1911 Atlantic hurricane season
| 1911 Atlantic hurricane season | |
|---|---|
 Season summary map | |
| Seasonal boundaries | |
| First system formed | February 20, 1911 |
| Last system dissipated | December 13, 1911 |
| Strongest storm | |
| Name | Hurricane Three |
| • Maximum winds | 100 mph (155 km/h) (1-minute sustained) |
| • Lowest pressure | 972 mbar (hPa; 28.7 inHg) |
| Seasonal statistics | |
| Total depressions | 9 |
| Total storms | 6 |
| Hurricanes | 3 |
| Total fatalities | >27 |
| Total damage | $3 million (1911 USD) |
The 1911 Atlantic hurricane season was the annual event in the cycle of tropical cyclone formation that ran through the summer and the fall of 1911. The season was relatively inactive, with only six known storms. Three of them intensified into hurricanes, two of which attained Category 2 status on the modern-day Saffir–Simpson Hurricane Scale. The first storm formed on August 4, and the final system transitioned into an extratropical cyclone on October 31. Storm data is largely based on the Atlantic hurricane database, which underwent a thorough revision for the period between 1911 and 1914 in 2005.[1]
Several of the cyclones made landfall; the most severe damage occurred in and around Charleston, South Carolina, as a result of a westward-moving hurricane in late August. The storm killed 17 people and caused extensive destruction. A couple of weeks earlier, the Pensacola, Florida, area suffered from a storm in the Gulf of Mexico that produced winds of 80 mph (130 km/h) over land. The fourth storm of the season struck the coast of Nicaragua, killing 10 and leaving extensive damage.
Timeline
Storms
Tropical Storm One
| Tropical storm (SSHWS) | |
  | |
| Duration | August 4 – August 12 |
|---|---|
| Peak intensity | 60 mph (95 km/h) (1-min); |
The first tropical cyclone of the 1911 season formed on August 4 over southern Alabama in the United States, identified by its lack of associated frontal boundaries and closed circulation center.[1] At only tropical depression strength, it tracked eastward and emerged into the Atlantic Ocean the next day. Several days later, while located near Bermuda, the depression became a tropical storm and turned northeastward. The storm lasted several more days until dissipating on August 11.[2] While located in the vicinity of Bermuda, the storm produced heavy rainfall on the island, but no gale-force winds were reported. The storm was unknown until the 2005 Atlantic hurricane database revision recognized it as a tropical storm.[1]
Hurricane Two
| Category 1 hurricane (SSHWS) | |
  | |
| Duration | August 8 – August 14 |
|---|---|
| Peak intensity | 80 mph (130 km/h) (1-min); |
On August 8, a tropical depression formed off the southwest coast of Florida and drifted westward. Early the next day it intensified into a tropical storm and began accelerating toward the northwest. As it approached the U.S. Gulf Coast, the cyclone attained maximum sustained winds estimated at 80 mph (130 km/h), corresponding to Category 1 status on the modern-day Saffir–Simpson Hurricane Scale. Pushing ashore near the Alabama–Florida border, it weakened over land and curved toward the west.[2] On August 12, the storm drifted over Louisiana and Texas, where it produced heavy rainfall.[3]
During the evening of August 11, winds blew at up to 80 mph (130 km/h) at Pensacola, Florida, where pressure dropped to 29.73 inHg (1,007 hPa). A lull in the storm accompanied the nearby passage of its eye before conditions once again deteroirated. Total rainfall from the storm amount to 4.48 in (114 mm). The winds brought down telephone and telegraph wires,[3] cutting off communication to outside areas for 24 hours. The city also suffered power failures on the night of August 11.[4] Shipping suffered heavy losses, with many barges blown aground.[4][5] The hurricane dispersed "immense quantities" of lumber being stored along the coast.[4] An unspecified number of deaths were caused by the hurricane, and despite the damage,[4] an August 1911 issue of the Monthly Weather Review described the storm's effects as lighter than expected, estimating total damage in Pensacola at $12,000 (1911 USD, $392,400 2024 USD). Mobile, Alabama, recorded 35 mph (56 km/h) winds and no damage.[3]
Hurricane Three
| Category 2 hurricane (SSHWS) | |
  | |
| Duration | August 23 – August 31 |
|---|---|
| Peak intensity | 100 mph (155 km/h) (1-min); 972 mbar (hPa) |
Over a week after the dissipation of the previous hurricane, the third storm of the season developed on August 23 and slowly tracked west-northwestward. After attaining hurricane status, the storm turned more towards the northwest, and several days later reached its peak wind speeds of 100 mph (155 km/h); a barometric pressure of 972 mbar (hPa) was reported.[2] The center passed inland a few miles south of Savannah, Georgia; upon making landfall, the hurricane rapidly degenerated.[6] It deteriorated into a tropical depression on August 29 and persisted over land until dissipating a couple of days later.[2]
The hurricane, relatively small in size, caused widespread damage between Savannah and Charleston, South Carolina, although the former location received only minor damage despite its close proximity to the storm's center. Along the coast of Georgia, torrential rainfall caused numerous washouts on railroads. Crops, livestock and roads in the area suffered heavy damage. At Charleston, winds were estimated at 106 mph (171 km/h) after an anemometer, whose last report was 94 mph (151 km/h), failed, and 4.90 in (124 mm) of precipitation fell over the period of three days.[6]
The storm raged for more than 36 hours, causing severe damage;[7] the winds unroofed hundreds of buildings, demolished many houses and had an extensive impact on power and telephone services. Tides 10.6 ft (3.2 m) above normal left a "confused mass of wrecked vessels and damaged wharfs", according to a local forecaster in Charleston,[6] while six navy torpedo boats were ripped from their moorings and blown ashore.[8] In total, 17 people were killed in the hurricane, and property damage in Charleston was estimated at $1 million dollars (1911 USD, $32.7 million 2024 USD).[6]
Hurricane Four
| Category 2 hurricane (SSHWS) | |
  | |
| Duration | September 3 – September 12 |
|---|---|
| Peak intensity | 100 mph (155 km/h) (1-min); |
The next storm formed well to the east of the Lesser Antilles on September 3 and moved westward, attaining tropical storm status about a day later. The storm slowed and curved toward the southwest, nearing the northern coast of Colombia before pulling away from land and strengthening into a hurricane. It further intensified to Category 2 status before striking Nicaragua on September 10. Quickly weakening to a tropical storm, the cyclone continued westward across Central America and briefly entered the eastern Pacific Ocean. It dissipated shortly thereafter.[2] In the town of Corinto, a report indicated the deaths of 10 people and 50 additional injuries. About 250 houses were destroyed, leaving approximately $2 million dollars (1911 USD, $65.4 million 2024 USD) in damage.[9] Data on this storm is extremely scarce; as such, only minor revisions could be made to its chronology in the hurricane database,[1] and few impact reports are in existence.
Tropical Storm Five
| Tropical storm (SSHWS) | |
  | |
| Duration | September 15 – September 20 |
|---|---|
| Peak intensity | 65 mph (100 km/h) (1-min); |
The fifth official tropical cyclone of the year was also previously unknown until contemporary reassessments. It exhibited some hybrid characteristics, and may have qualified for subtropical cyclone status according to the modern classification scheme.[1] On September 15, the storm storm formed over the central Atlantic and initially moved westward. It gradually intensified as it turned northwestward, and on September 19 it transitioned into an extratropical cyclone southeast of New England.[2] The system was subsequently absorbed by a stronger frontal boundary approaching from the northwest.[1]
Tropical Storm Six
| Tropical storm (SSHWS) | |
  | |
| Duration | October 26 – October 31 |
|---|---|
| Peak intensity | 50 mph (85 km/h) (1-min); |
The final storm was first observed as a disturbance near Puerto Rico in the Caribbean Sea in late October.[10] The disturbance was the precursor to a tropical depression which developed over the southern Bahamas and headed west-southwestward across Cuba,[2] where, at Havana, winds blew from the southeast at 44 mph (71 km/h).[10] It became a tropical storm on October 27 and drifted southwestward. Near the eastern tip of the Yucatán Peninsula, the storm turned sharply northward.[2] An area of high pressure over the United States prevented the cyclone from turning eastward toward Florida, and it continued into the Gulf of Mexico. However, on October 31, the storm curved eastward and moved ashore over northern Florida. The storm decreased in intensity as it passed into the Atlantic.[10] The storm's circulation center remained poorly defined throughout its course. It was long believed to have developed south of Cuba, although a reevaluation of ship data indicated the depression had actually formed east of the island.[1] On October 26, the Weather Bureau hoisted hurricane warnings along the east coast of Florida from Key West to West Palm Beach, and on the west coast to Tampa.[11]
Tropical depressions
In addition to the six officially recognized tropical storms and hurricanes, three tropical depressions in the 1911 season have been identified. The first developed in February from a trough of low pressure in the open Atlantic and progressed westward. Although a ship dubiously reported winds of over 50 mph (80 km/h) in association with the system, a lack of supporting evidence precludes its designation as a tropical storm. The cyclone dissipated by February 21. The second depression evolved from an extratropical cyclone in mid- to late May, becoming a tropical cyclone on May 22 northeast of Bermuda. It persisted for three days as it meandered around the same general area before being absorbed by another non-tropical storm. The modern-day documentation of this system was also hindered by a lack of data. On December 11, the third tropical depression formed near the Turks and Caicos Islands. It progressed westward and was situated just north of eastern Cuba the next day. The system began to weaken on December 13 and dissipated shortly thereafter.[1]
See also
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h Chris Landsea; et al. (2005). "Documentation of Atlantic Tropical Cyclones Changes in HURDAT - 2005 Changes/Additions for 1911 to 1914". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Hurricane Research Division. Retrieved March 1, 2011.
{{cite web}}: Explicit use of et al. in:|author=(help) - ^ a b c d e f g h Hurricane Specialists Unit (2010). "Easy to Read HURDAT 1851–2009". National Hurricane Center. Retrieved April 29, 2010.
- ^ a b c "The Small Hurricane of August 11–12, 1911 at Pensacola, FLA" (PDF). Monthly Weather Review. 39 (8). American Meteorological Society: 1149–1150. August 1911. Retrieved April 29, 2010.
{{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter|authors=ignored (help) - ^ a b c d "PENSACOLA STORM LOSS BIG.; No Lives Lost in City, but Much Damage to Property". The New York Times. August 13, 1911. Retrieved April 29, 2010.
- ^ "Terrific Gale Hits Gulf Coast;Vessels and Shipping Suffer Widespread Loss at Pensacola, Fla.;One Big Ocean Liner Ashore in Shallow Water; Many Barges Ashore;Wind Reaches Velocity of at Least Eighty Miles an Hour at Night". The Los Angeles Times. August 12, 1911. Retrieved April 29, 2010.
- ^ a b c d "The Hurricane of August 27–28, 1911" (PDF). Monthly Weather Review. 39 (8). American Meteorological Society: 1150–1151. August 1911. Retrieved April 29, 2010.
{{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter|authors=ignored (help) - ^ "CHARLESTON IN GRIP OF FATAL HURRICANE; At Least Seven Lives Taken and $1,000,000 Damage Done by Wind and Water". The New York Times. August 29, 1911. Retrieved April 29, 2010.
- ^ "Wind Hurls Ships Ashore Like Toys". The Nevada Daily. August 30, 1911. Retrieved April 29, 2010.
- ^ "Weather, Forecasts and Warnings for the Month" (PDF). Monthly Weather Review. 39 (9). American Meteorological Society: 1453. September 1911. Retrieved April 29, 2010.
{{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter|authors=ignored (help) - ^ a b c H. C. Frankenfield (October 1911). "Weather, Forecasts and Warnings, October, 1911" (PDF). Monthly Weather Review. 39 (10). American Meteorological Society: 1169. Retrieved April 29, 2010.
- ^ "Hurricane Off Florida Coast". The New York Times. October 26, 1911.
{{cite news}}:|access-date=requires|url=(help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help)
External links
