.E. and Staff 1967. Florida Hurricanes.Technical Memorandum WBTMSR-38, Environmental Sciences Services Administration, National Hurricane Center, Coral Gables, Florida. 48

Frank,N., 1978.Hurricanes in Breeard County, ~Ftorida Toda, Mel- bourne,Florida, Sunday, June 4, 1978.

Garriott,E.B., 1900.West Indian Hurricanes. Weather Bureau, Wash- ington, D.C.

Volume61, No. 1, January 1933. Revised by G. Nortonand reprinted as a separatepamphlet, 1949, 6 pp.!

Gray,W. M., 1990. StrongAssociation Between West African Rainfall andU.S. Landfall of IntenseHurricanes. Science, Volume 249, pp 1251- 1256.

Hebert,P.J., J.D. Jarrell, and M. Mayfield.1992. The Deadliest, Costliest, andMost Intense United States Hurricanes of this Century and other fre- quentlyrequested humcane facts!. NOAA Technical Memorandum NWS HNC-31,National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National WeatherService, National Hurricane Center, Coral Gables, Florida, 39 pp Holmes,G.W. 1876. Letter to a friend:F. A. Hopwood,Personal collec- tion, Melbourne,Florida, 1985 NationalClimatic Center. 1954-1979. North Atlantic Tropical Cyclones Series954-1979!. Climatological Data,National Summary Volumes, NationalClimatic Center, Asheville, , each year paginated. NationalOceanic and Atmospheric Administration NOAA!, 1970- 1979.Climatological Data, National Summary, Volume 21-30. No. 13 NationalClimatic Center, Asheville, North Carolina, unpaginated. NOAA,1982. Some Devastating North Atlantic Hurricanes of the 20th Century.U.S. Department ofCommerce, NOAA, Washington, D.C., 14 pp NOAA,1987. Tropical Cyclones ofthe North Atlantic Ocean, 1871-1986. HistoricalClimatology Series 6-2, National Climatic Center, Asheville, NorthCarolina, 186 pp. NOAA,1993. "Hurricanes" A Familiarization Booklet,Revised April 1983, NOAAPA 91001, National Oceanic andAtmospheric Administration, NationalHurricane Center, Coral Gables, Florida, 36pp.

50

53

Table1. Saffir-SimpsonScale for ClassifyingHurricanes

Table 2. Number of hurricanes, tropical storms and combined total storms by 10-year periods.

10-Yr Hurricanes Tropical Total Average Storms

1871-1880 NA NA 21 1881-1890 NA NA 21 1891-1900 10 11 21 1901-1910 6 11 17 1911-1920 7 9 11 1921-1930 4 2 11 1931-1940 6 12 18 1941-1950 12 8 20 1951-1960 3 10 13 1961-1970 7 3 11 1971-1980 4 I 4 1981-1992 4 8 12

TOTAL 74 76 180' 'Includes30 tropical cyclonesof unknown intensity. 54

Table3. Thetable below is presented here for referenceonly. It wasused to classifyintensities ofhurricanes through about 1970 and was replaced bythe Safftr- SimpsonScale. Adapted from Dunn and Miller, 1964!

HurricaneClassification in UsePrior to 1970

HurricaneIntensity Maximum Winds Minimum Cenlral Pressute mph! inches!

Minor 74 29.40 Minimal 74-100 29.03-29.40 Major' 101-135 28.01-29.00 Extreme' 136 28.00 ' MajorHurricane: A hurricane withwinds 111 mph or more also referred toas a category3 orhigher hurricane asclassified bythe Saffir-Simpson Scale. Prior to 1970,this descriptionwas used. ' ExtremeHurricane: Anextreme hurricane, alsocalled a "Great" hurricane, isa hurricaneofgreat intensity winds 125 mph or more! and great size diameter of hurricanewind100 miles ormore! and other factors such as minimum pressure, stormtides, destruction, andfatalities Gray as revised byNorton, 1949!. The term "GreatHurricane" wasused toclassify storms through 1970! and is not used any moretoday. Norton 949! classified 10hurricanse as"Great" between 1880 and 1948and are listed below:

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Figure 9. Radarof Hurricane Donna Courtesy of National Hurricane Center!. 77

Figure10. Track and time of HurricaneCleo in 1964 from Dunn and Staff, 1967!. 78 79

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Figure14h. Hurricane David track Fromcollection belonging to JohnM. W illiams!. 83 84

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Figure21. Typical debris scene from Andrew U.S. Army Corps of Engineer 1993!. 92

Figure22. Family home damage from Andrew U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 1993!. Figure23. The mobile home and the hurricane U.S. Army Corps of Engineer 1993!. 94

Figure24. Theroof and the hurricane U.S. Army Corps of Engineers,1993!. 95

Figure25. Oneof 39 debrissites for HurricaneAndrew U.S. Army Corps oi Engineers!. 96 97 98 99

101 102 103

105 106 107 108 109

Glossary

1 Tropicsl. Cyclone: By internationalagreement, Tropical Cyclone is the generalterm 1'orall cyclonecirculations originating over tropicalwaters, classified hy form and intensity.

2. TropicslWave: A troughof low prcssurein thc trade-windeast- erlies.

3. TropicalDistrubsnce: A movingarea of thrunderstormsin the Tropicsthat maintains its identityfor 24 hoursor more. A common phenomenonin thc tropics. 4. 'I'ropicsl Depression:A tropicalcyclone in whichthe tnaximum sustainedsurface wind is 31 mph 3 knots! or less,

S. TropicalStorm: A tropicalcyclotie in which the maximum sustained surface wind ranges from 39-73 mph 4-63 knots! inclusive.

6. Hurricane: A tropical cyclonein whichmaximum sustained surface wind is 74 mph 4 knots! or greater.

7. TropicalStorm Watch: Is usedfor a coastalarea when there is the threatof tropicalstorm conditions within 36 hours. 8. TropicslStorm Warning: A warningfor tropical storm condi- tions,including sustained winds within the range of 39to 73 mph 4 to 63 knots!which are expected in a specifiedcoastal area within 24 hours or less.

9. Hurricsne Watch: An announcementthat hurricaneconditions posea possiblethreat to a specifiedcoastal area within 36 hours.

10. HurricaneWarning: A warningthat sustained winds of 74 mph4 knots!or higherare expected in a specifiedcoastal arcs within 24 hours or less.

NOAA l993. 110

11.Storm Surge: An abnormalrise of thesea along a shoreas the result, primarily, of the winds of a storm.

12. Flash Watch: Means that conditions are possiblewithin the designatedwatch area - be alert. 13.Flash : Means a flashflood has been reported or is imminent - take immediate action.

14.Small Craft Cautionary Statements: When a tropicalcyclone threatensa coastalarea, small craft operatorsare advisedto remain in port or not to ventureinto the opensea. 111

HurricanePreparedness"

Be PreparedBefore the Hurricane Season

~ Know the stormsurge history and elevationof your area. ~ Learn safe routes inland. ~ Learn location of official shelters. ~ Reviewneeds and working conditionof emergencyequipment, suchas flashlights, battery-powered radios, etc. ~ Ensurethat enough non-perishable food and water supplies are on hand to last for at least 2 weeks. ~ Obtainand store materials such as plywood and plastic, necessary to properlysecure your home. ~ Checkhome for looseand clogged rain guttersand downspouts. ~ Keeptrees and shrubbery trimmed. Cut weak branches and trees that could fall or bumpagainst the house. Whentrimming, try to createa channelthrough the foliageto the centerof thetree to allow for air flow. ~ Determine where to move your boat in an emergency. ~ Reviewyour insurancepolicy to ensureit providesadequate coverage. ~ Individualswith special needs should contact their local office of emergencymanagement. ~ For information and assistancewith any of the above, contact yourlocal office, emergency manage- ment office, or chapter.

When a Hurricane Watch is Issued Frequentlymonitor radio, TV, NOAA WeatherRadio, or hurricanehotline telephone numbers for officialbulletins of the storm's progress. Fuel and service family vehicles. Inspectand secure mobile home tie downs. Prepareto coverall windowand door openings with shuttersor other shielding materials.

NOAA 1993. 112

CheckFood and WaterSupplies

~ Haveclean, air-tight containers on hand to storeat least 2 weeks of drinkingwater 4 gallonsper person!. ~ Stockup on cannedprovisions. ~ Get a campingstove with fuel. ~ Keepa smallcooler with frozen gel packs handy for packing refrigerated items. ~ Checkprescription medicines - obtain atleast 10 days to 2 weeks supply ~ Stockup on extra batteries for radios,flashlights and lanterns. ~ Prepareto storeand secure outdoor lawn furnitureand other loose,lightweight objects, such as garbage cans, garden tools, potted plants, etc. ~ Checkand replenish first-aid supplies. ~ Havean extra supply of cashon hand.

Whena HurricaneWarning is issued ~ Closelymonitor radio, TV, NOAAWeather Radio, or hurricane hotlinetelephone numbers for official bulletins. ~ Followinstructions issued by local officials. Leave immediately if ordered to do so. ~ Completepreparation activities, such as putting up storm shut- ters, storingloose objects, etc. ~ Evacuateareas that might be affected by storm surge flooding. ~ If evacuating,leave early if possible,in daylight!. ~ Leavemobile homes in anycase. ~ Notifyneighbors and a familymember outside of thewarned area of yourevacuation plans.

Evacuation

Plan to evacuateif you... ~ livein a mobilehome. Do not stay in a mobilehome under any circumstances.They are unsafe in highwind and/or hurricane conditions,no matter how well fastened to the ground. 113

live on thecoastline or on an offshoreisland, or live neara river or in a flood plain. live in a high rise. Hurricanewinds are strongerat higher elevations. Glass doors and windows may be blown out of tlieir casingsand weaken the structure. staywith friendsor relativesor at low-riseinland hotels or motels outside the flood zones. Leave early to avoid heavy traffic,roads blocked by early flood waters, and bridges impassi- ble due to high winds. putfood and water out for pets if youcannot take them with you. Public sheltersdo not allow pets, nor do mostmotelslhotels. Hurricane shelterswill be available for peoplewho haveno other placeto go. Sheltersmay be crowded and uncomfortable, with no privacyand no electricity.Do not leaveyour homefor a shelteruntil governmentofficials announceon radioand/or televisionthat a particularshelter is open.

What to bring to a shelter:

~ First aid kit; medicine;baby food and diapers;cards, games, books;toiletries; battery-powered radio; flashlight per person!; extrabatteries; blankets or sleepingbags; identification, valuable papers !,and cash. lf Staying in a Home: Reminder!Only stay in a homeif youhave not been ordered to leave.If youARE told to leave,do so immediately. Storewater - Fill sterilizedjugs andbottles with waterfor a two weeksupply of drinkingwater. Fill bathtuband large containers with water for sanitary purposes. Turnrefrigerator to maximumcold and open only when neces- sary. Turn off utilitiesif told to do so by authorities.Turn off propane tanks.Unplug small appliances. Stayinside a wellconstructed building, In structures,such as a home,examine the building and plan in advancewhat you will do if windsbecome strong. Strongwinds can produce deadly missiles and structural failure. If winds become strong: Stayaway from windowsand doors, even if theyare covered. 114

Takerefuge in smallinterior room, closet, or hallway. Takea battery-poweredradio, a NOAAWeather Radio, and flashlight with you to your placeof refuge. ~ Close all interior doors. Secureand brace external doors, particularlydouble mward opening doors and garage doors. ~ If you ateN a two-storyhouse, go to an interior first-floor room or basement,such as'a bathroom, closet or under the stairs. ~ If youare in a multiplestory building and away from the water, go to thefirst or seocndfloors and take refuge in thehalls or other interior rooms, awayfrom windows. Interior stairwells and theareas around elevator shafts are generally the strongest part of a building. ~ Lie on the floor undertables or othersturdy objects. ~ Be alertfor toinldoeswhfieh often are spawned by hurricanes. If the"EYE" of thehurricane should pass over your area, be awarethat the improved weather conditions are temporaryand that thestorm conditions will returnwith windscoming from the oppositedlrectioa, sometimes in a periodof just a fewminutes.

AFIZR the stormpasses:

~ Stayin your protectedarea until announcementsare made on the radioor televisionthat the dangerous winds have passed. ~ If you have evacuated,do not return home until officials an- nounceyour area is ready.Remember, proof of residencymay be required in order to re-enter evacuationareas. ~ If yourhome or buildinghas structural dainage, do not enter until it is checkedby officials. ~ Avoid usingcandles and other open flames indoors. ~ Bewareof outdoorhazards - Avoid downed power lines and any waterin whichthey may be lying. Bealert for poisonoussnakes, oftendriven from theirdens by highwater. Bewareof weakened bridges and washed out roads. Watch for weakened limbs on treesand/or damaged over-hanging structures. ~ Do not use the telephoneunless absolutely necessary. The systemusually is jammed with callsduring and after a hurricane. ~ Guardagainst spoiled food. Use dry or cannedfood. Do not drinkor preparefood with tap water until you are certain it is not contaminated. ~ Whencutting up fallentrees, use caution, especially if youuse a chainsaw. Seriousinjuries can occur when these powerful machinessnap back or when the chain breaks. 115

Index of Named Hurricanes

Year Month ~arne Cater ~Pae

1950 September Easy 11,22 1950 October King 23-25, 27 1953 September Florence 25 1956 September Flossy 25 1960 September Donna 3, 18, 25-26 1964 August Cleo 26-27, 29, 31 1964 September Dora 27, 29 1964 October Isbell 11,27, 29-30 1965 September Betsy 11,27,30-31 1966 June Alma 27,32 1966 October Inez 11, 26-27, 31 1968 October Gladys 27, 32 1972 June Agnes 3, 33 1975 September Eloise 26,33 1979 September David 26-27, 33-34 1979 August Frederic' 35 1981 August Dennis 35-36 1983 August Barry' 36 1984 September Diana' 36 1985 July Bob' 36 1985 August Elena' 26, 36-37 1985 October Juan 26,36 1985 November Kate 26, 36-37 1987 October Floyd 11, 36 1988 August Chris' 37 1988 November Keith 37 1991 August Bob' 38 1992 August Andrew 2, 4, 17, 21, 25- 26, 39-43, 46

'Not hurricane status in Florida. 116

Subject Index"

~Anes 3, 33 Diana 36 Alma 27, 32, Dakar Africa, 26 Alice 24 David 26, 27, 33, 34 Allen 18 Daytona 26, 36 Andrew 2, 4, 17, 21, 25, 26, Debbie 25 39-43, 46 Dennis 35, 36 Apalachicola 12, 35 47 Donna 3, 18, 25, 26 baguios, I Dora 27, 29 Baton Rouge40 Dry Tortugas 14, 20, 32, 33, 36 Barra 36 Bayport 33 ~Eas 11, 22 Belle Glade 22 Eau Gallic 8 ~Bets 11, 27, 30, 31 Eggmond 14 Biscayne Bay 15 Elena 26, 36, 37 Bob 36, 38 Eloise 26, 33 Brenda, 25 ~Emil, 46 Brevard County 16, 34 Everglades 17 EvergladesCity 21, 25 Camille 3, 18, 20 Cape Canaveral 8, 21, 22, 35 FernandinaBeach 5, 9, 29 Cape Romano 11 Flagler Railroad 19 Caribbean area I, 5, 22, 23, 26, Florence 25 27 Florida Straits 21, 22, 27, 29, 31 Carrabelle 10 ~Floss 26 Carrodus 8 ~Flod 11, 36 CarysfortReef Light 21 Fort Lauderdale 22, 23, 27, 30, Cape San Blas 37 35, 36 Cedar Key 37 Fort Myers 10, 20, 25, 36 Clearwater 33 Fort Pierce 19 Chris 37 Fort Walton Beach 34 Cleo 26, 27, 29, 31 Franklin County 12 Clewiston, 21, 23 Frederic 35 Cocoa Beach 7 Fujita Tornado Scale 4 Conch Key 25, 26 Cuba10, 21, 22, 23, 29, 31, 33, Gilbert 19 36 ~Glads 27, 32 cyclone I, 6, 22 Grand Bahama Island 22

ll nameof hurricaneortropical storm underlined 117

Great Hurricane 4, 10, 13, 14, New Iberia 40 17, 22 Great Labor Day Hurricane 19 Ocala 33 Great Miami Hurricane 15, 16 Orlando 21, 25, 36

Hillsboro 22 PalmBeach County 19 Homestead 20, 21, 35 Palm Beach2, 7, 15, 19, 21, 22 How 24 PanamaCity 18, 34, 35 Pensacola5, 11, 12, 13, 25, 37 Indian River 8, 15, 16, 19 Plantation Key 33 Inez 11, 26, 27, 31 PompanoBeach 21, 22 Irene 25 Isbell 11, 27, 29, 30 Red Cross 17 Isidore 36 Richmond 21 Islamorda 11, Saffir-SitnpsonScale 4, 5, 6, 14 Jacksonville Beach 20, 21, 29, Sarasota 20 36, 37 Sand Key 10, 11, 12 Juan 26, 36 Sanibel Island 14 Judith 25 Santa RosaCounty 12 Jupiter 16, 19, 21, 22 Santa Rosa Island 11 St. Andrews 12 Kate 26, 27, 36, 37, 38 St. Augustine 22, 29, 33 Keith 37 St. Lucie County 16, 19 Key Largo 17, 18, 36 storm surge 2 Key West 5, 10, 11, 12, 14, 36 ~Kin 23, 24, 25, 27 Tampa 14,15, 20, 23, 36 Klaus 38 Tarpon Springs 14 tropicalcyclone 1, 5 Lafayette 40 Turkey Point 47 Lake Okeechobee 7, 17, 22, 36 typhoons 1 Lakeland 25 Lester 41 Valparaiso 13, 25 Long Key 17, 19 Vero Beach 7, 19, 36 Volusia County 34 Marathon 11, 36 vortex 8, 9 Marco 38 Melbourne 8, 20, 22, 27, 30, wall cloud I 35, 36,37 West Sahel, Africa 2 Merritt Island 15 West Indies 5 Miami 15, 21, 23, 37 willy-willies, 1 Moore Haven 21 World War II Names 22

Naples 20, 25 Yankee Hurricane 19 Nassau 18,30 Yankeetown 23 118

Clta5on Index

Anon., 60 Antonini,G.A., P.W. Box, E. Brady, M. Clark, H.R. Ledesma,andJ.L. Rahn 45 Balsillie, J.H; 33, 35 Bigelow F.g. 9 Case, R.A. 37 Clark, R.C., II3-87 Dunn, G.E.; and B.i. Miller 7, 25, 26, 54-57, 63 Dunn, G.E., and Staff 77 Frank, N. 6, 55 Garriot, E.II; 5, 6 Gray, R.%, 7, 10, 20,55,61, 62 Gray, G.M. 1, 2 Hebert, P.J., J.D. Jarrell, and M. Mayfield 14, 17, 19, 25, 60, 61, 63, 65- 67 Holmes, G,V. 8, 55 National Climatic Center, 10 NationalOceanic and Atmospheric Administration 6, 7, 8, 10, 14,55-57, 67, 109, 111 Rabac, B. 7, 55 Simpson, R.H. and H. Riehl 4 Sugg, A.L. 30 Sugg, A.L., L.G. Pardue, and R.L. Carrodus 8 Tannehill, I.R. 7, 12, 17, 20 U.S. WeatherBureau 9, 10-15,19-21, 23, 26, 30-31, 57-59,61-65 U.S. Army Corpsof Engineers40, 45, 91-95 Yarnaros, J. 19 Fredd Doehring D now deceased! was Adjunct professor nf ogy with the School of Aeronauticsat Florida Institute of Technology Florida Tech!. Prior tn his coming to FloridaTech, «Doehringwas a climatologistwiththe National Climatic Data Centerat Asheville,North Carolina. While in thcU.S. Air Force. Mr. Doehringserved as a weatherofficer and navigator and retired with therank of Major. IverW Duedallis Professor of Oceanography andFnvironmcntal Scienceat FloridaTech and Program Chairman for Fnvironmcntal Scienceat theuniversity. His primary interests include pollution processesand oceanmanagement. Prior to his comingto Florida Tech, ProfessorDuedall was on the facultyat the StateUniversity of at StonyBrook on . JohnM. Williamslives in PalmBay, Florida,near Florida Tech. While servingin the U.S. Army, Mr. Williamswas a memberot the Atmospheric SciencesLaboratory, White SandsMissile Range. wherehe was a staffofficer specializing in SatelliteMeteorology and TropicalMeteorology. Before retiring from the U. S, Armywith the rankof Major, Mr. Williamswas assigned at thc NationalHurricane Center, Coral Gables, Florida.

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