Labor Day hurricane
| Category 5 hurricane ( SSHWS ) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Emergence | August 29, 1935 | |
| resolution | September 10, 1935 | |
|
Peak wind speed |
|
|
| Lowest air pressure | 892 mbar ( hPa ; 26.4 inHg ) | |
| dead | 408-600 | |
| Property damage | US $ 6 million (1935) | |
|
Affected areas |
Bahamas , Florida Keys , Florida Panhandle , Georgia , South Carolina , North Carolina , Virginia | |
| Season overview: 1935 Atlantic hurricane season |
||
The 1935 Labor Day hurricane was a very compact and intense hurricane that caused catastrophic damage to the Florida Keys island chain . It was one of only three magnitude 5 hurricanes to hit the United States in the 20th century , one of only four documented storms with a central pressure below 900 hPa , and the only hurricane with such a low pressure that the United States ever directly met. Because of its force, this storm is also known as the "storm of the century".
Origin of the hurricane
The storm formed in late August east of the Bahamas from a small tropical disturbance and moved west across the islands towards the Gulf Stream. American meteorologists became aware of the disturbance and became aware of the possibility of a tropical storm.
In the Andros Islands area of the Bahamas, this disturbance increased in strength. He then turned to the northwest and set course for Islamorada in the Upper Keys , where he landed on Labor Day (Monday, September 2) around 8:00 pm local time.
The assumed maximum sustained wind speed when going ashore was estimated at up to 300 km / h . Later calculations by the NOAA Hurricane Research Division (HRD) assume around 260 km / h. The air pressure in the center was measured at 892 hPa and thus represented the lowest pressure observed in the western hemisphere until Hurricane Gilbert undercut this record in 1988 . According to an unconfirmed report, the minimum pressure in the center was even 880 hPa.
Shore leave
| rank | hurricane | season | Min. Air pressure hPa ( mbar ) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wilma | 2005 | 882 |
| 2 | Gilbert | 1988 | 888 |
| 3 | " Labor Day " | 1935 | 892 |
| 4th | Rita | 2005 | 895 |
| 5 | Everyone | 1980 | 899 |
| 6th | Camille | 1969 | 900 |
| 7th | Katrina | 2005 | 902 |
| 8th | Mitch | 1998 | 905 |
| dean | 2007 | 905 | |
| 10 | Maria | 2017 | 908 |
| Source: HURDAT | |||
The main artery that connected the Florida Keys with the mainland at that time was the single-track railway line Miami – Key West , the "Florida Overseas Railroad", which belonged to the Florida East Coast Railway . A train with ten passenger cars sent from Homestead to evacuate the Keys was washed off the tracks by storm surge.
In total, at least 423 people (164 residents and 259 veterans) lost their lives to the hurricane. Bodies washed up in Flamingo and Cape Sable, on the southwestern end of mainland Florida . By lucky coincidence, about 350 of the 718 Labor Day veterans were attending a baseball game in Miami when the storm struck. Without this event, many of them would probably have died, as their quarters in the Keys were rickety barracks.
The hurricane left a swath of devastation in the Upper Keys, particularly where the city of Islamorada is now. Almost everything was damaged; Bridges and rail lines were washed away. The railroad, roads, and ferries connecting the Keys have been destroyed. Only the area around Islamorada was severely devastated, as the aisle was narrower than in most other tropical cyclones . His eye was eight miles in diameter and the strongest wind speeds were only 15 miles from center, less than Hurricane Andrew 1992, which was also a relatively small but equally catastrophic Level 5 hurricane. Many areas of the Keys were virtually unaffected by the hurricane. There was no destruction whatsoever in Key West and most of the Lower or Middle Keys .
After devastating the Keys, the hurricane moved north along Florida's west coast and hit land again on September 4 as a Category 2 hurricane in the north of the state. He then moved back to the Atlantic via Georgia (with major wind and water damage), South, North Carolina and the Virginia coast . South of Greenland, the storm finally turned into an extra-tropical system on September 10th.
| rank | hurricane | season | Victim |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Galveston" | 1900 | 8000-12000 1 |
| 2 | "Okeechobee" | 1928 | > 2500 1 |
| 3 | Katrina | 2005 | 1836 |
| 4th | "Cheniere Caminada" | 1893 | 1100-1400 1 |
| 5 | "Sea Islands" | 1893 | 1000-2000 1 |
| 6th | "Florida Keys" | 1919 | 778 |
| 7th | "Georgia" | 1881 | 700 1 |
| 8th | Audrey | 1957 | 416 |
| 9 | "Labor Day" | 1935 | 408 |
| 10 | "Last Island" | 1856 | 400 1 |
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1 estimated, total Source: NOAA |
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Individual evidence
- ^ National Hurricane Center: Atlantic hurricane best track (Hurdat) ( English ) Hurricane Research Division. Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administrations Office of Oceanic & Atmospheric Research. April 2018. Retrieved May 9, 2018.
- ↑ The deadliest, costliest and most intense United States tropical cyclones from 1851 to 2010 (and other frequently requested hurricane facts) ( English , PDF) In: NOAA Technical Memorandum NWS NHC-6 . National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. August 10, 2011. Retrieved January 10, 2017.