Atlantic hurricane season 1915

Atlantic hurricane season 1915

All the storms of the season
Formation of the first storm	April 29
Dissolution of the last storm	October 22nd
Strongest storm	Hurricane Six - 931  hPa  ( mbar ), 125  kn  (230  km / h )
Tropical lows	10
Storms	6th
Hurricanes	5
Severe hurricanes ( Cat. 3+ )	3
Total number of victims	675 total
Total damage	$ 63 million   (1915)
Atlantic hurricane seasons 1913 , 1914 , 1915 , 1916 , 1917

The 1915 Atlantic hurricane season was not very active. The first system formed on April 29, but the first hurricane did not develop until the beginning of August. A total of ten tropical depressions developed, six of which developed into storms. According to today's understanding, three of the five hurricanes were severe hurricanes. Two of them hit the coast of the United States on the Gulf of Mexico , hurricane two passed through the city ​​of Galveston , which was devastated by the Galveston hurricane in 1900 , and hurricane six hit New Orleans .

Storms

Hurricane one

Category 1 hurricane
Duration	July 30th - August 5th
intensity	65 kn (120 km / h ) (1 minute) , 990 hPa

The first storm hit Cape Canaveral in early August , then turned northeast and dispersed over New England .

Hurricane two

Category 4 hurricane
Duration	August 6th - August 23rd
intensity	116 kn (215 km / h ) (1 minute) , 940 hPa

The second hurricane was not seen until August 5th in the eastern part of the tropical Atlantic Ocean. It moved westward and developed into a hurricane by August 9, before crossing the Lesser Antilles on August 10 . As the hurricane continued through the Caribbean Sea , it passed just south of Puerto Rico and Hispaniola before crossing into Jamaica on August 13 , where it wreaked havoc. South of Cuba , the storm intensified into a severe hurricane swept across the western tip of Cuba. Its power increased over the Gulf of Mexico and it reached its greatest strength with sustained winds of 215 km / h. It only weakened shortly before it landed, hitting Galveston , Texas, on August 17 as a Category 4 hurricane. Overland it turned north, became extra-tropical on August 18 and disbanded on August 23. Just fifteen years after the First Galveston Hurricane in 1900, that cyclone weakened the already damaged Texas economy . On its way, it caused $ 50 million in damage ($ 921 million in 2005 prices) and killed around 400 people.

Hurricane three

Category 3 hurricane
Duration	August 27th - September 11th
intensity	105 kn (195 km / h ) (1 minute)

Hurricane Three, which was first observed in the mid-Atlantic on August 28, moved northward with wind speeds of 195 km / h. It stalled and then drifted south near Bermuda . Strong winds and surf caused moderate damage there. The hurricane then turned west and then north, finally becoming an extra-tropical storm on an easterly course on September 10th.

Hurricane Four

Category 2 hurricane
Duration	August 31st - September 6th
intensity	85 kn (155 km / h ) (1 minute) , 982 hPa

On August 31, a tropical storm developed south of Jamaica . It headed north-northwest and intensified to a category 2 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson hurricane wind scale before hitting western Cuba on September 3. It had winds of 130 km / h over the Gulf of Mexico , but it lost strength until it finally met Apalachicola in Florida . The storm continued northward until it broke up over southern Michigan on September 9. Because warnings were issued at an early stage, there were no fatalities to complain about and the hurricane caused only minor to moderate damage.

Tropical Storm Five

Tropical storm
Duration	September 19 - September 23
intensity	50 kn (95 km / h ) (1 minute)

This strong tropical storm stayed far from land over the open ocean.

Hurricane Six

Category 4 hurricane
Duration	September 21st - October 1st
intensity	125 kn (230 km / h ) (1 minute) , 931 hPa

→ Main article : New Orleans Hurricane (1915)

The sixth and final hurricane of 1915 was first observed west of the Lesser Antilles on September 22nd . It hiked through the Caribbean and gained in intensity, reaching its greatest strength on September 25th with winds of 230 km / h. On September 29, it came over land near Grand Isle in Louisiana and, as a Category 3 hurricane, still had peak wind speeds of 150 km / h at that time.

The pressure drop to 951  hpa ( mbar ) at that time was the lowest value ever measured over land in the United States. The storm caused severe flooding and killed 275 people - thanks to the timely warning, that number remained small. The winds covered roofs and damaged buildings in New Orleans , Louisiana , where wind speeds of just under 100 mph were recorded. The following generations in the city remembered this storm as the Great Storm of 1915 . Property damage was estimated at $ 13 million (2005 prices: $ 239 million), with New Orleans alone accounting for five million.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} Hurricane Research Division: HURDAT Meta-Data . NOAA. Retrieved February 15, 2008.

Web links

Commons : 1915 Atlantic hurricane season  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• 1915 Monthly Weather Review ( Memento of February 12, 2006 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF; English)