HISTORY OF CYCLONES OF THE LESSER ANTILLES

[Gustywind]

I decided to open this thread called the HISTORY OF THE CYCLONES OF THE LESSER ANTILLES: GUADELOUPE, MARTINICA, NORTHERN LEEWARDS. The past always showed us that the Lesser Antilles are often vulnerable, small islands could be easily impacted by any tropical cyclone even if our way of life have changed...allowing for a better (not perfect) way to protect ourselves (see my precedent topic: "Vigilance and Cyclonic Warning Procedures in Guadeloupe"). The texts below are summaries of the HISTORY OF CYCLONES OF THE LESSER ANTILLES (Guadeloupe, Martinica, Northern Leewards). The source of this work is from our weather local office: Meteo-France. Enjoy it ;

Regards
Gustywind


HISTORY of CYCLONES of GUADELOUPE
http://www.microsofttranslator.com/bv.a ... eloupe.htm

HISTORY of CYCLONES of GUADELOUPE
http://www.microsofttranslator.com/bv.a ... eloupe.htm

In the past, the local archives or chronic left by several authors since 1635 beginning of tracks written for colonization, there are certain dates of the phenomena causing damage to our islands. But it is sometimes difficult to estimate the actual intensity of the cyclone. Also we will use us on the work of Tannehill and Romer, enriched by those weather services Antilles. Can also be noted that it is from 1886 that began to distinguish the storms of hurricane, but testimony could provide guidance on the intensity before that date.

In the 17th century :

-August (less violent than in Martinique however) 1635, 1642, 1652;
-the particularly violent 1656 : most of the vessels then flow with their crews in Pointe-à-Pitre Bay;
-in 1657 and then October 22, 1664;
-Finally in 1666 (probably that of August 15 far more destructive in Martinique).

In the 18th century :

-4 September 1713 (less destructive than in Martinique) 13 August 1714, September 12, 1738, 21 September 1747 (very destructive);
-in September 1754, on 31 July and then in September 1765, on 6 October 1766 (12 ships filled with slave flow in Saintes), in 1768 (this is 4 cyclone in 3 years);
-30 September 1772, September 6, 1774, September 30, 1775, September 4, 1776 (4 cyclones in 4 years);
-as of October 11, 1780 (northern part of one that devastated the Islands over to the South of Barbados to Martinique);
-the 25 and 31 August 1785 (the first having caused significant damage), September 10, 1786, July 20, 1787 (which is still 4 cyclones in 3 years), and finally 1 August 1792.


In the 19th century :

-the year 1809 with his 3 successive cyclones on 27 July, 2 August and 2 September;
-on 1 September 1821 (14 deaths at least to Basse-Terre), September 7, 1824, July 26, 1825 (probably more than 300 dead essentially on southern Basse-Terre and Marie-Galante);
-August 14, 1833, September 11, 1846, July 6, 1861, September 6, 1865 (80 dead in Marie-Galante);
-November 2, 1888 is special since the trajectory if single, dating of Tobago in the South to Barbuda to the North, passing through the islands of the Caribbean arc;
-the century ends with the cyclones of the September 11, 1889, 15 August 1893-7 August 1899.

In the 20th century :
-tropical storms: the 8 October 1901, July 19, 1903, September 25, 1908, July 12, 1916, September 21, 1917, 28 August 1924 and October 31, 1932;
-Hurricanes: the 21 August 1909, August 10, 1915, on September 12, 1928 (memorable and so deadly with at least 1200 people in the area of Pointe-à-Pitre including, it was a hurricane of class 4), September 1, 1930.

From 1932, a period of 18 years without notable cyclone, and depuis1950, with the baptisms of the cyclones, the following:

August 21, 1950: Hurricane BAKER
August 11, 1956: Hurricane BETSY (6 deaths)
August 18, 1959: Storm tropical EDITH
October 1, 1961: tropical storm FRANCES
on October 26, 1963: Storm tropical HELENA (rains - 5 deaths)
August 22, 1964: Hurricane CLEO (14 dead - class 3 on Marie-Galante, the Holy and southern Basse-Terre)
September 27, 1966: Hurricane INEZ (25 dead - class 3 close to category 4)
September 8, 1981: Storm tropical GERT (little impact on the island)
September 16, 1989: Hurricane class 4 HUGO (eye in high-Earth - damage-11 dead in total)
August 27, 1995: Storm tropical IRIS (low impact on Grande Terre and Desirade is essentially)
September 4, 1995: Hurricane LUIS (moderate impact, it was more violent in St-Barth' and St-Martin)
September 14, 1995: Hurricane MARILYN (class 1, but with heavy rains on Basse-Terre)
September 7, 1996: Storm tropical HORTENSE (no particular effect)
September 20, 1998: Hurricane GEORGES (no notable effect on the island, just a big fright)
November 19, 1999: Storm tropical LENNY (less severe than on the Islands more to the North he crossed to the intensity of hurricane, but notable by its accumulations of rain and floods, and his destructive in Côte-sous-le-Vent West swell))
13 September-14, 2004: Storm tropical JEANNE (almost formed in the North of the island with significant rainfall accumulations on the North of Basse-Terre)
September 3, 2009: Storm tropical ERIKA (weak low pressure area across the island with heavy rain and especially at la Desirade with a new record of 305-mm 36 h)

It may be noted that are not on this list a number of phenomena that are passed on the island, or in the immediate vicinity, that at the stage of tropical depression, i.e. without wind more than 63 km/h sustained value, or phenomena sometimes in memory but whose centre is passed to more than 100 km from the island such as :

29 August-30, 1979 Hurricane DAVID still present in the basse-terriennes memoirs, with a huge swell
16-17 August, 2007 Hurricane DEAN passed just to the South of Martinique, and some effects were noticed in Guadeloupe (strong winds, large breaking swell)
15 October-16, 2008 Hurricane OMAR spent close to Saint-Martin in a path akin to that of Lenny in 1999, and the effects of the swell from the West were very important on the shores of the Côte-sous-le-Vent

If one considers the count purely arithmetic, in 60 years of Cyclone statistics since 1950, there are 9 tropical storms, 8 hurricanes, which represents on average:

-1 cyclonic phenomenon (storm or hurricane) every 3.5 years;
-1 hurricane every 7.5 years.


Thus, it seems that the risk of a cyclonic phenomenon, storm or hurricane, is very similar on all of our French islands of the Caribbean: about 1 every 4 years. The difference is especially at the level of intensity: more one goes up to the North, these cyclones are likely to be hurricanes. Hurricane risk climbs because of 1 every 10 years in Martinique to 1 every 6 years to Saint-Barthélemy passing by 1 every 7 or 8 years in Guadeloupe ! But it is only from values of statistics on small samples. Therefore remain cautious on these encrypted results...

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

© 2009 Weather-France






HISTORY of CYCLONES of MARTINIQUE
http://www.microsofttranslator.com/bv.a ... inique.htm

In the past, the local archives or chronic left by several authors since 1635 beginning of tracks written for colonization, there are certain dates of the phenomena causing damage to our island. But it is sometimes difficult to estimate the actual intensity of the cyclone. Also we will use us on the work of Tannehill and Romer, enriched by those weather services Antilles. Can also be noted that it is from 1886 that began to distinguish the storms of hurricane, but testimony could provide guidance on the intensity before that date.

History reports in any first on 11 October 1780 (some authors speak of 12 but it seems to be passed at the end of the 10 on Barbados, we will therefore hold rather 11), date of passage of the most violent hurricane that affected the Lesser Antilles in the 18th century; It would have been responsible for approximately 22,000 dead, mainly on Barbados, St. Lucia and therefore also Martinique where there were almost 9,000 victims! Some believe that it should be category 5, the only one who ever crossed the Lesser Antilles with such intensity.

Outside this fateful date, are found in the writings, a number of traces of other cyclones.

In the 17th century :

-1635 (violent), 1642, 1651 (destructor), October 1, 1653;
-on 15 August 1666 particularly violent with probably several hundred victims;
-in September 1672 and 1674, 1675, - 1635 (violent), 1642, 1651 (destructor), October 1, 1653;
-one of 3 August 1680 which have poured more than 20 French and English ships with their occupants, and finally in ' October 1694.

In the 18th century :

-4 September 1713 (with at least 100 victims), those of 1725 and 1740, as of October 1, 1753;
-September 12, 1756 and 23 August 1758, still in July and September 1765 (two in the same year that also affected Guadeloupe;)
- as of August 13, 1766 with its 440 dead also remain in the annals;
-Some have noted that of August 1767, which would have been deadly, and then after the years active 1775 and 1776 (3 cyclones in 2 years), include that of August 29, 1779;
- and therefore the "famous" of October 11, 1780, discussed above, the most deadly in the history of the last 4 centuries;
-that of August 14, 1788 (casualties).

In the 19th century :

-cyclones of 1804, 1806, October 1809 (low intensity),
-from July 1813 (or August according to the authors) that would have made more than 200 victims.
-in September 1816, October 1817, July 25, 1825 (3 storms of moderate intensity);
-then the most destructive of September 20, 1834 (certain historians place October 20).
-those in late July or early August 1837 with some victims, 1846, August 25, 1855, September 9, 1872, September 8, 1875;
-then the cyclone the most important of the century which seems to be that of the August 18, 1891, and which again ravaged Saint-Pierre and Fort-de-France, and said that he would have 700 deaths in Martinique;
-the century ends with a period quite turbulent with cyclones, most storms of low intensity, listed the 4 September 1883, September 15, 1886, and on November 1, 1888 the trajectory enough single-oriented South - North and has both individual Guadeloupe as Martinique;
-still others the October 1, 1889, September 20, 1894, August 30, 1896.
-more intense, of 10 September 1898 which interested Martinique at the stage of Hurricane;
-Finally on 29 August 1899 (80 years earlier in day to day as DAVID), a cyclone who spent in the channel of Dominica to the North of the island while it was just the intensity of hurricane.

It did not, however, the cyclone of 1897 which went quite far to the South on September 12, even if these effects were felt on the island...

In the 20th century it may be noted:

-July 5, 1901 storm, cyclone of August 8, 1903 (31 victims identified), on July 6, 1905 storm (passed on St. Lucia) in fact, that of October 11, 1906, and then 13 cyclones and 28 August 1916;
-then there will be a period of 35 years without major cyclone between 1916 and the passage of DOG in September 1951, except for many tropical storms on the following dates:

-9 September 1918 - August 17, 1924 - July 22, 1926 - August 10, 1931 - August 16, 1931 - September 23, 1941 - September 16, 1942 – August 2, 1945 - September 1, 1948.


Since 1950, and baptisms of cyclones, the following:

August 15, 1951: Storm tropical CHARLIE
September 2, 1951: Hurricane DOG
August 30, 1958: Storm tropical ELLA
September 25, 1963: Hurricane of class 3 or 4 EDITH (at least 10 deaths)
September 29, 1967: Storm tropical BEULAH (heavy rain)
August 20, 1970: Storm tropical DOROTHY (rain 44 deaths, intense with Island records)
August 29, 1979: Hurricane class 4 DAVID (eye passed just offshore of the Caravelle and the canal of Dominica)
August 4, 1980: Hurricane ALLEN (although its eye passed South of Sainte-Lucie, remained memorable in Martinique)
September 9, 1988: Storm tropical GILBERT (before becoming a hurricane of the century on the Jamaica)
August 14, 1993: Storm tropical CINDY (very heavy rains, intensity of 147 mm in 1 hour at the preacher)
September 10, 1994: Storm tropical DEBBY (heavy rains)
August 26, 1995: Storm tropical IRIS (many records of rain: 325 mm of rain in 24 hours at the airport of Lamentin, Ducos 411 mm during the same period and 449 mm in 2 days)
September 14, 1995: Hurricane class 1 MARILYN (without significant effect on the island)
August 27, 2007: class 2 DEAN Hurricane (eye spent in St. Lucia and Martinique South Coast canal: devastation)

It may be noted that are not on this list a number of phenomena not passed on the island or in close proximity to the stage of tropical depression, i.e. without wind more than 63 km/h sustained value. As LENNY in November 1999, if he has left marks, including by its destructive West swell, his distant passage does not to be recorded as a cyclone directly affected the island. Same as OMAR in October 2008, with a somewhat less destructive swell but close characteristics (breaking West swell on the Caribbean coast)

If one considers the count purely arithmetic, in 60 years of Cyclone statistics since 1950, there are 8 tropical storms, 6 hurricanes, which represents on average:

-1 cyclonic phenomenon (storm or hurricane) all 4.3 years.
-1 hurricane every 10 years.


Thus, it seems that the risk of a cyclonic phenomenon, storm or hurricane, is very similar on all of our French islands of the Caribbean: about 1 every 4 years. The difference is especially at the level of intensity: more one goes up to the North, these cyclones are likely to be hurricanes. Hurricane risk climbs because of 1 every 10 years in Martinique to 1 every 6 years to Saint-Barthélemy passing by 1 every 7 or 8 years in Guadeloupe ! But it is only from values of statistics on small samples. Therefore remain cautious on these encrypted results...

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

© 2009 Weather-France




HISTORY of CYCLONES of SAINT-BARTHELEMY and SAINT MARTIN

If in Martinique and Guadeloupe, the local archives or chronic left by several authors since 1635 beginning of written traces of the settlement, there are certain dates of the phenomena causing damage to the Islands, there is little information of the past cyclonic of these two islands to the unstable history. We will primarily use on the work of Tannehill and Romer, enriched by the meteorological services of the West Indies. Can also be noted that as everywhere, is from 1886 only that began to distinguish the hurricane storms.

It may be noted

In the 18th century :

-July 11, 1733 and then in October 1737 and July 24, 1751, stories bear witness to cyclones that affected the North of the Caribbean arc.
-are reported on August 2, 1792, a cyclone ravaged St-Barthélemy, are causing many casualties.
-other writings indicate the passage on or in the immediate vicinity of St. Martin and St-Barth' to mid-August 1793.

In the 19th century :

-21 September 1819, August 21, 1871, September 10, 1872;
-12 September 1876, November 28, 1878, August 13, 1879, 22 August 1881;
-Hurricane of September 13, 1889, 2 weak storms the October 2, 1889 and... October 2, 1891 (in 2 years to the day apart);
-September 12, 1898, weak storm hurricane of October 27, 1898.

In the 20th century :

-6 tropical storms, including 4 during the "years - storms" from 1933 to 1947.
-7 hurricanes from 1906 to 1932, it could even to "years - cyclones", including the dates of the passages are the following: September 2, 1906, March 8, 1908 (this would not only off-season phenomenon in this region!), August 21, 1916, September 16, 1922, August 28, 1924, 10 September 1931 and September 26, 1932.

Since 1950, and the award of first names, the following:

September 1, 1950: Hurricane DOG
September 14, 1953: Storm tropical EDNA
January 2, 1955: Hurricane ALICE has a double feature, anachronistic and atypical, while at the same time: a trajectory from the Northeast and the Southwest in the Caribbean Sea, with a passage on St-Barth', which is not outstanding but still quite rare. born in 1954 (late December) before finishing his life in January 1955, well after the "official" end of the cyclone season. This is a first name of the 1955 list that has been attributed to him...
September 5, 1960: class 4 hurricane DONNA (considerable damage on the Islands)
July 17, 1979: Storm tropical CLAUDETTTE (moderate impact)
September 3, 1979: Hurricane FREDERIC (Saint-Barth wind records ' confer definitely hurricane status, with its 144 km/h measured in average wind Gustavia - above 180 km/h gust-, despite the erroneous classification as tropical storm on the part of Americans to the NHC Miami)
October 6, 1990: Storm tropical KLAUS
September 5, 1995: Hurricane LUIS (memorable, 35 years after, to the day, Hurricane Donna in the same violence)
July 8, 1996: Hurricane BERTHA (class 1 almost 2)
September 21, 1998: Hurricane GEORGES (even if the eye is passed to distance)
October 21, 1999: Hurricane JOSE (record amounts of rainfall on Saint-Barthélemy)
November 18, 1999: Hurricane class 2 LENNY (centre stagnant over 18 hours on the Islands in a trajectory of all from West to East, with record rains on Saint-Martin)
August 21, 2000: Hurricane DEBBY (moderate impact)
15-16 October 2008: Hurricane OMAR (of class 2, almost 3 in the transition from the Center 80 km west of Saint-Martin) with significant damage, the cyclone with specific characteristics with its trajectory similar to that of Lenny in 1999

However, we do not where low-pressure phenomena HILDA (simple depression on 11 September 1955, off the coast of St-Barth'), BETSY on August 29, 1965, ELOISE on 15 September 1975 (despite floods and 270 homeless of St-Martin), FLOYD on September 4, 1981, FAITH on August 26, 1966, including the transition to more than 50 km had not manifested by some gusts of wind on the Islands, KLAUS on November 7, 1984, far to the North, despite the violent cyclonic swell at St-Barth'. Same HUGO on 17 September 1989 will not be considered as a cyclone that hit the Northern Islands, car centre past too far, even if violent wind gusts were recorded. IRIS, MARILYN and SEBASTIEN in 1995, the first past too to the East, the second too to the Southwest, the other dissipating on Anguilla, and therefore without effect on the Islands, or ERIKA on 6 September 1997 (1 class hurricane), which has certainly given a bit of wind and rain, but not actually occurred on the Islands, from its centre at about 150 km to the North.

If one considers the count purely arithmetic, in 60 years of Cyclone statistics since 1950, there are 3 tropical storms, and 11 hurricanes, figures very influenced by 6 hurricane of the 1995-2000 period, representing an average:

-1 cyclonic phenomenon (storm or hurricane) all 4.3 years.
-1 hurricane every 5.5 years.

Thus, it seems that the risk of a cyclonic phenomenon, storm or hurricane, is very similar on all of our French islands of the Caribbean: about 1 every 4 years. The difference is especially at the level of intensity: more one goes up to the North, these cyclones are likely to be hurricanes. The risk of Hurricane climbs of 1 every 10 years in Martinique to 1 every 6 years to Saint-Barthélemy passing by 1 every 7 or 8 years in Guadeloupe ! But it is only from values of statistics on small samples. Therefore remain cautious on these encrypted results...

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

© 2009 Weather-France

[Gustywind]

I decided to open this thread called the HISTORY OF THE CYCLONES OF THE LESSER ANTILLES: GUADELOUPE, MARTINICA, NORTHERN LEEWARDS. The past always showed us that the Lesser Antilles are often vulnerable, small islands could be easily impacted by any tropical cyclone even if our way of life have changed...allowing for a better (not perfect) way to protect ourselves (see my precedent topic: "Vigilance and Cyclonic Warning Procedures in Guadeloupe"). The texts below are summaries of the HISTORY OF CYCLONES OF THE LESSER ANTILLES (Guadeloupe, Martinica, Northern Leewards). The source of this work is from our weather local office: Meteo-France. Enjoy it ;

Regards
Gustywind


HISTORY of CYCLONES of GUADELOUPE
http://www.microsofttranslator.com/bv.a ... eloupe.htm

HISTORY of CYCLONES of GUADELOUPE
http://www.microsofttranslator.com/bv.a ... eloupe.htm

In the past, the local archives or chronic left by several authors since 1635 beginning of tracks written for colonization, there are certain dates of the phenomena causing damage to our islands. But it is sometimes difficult to estimate the actual intensity of the cyclone. Also we will use us on the work of Tannehill and Romer, enriched by those weather services Antilles. Can also be noted that it is from 1886 that began to distinguish the storms of hurricane, but testimony could provide guidance on the intensity before that date.

In the 17th century :

-August (less violent than in Martinique however) 1635, 1642, 1652;
-the particularly violent 1656 : most of the vessels then flow with their crews in Pointe-à-Pitre Bay;
-in 1657 and then October 22, 1664;
-Finally in 1666 (probably that of August 15 far more destructive in Martinique).

In the 18th century :

-4 September 1713 (less destructive than in Martinique) 13 August 1714, September 12, 1738, 21 September 1747 (very destructive);
-in September 1754, on 31 July and then in September 1765, on 6 October 1766 (12 ships filled with slave flow in Saintes), in 1768 (this is 4 cyclone in 3 years);
-30 September 1772, September 6, 1774, September 30, 1775, September 4, 1776 (4 cyclones in 4 years);
-as of October 11, 1780 (northern part of one that devastated the Islands over to the South of Barbados to Martinique);
-the 25 and 31 August 1785 (the first having caused significant damage), September 10, 1786, July 20, 1787 (which is still 4 cyclones in 3 years), and finally 1 August 1792.


In the 19th century :

-the year 1809 with his 3 successive cyclones on 27 July, 2 August and 2 September;
-on 1 September 1821 (14 deaths at least to Basse-Terre), September 7, 1824, July 26, 1825 (probably more than 300 dead essentially on southern Basse-Terre and Marie-Galante);
-August 14, 1833, September 11, 1846, July 6, 1861, September 6, 1865 (80 dead in Marie-Galante);
-November 2, 1888 is special since the trajectory if single, dating of Tobago in the South to Barbuda to the North, passing through the islands of the Caribbean arc;
-the century ends with the cyclones of the September 11, 1889, 15 August 1893-7 August 1899.

In the 20th century :
-tropical storms: the 8 October 1901, July 19, 1903, September 25, 1908, July 12, 1916, September 21, 1917, 28 August 1924 and October 31, 1932;
-Hurricanes: the 21 August 1909, August 10, 1915, on September 12, 1928 (memorable and so deadly with at least 1200 people in the area of Pointe-à-Pitre including, it was a hurricane of class 4), September 1, 1930.

From 1932, a period of 18 years without notable cyclone, and depuis1950, with the baptisms of the cyclones, the following:

August 21, 1950: Hurricane BAKER
August 11, 1956: Hurricane BETSY (6 deaths)
August 18, 1959: Storm tropical EDITH
October 1, 1961: tropical storm FRANCES
on October 26, 1963: Storm tropical HELENA (rains - 5 deaths)
August 22, 1964: Hurricane CLEO (14 dead - class 3 on Marie-Galante, the Holy and southern Basse-Terre)
September 27, 1966: Hurricane INEZ (25 dead - class 3 close to category 4)
September 8, 1981: Storm tropical GERT (little impact on the island)
September 16, 1989: Hurricane class 4 HUGO (eye in high-Earth - damage-11 dead in total)
August 27, 1995: Storm tropical IRIS (low impact on Grande Terre and Desirade is essentially)
September 4, 1995: Hurricane LUIS (moderate impact, it was more violent in St-Barth' and St-Martin)
September 14, 1995: Hurricane MARILYN (class 1, but with heavy rains on Basse-Terre)
September 7, 1996: Storm tropical HORTENSE (no particular effect)
September 20, 1998: Hurricane GEORGES (no notable effect on the island, just a big fright)
November 19, 1999: Storm tropical LENNY (less severe than on the Islands more to the North he crossed to the intensity of hurricane, but notable by its accumulations of rain and floods, and his destructive in Côte-sous-le-Vent West swell))
13 September-14, 2004: Storm tropical JEANNE (almost formed in the North of the island with significant rainfall accumulations on the North of Basse-Terre)
September 3, 2009: Storm tropical ERIKA (weak low pressure area across the island with heavy rain and especially at la Desirade with a new record of 305-mm 36 h)

It may be noted that are not on this list a number of phenomena that are passed on the island, or in the immediate vicinity, that at the stage of tropical depression, i.e. without wind more than 63 km/h sustained value, or phenomena sometimes in memory but whose centre is passed to more than 100 km from the island such as :

29 August-30, 1979 Hurricane DAVID still present in the basse-terriennes memoirs, with a huge swell
16-17 August, 2007 Hurricane DEAN passed just to the South of Martinique, and some effects were noticed in Guadeloupe (strong winds, large breaking swell)
15 October-16, 2008 Hurricane OMAR spent close to Saint-Martin in a path akin to that of Lenny in 1999, and the effects of the swell from the West were very important on the shores of the Côte-sous-le-Vent

If one considers the count purely arithmetic, in 60 years of Cyclone statistics since 1950, there are 9 tropical storms, 8 hurricanes, which represents on average:

-1 cyclonic phenomenon (storm or hurricane) every 3.5 years;
-1 hurricane every 7.5 years.


Thus, it seems that the risk of a cyclonic phenomenon, storm or hurricane, is very similar on all of our French islands of the Caribbean: about 1 every 4 years. The difference is especially at the level of intensity: more one goes up to the North, these cyclones are likely to be hurricanes. Hurricane risk climbs because of 1 every 10 years in Martinique to 1 every 6 years to Saint-Barthélemy passing by 1 every 7 or 8 years in Guadeloupe ! But it is only from values of statistics on small samples. Therefore remain cautious on these encrypted results...

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

© 2009 Weather-France






HISTORY of CYCLONES of MARTINIQUE
http://www.microsofttranslator.com/bv.a ... inique.htm

In the past, the local archives or chronic left by several authors since 1635 beginning of tracks written for colonization, there are certain dates of the phenomena causing damage to our island. But it is sometimes difficult to estimate the actual intensity of the cyclone. Also we will use us on the work of Tannehill and Romer, enriched by those weather services Antilles. Can also be noted that it is from 1886 that began to distinguish the storms of hurricane, but testimony could provide guidance on the intensity before that date.

History reports in any first on 11 October 1780 (some authors speak of 12 but it seems to be passed at the end of the 10 on Barbados, we will therefore hold rather 11), date of passage of the most violent hurricane that affected the Lesser Antilles in the 18th century; It would have been responsible for approximately 22,000 dead, mainly on Barbados, St. Lucia and therefore also Martinique where there were almost 9,000 victims! Some believe that it should be category 5, the only one who ever crossed the Lesser Antilles with such intensity.

Outside this fateful date, are found in the writings, a number of traces of other cyclones.

In the 17th century :

-1635 (violent), 1642, 1651 (destructor), October 1, 1653;
-on 15 August 1666 particularly violent with probably several hundred victims;
-in September 1672 and 1674, 1675, - 1635 (violent), 1642, 1651 (destructor), October 1, 1653;
-one of 3 August 1680 which have poured more than 20 French and English ships with their occupants, and finally in ' October 1694.

In the 18th century :

-4 September 1713 (with at least 100 victims), those of 1725 and 1740, as of October 1, 1753;
-September 12, 1756 and 23 August 1758, still in July and September 1765 (two in the same year that also affected Guadeloupe;)
- as of August 13, 1766 with its 440 dead also remain in the annals;
-Some have noted that of August 1767, which would have been deadly, and then after the years active 1775 and 1776 (3 cyclones in 2 years), include that of August 29, 1779;
- and therefore the "famous" of October 11, 1780, discussed above, the most deadly in the history of the last 4 centuries;
-that of August 14, 1788 (casualties).

In the 19th century :

-cyclones of 1804, 1806, October 1809 (low intensity),
-from July 1813 (or August according to the authors) that would have made more than 200 victims.
-in September 1816, October 1817, July 25, 1825 (3 storms of moderate intensity);
-then the most destructive of September 20, 1834 (certain historians place October 20).
-those in late July or early August 1837 with some victims, 1846, August 25, 1855, September 9, 1872, September 8, 1875;
-then the cyclone the most important of the century which seems to be that of the August 18, 1891, and which again ravaged Saint-Pierre and Fort-de-France, and said that he would have 700 deaths in Martinique;
-the century ends with a period quite turbulent with cyclones, most storms of low intensity, listed the 4 September 1883, September 15, 1886, and on November 1, 1888 the trajectory enough single-oriented South - North and has both individual Guadeloupe as Martinique;
-still others the October 1, 1889, September 20, 1894, August 30, 1896.
-more intense, of 10 September 1898 which interested Martinique at the stage of Hurricane;
-Finally on 29 August 1899 (80 years earlier in day to day as DAVID), a cyclone who spent in the channel of Dominica to the North of the island while it was just the intensity of hurricane.

It did not, however, the cyclone of 1897 which went quite far to the South on September 12, even if these effects were felt on the island...

In the 20th century it may be noted:

-July 5, 1901 storm, cyclone of August 8, 1903 (31 victims identified), on July 6, 1905 storm (passed on St. Lucia) in fact, that of October 11, 1906, and then 13 cyclones and 28 August 1916;
-then there will be a period of 35 years without major cyclone between 1916 and the passage of DOG in September 1951, except for many tropical storms on the following dates:

-9 September 1918 - August 17, 1924 - July 22, 1926 - August 10, 1931 - August 16, 1931 - September 23, 1941 - September 16, 1942 – August 2, 1945 - September 1, 1948.


Since 1950, and baptisms of cyclones, the following:

August 15, 1951: Storm tropical CHARLIE
September 2, 1951: Hurricane DOG
August 30, 1958: Storm tropical ELLA
September 25, 1963: Hurricane of class 3 or 4 EDITH (at least 10 deaths)
September 29, 1967: Storm tropical BEULAH (heavy rain)
August 20, 1970: Storm tropical DOROTHY (rain 44 deaths, intense with Island records)
August 29, 1979: Hurricane class 4 DAVID (eye passed just offshore of the Caravelle and the canal of Dominica)
August 4, 1980: Hurricane ALLEN (although its eye passed South of Sainte-Lucie, remained memorable in Martinique)
September 9, 1988: Storm tropical GILBERT (before becoming a hurricane of the century on the Jamaica)
August 14, 1993: Storm tropical CINDY (very heavy rains, intensity of 147 mm in 1 hour at the preacher)
September 10, 1994: Storm tropical DEBBY (heavy rains)
August 26, 1995: Storm tropical IRIS (many records of rain: 325 mm of rain in 24 hours at the airport of Lamentin, Ducos 411 mm during the same period and 449 mm in 2 days)
September 14, 1995: Hurricane class 1 MARILYN (without significant effect on the island)
August 27, 2007: class 2 DEAN Hurricane (eye spent in St. Lucia and Martinique South Coast canal: devastation)

It may be noted that are not on this list a number of phenomena not passed on the island or in close proximity to the stage of tropical depression, i.e. without wind more than 63 km/h sustained value. As LENNY in November 1999, if he has left marks, including by its destructive West swell, his distant passage does not to be recorded as a cyclone directly affected the island. Same as OMAR in October 2008, with a somewhat less destructive swell but close characteristics (breaking West swell on the Caribbean coast)

If one considers the count purely arithmetic, in 60 years of Cyclone statistics since 1950, there are 8 tropical storms, 6 hurricanes, which represents on average:

-1 cyclonic phenomenon (storm or hurricane) all 4.3 years.
-1 hurricane every 10 years.


Thus, it seems that the risk of a cyclonic phenomenon, storm or hurricane, is very similar on all of our French islands of the Caribbean: about 1 every 4 years. The difference is especially at the level of intensity: more one goes up to the North, these cyclones are likely to be hurricanes. Hurricane risk climbs because of 1 every 10 years in Martinique to 1 every 6 years to Saint-Barthélemy passing by 1 every 7 or 8 years in Guadeloupe ! But it is only from values of statistics on small samples. Therefore remain cautious on these encrypted results...

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© 2009 Weather-France




HISTORY of CYCLONES of SAINT-BARTHELEMY and SAINT MARTIN

If in Martinique and Guadeloupe, the local archives or chronic left by several authors since 1635 beginning of written traces of the settlement, there are certain dates of the phenomena causing damage to the Islands, there is little information of the past cyclonic of these two islands to the unstable history. We will primarily use on the work of Tannehill and Romer, enriched by the meteorological services of the West Indies. Can also be noted that as everywhere, is from 1886 only that began to distinguish the hurricane storms.

It may be noted

In the 18th century :

-July 11, 1733 and then in October 1737 and July 24, 1751, stories bear witness to cyclones that affected the North of the Caribbean arc.
-are reported on August 2, 1792, a cyclone ravaged St-Barthélemy, are causing many casualties.
-other writings indicate the passage on or in the immediate vicinity of St. Martin and St-Barth' to mid-August 1793.

In the 19th century :

-21 September 1819, August 21, 1871, September 10, 1872;
-12 September 1876, November 28, 1878, August 13, 1879, 22 August 1881;
-Hurricane of September 13, 1889, 2 weak storms the October 2, 1889 and... October 2, 1891 (in 2 years to the day apart);
-September 12, 1898, weak storm hurricane of October 27, 1898.

In the 20th century :

-6 tropical storms, including 4 during the "years - storms" from 1933 to 1947.
-7 hurricanes from 1906 to 1932, it could even to "years - cyclones", including the dates of the passages are the following: September 2, 1906, March 8, 1908 (this would not only off-season phenomenon in this region!), August 21, 1916, September 16, 1922, August 28, 1924, 10 September 1931 and September 26, 1932.

Since 1950, and the award of first names, the following:

September 1, 1950: Hurricane DOG
September 14, 1953: Storm tropical EDNA
January 2, 1955: Hurricane ALICE has a double feature, anachronistic and atypical, while at the same time: a trajectory from the Northeast and the Southwest in the Caribbean Sea, with a passage on St-Barth', which is not outstanding but still quite rare. born in 1954 (late December) before finishing his life in January 1955, well after the "official" end of the cyclone season. This is a first name of the 1955 list that has been attributed to him...
September 5, 1960: class 4 hurricane DONNA (considerable damage on the Islands)
July 17, 1979: Storm tropical CLAUDETTTE (moderate impact)
September 3, 1979: Hurricane FREDERIC (Saint-Barth wind records ' confer definitely hurricane status, with its 144 km/h measured in average wind Gustavia - above 180 km/h gust-, despite the erroneous classification as tropical storm on the part of Americans to the NHC Miami)
October 6, 1990: Storm tropical KLAUS
September 5, 1995: Hurricane LUIS (memorable, 35 years after, to the day, Hurricane Donna in the same violence)
July 8, 1996: Hurricane BERTHA (class 1 almost 2)
September 21, 1998: Hurricane GEORGES (even if the eye is passed to distance)
October 21, 1999: Hurricane JOSE (record amounts of rainfall on Saint-Barthélemy)
November 18, 1999: Hurricane class 2 LENNY (centre stagnant over 18 hours on the Islands in a trajectory of all from West to East, with record rains on Saint-Martin)
August 21, 2000: Hurricane DEBBY (moderate impact)
15-16 October 2008: Hurricane OMAR (of class 2, almost 3 in the transition from the Center 80 km west of Saint-Martin) with significant damage, the cyclone with specific characteristics with its trajectory similar to that of Lenny in 1999

However, we do not where low-pressure phenomena HILDA (simple depression on 11 September 1955, off the coast of St-Barth'), BETSY on August 29, 1965, ELOISE on 15 September 1975 (despite floods and 270 homeless of St-Martin), FLOYD on September 4, 1981, FAITH on August 26, 1966, including the transition to more than 50 km had not manifested by some gusts of wind on the Islands, KLAUS on November 7, 1984, far to the North, despite the violent cyclonic swell at St-Barth'. Same HUGO on 17 September 1989 will not be considered as a cyclone that hit the Northern Islands, car centre past too far, even if violent wind gusts were recorded. IRIS, MARILYN and SEBASTIEN in 1995, the first past too to the East, the second too to the Southwest, the other dissipating on Anguilla, and therefore without effect on the Islands, or ERIKA on 6 September 1997 (1 class hurricane), which has certainly given a bit of wind and rain, but not actually occurred on the Islands, from its centre at about 150 km to the North.

If one considers the count purely arithmetic, in 60 years of Cyclone statistics since 1950, there are 3 tropical storms, and 11 hurricanes, figures very influenced by 6 hurricane of the 1995-2000 period, representing an average:

-1 cyclonic phenomenon (storm or hurricane) all 4.3 years.
-1 hurricane every 5.5 years.

Thus, it seems that the risk of a cyclonic phenomenon, storm or hurricane, is very similar on all of our French islands of the Caribbean: about 1 every 4 years. The difference is especially at the level of intensity: more one goes up to the North, these cyclones are likely to be hurricanes. The risk of Hurricane climbs of 1 every 10 years in Martinique to 1 every 6 years to Saint-Barthélemy passing by 1 every 7 or 8 years in Guadeloupe ! But it is only from values of statistics on small samples. Therefore remain cautious on these encrypted results...

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© 2009 Weather-France

Sint-Martin and St Barth link: http://www.microsofttranslator.com/bv.a ... martin.htm

[cycloneye]

Very informative and historic prospective about the past Cyclones that had made landfall in the Lesser Antilles. That is why those islands are located on hurricane alley as the past history shows of the many cyclones that have moved thru. Thank you for posting it.

[FireRat]

1831 (August 10) killer in Barbados. Monstrous hurricane that can't be excluded from the list of cyclones in the lesser antilles, took 1,500 lives.

[Gustywind]

Very informative and historic prospective about the past Cyclones that had made landfall in the Lesser Antilles. That is why those islands are located on hurricane alley as the past history shows of the many cyclones that have moved thru. Thank you for posting it.

Thanks for this post Cycloneye, i appreciate .

[Gustywind]

1831 (August 10) killer in Barbados. Monstrous hurricane that can't be excluded from the list of cyclones in the lesser antilles, took 1,500 lives.

Ok thanks your post. I did not know that for Barbados so glad to have this info FireRat . If you have any infos of history of cyclones in others islands you can post them, i will appreciate .

[Gustywind]

Yep, speaking about Barbados, here is a link who summarizes the History of the Cyclones who have affected this beautiful island. Thanks to our member Abajan from Barbabos who gave me this kindly this link
http://www.microsofttranslator.com/bv.a ... doshit.php

Always a near miss for Barbados
Publication: Sunday Sun
Paper Section And Page: 16A
Paper Date: Sun, Sep 5, 1999
Byline: Terry Ally
WHY DO hurricanes always tends to veer off Barbados? Or do they? Some say it's divine providence, others attribute it to the island's geographical location, yet others believe there is a 50-year cycle and Barbados is due for another strike soon. What really is the truth?
These are some of the questions which this article explores in light of near misses, forecasters' predictions and religious prophecies. In fact, hurricanes used Barbados for target practice in the last 300 years, but compared to the 1600s, 1700s, and the 1800s, this century has been the quiet. Between 1627, when Barbados was colonised, and 1899, 23 hurricanes directly affected Barbados, caused billions of dollars in damage (at today's prices), killed thousands, destroyed the economy and on more than one occasion. In the 1600s, four hurricanes devastated Barbados, in the 1700s five systems directly affected Barbados, two causing devastation, and in the 1800s there were 17 hurricanes. The majority of these systems went right over Barbados.



Major impacts
This century there were five "impacts" including Hurricane Janet, a small but powerful system, the centre of which passed not far off the South Coast in 1955 mainly impacting the southern part of Barbados. It killed 35 people, 8 100 destroyed homes and left 20,000 homeless. Allen in 1980 was a big hurricane which passed north of Barbados destroying 35 homes and damaging more than 200, especially in St. Andrew. Edith in 1963 passed 50 miles north of Barbados, dumping seven to nine inches of rain on the island. On July 2, 1901 Tropical Storm # 2 passed seven miles south of Barbados dumping more than 20 inches of rain in St. Peter, killing one man. This was known, for a period of time afterwards, as the Jordan's Flood. On August 31, 1949 Tropical storm # 3 dumped over 10 inches of rain in St. Thomas, St. George, St. Joseph, and St. John and five to six inches in northern parishes. A tropical depression on October 1, 1970 also triggered massive floods in St. Michael and Bridgetown which became known as the 1970 floods.
There were another 13 systems which passed within 40 miles of Barbados this century.
The worse systems which levelled Barbados were 1675, 1780, and 1831. On August 31, 1675 the hurricane appeared to have passed off the West Coast destroying numerous plantations, especially along the western side of the island. On October 10, 1780 a very slow moving hurricane struck Barbados on a Tuesday evening and battered the island "almost without intermission for nearly 48 hours"leaving the island looking like"a country laid waste by fire and sword", order-in-Chief Major General Vaughan wrote to England. There was near total destruction with 4 326 dead and over �1 million in damage.
Retired meteorologist, Deighton Best, said the hurricane which struck on August 10, 1831 was perhaps the most powerful ever to hit Barbados.
"I would rate the winds at 200 miles per hour." It left damage at more than �2 million and about 1 525 dead, though the figure could have been as high as 2,500. "I would rate this similar in strength to Hugo when it was approaching the Eastern Caribbean," he told the NATION.
The 1831 hurricane struck at 5 p.m. and battered Barbados for 12 hours. A writer of the day said the rain "was driven with such force as to insult the skin and was so thick as to prevent a view of any object". Waves broke over the North Point cliffs which were 70 feet high. Barbados has not seen this kind of activity this century and as a result, a popular notion has arisen that there must be some special providence protecting the island because cyclones do not hit Barbados. While this is debatable, there are physical reasons why systems curve northwest, bypassing Barbados and other Caribbean islands. These include the location of the system when it forms, its strength and how rapidly its strength increases as well as other atmospheric factors.
AN average of 100 tropical waves emerge from Africa each year, but only a small number develop into tropical depressions. When a group of thunderstorms band together for long enough and develop constant winds near the centre of 23 to 39 miles per hour, they form a tropical depression in which the winds revolve anticlockwise. When the wind speed at the centre increases to a point where they are constant at more than 40 miles per hour and the pressure at the centre drops, it becomes a tropical storm, at which time it is given a name. As the pressure continues to drop and the wind speed increases and reaches a constant 74 miles per hour, a hurricane is born which is classified as one of five categories on the saffir simpson scale relating to maximum sustained wind speed at the centre. The most severe hurricanes to strike the Caribbean are known to be the Cape verde hurricanes because it was shown that they became well developed shortly after emerging from Africa. The strength and speed of the winds, which revolve anticlockwise around a low pressure centre, dictate the direction the cyclone will travel under normal atmospheric conditions.
"If a hurricane forms to the east of Barbados, there is a 90 per cent probability that it will pass to the north of the island and this is because of the Coriolis Force," explained Best.
Because of the earth's anticlockwise rotation and the direction of the Trade Winds, air movement is deflected to the right in the northern hemisphere and to the left in the southern hemisphere: all things being equal. This is the coriolis Force.
Slow winds will deflect only a small amount while stronger winds will deflect more. The winds deflect even less when they are close to the equator. Hurricane Beulah in 1967 is an excellent example of the Coriolis Force.
It starts off as a tropical depression with 30 mile per hour winds and seems to head for Barbados, then as it becomes a tropical storm it deflects to the right, and gradually strengthens to hurricane a purpose on its approach to Haiti, winds dropped from 126 to 92 mph reducing the angle of deflection. Winds drop all the way to 58 mph very far south of Jamaica and then as the winds increase to hurricane strength, its deflection increases, taking it over the Yucatan Peninsula where it loses strength and some of it deflection. The winds increase in the Gulf of Mexico and Beulah continued its curve to make landfall in Texas, where it loses its strength and curve it becoming a tropical depression.

[size=150]Other factors[/size]
However, all things don't play out to the Coriolis Force plan because of other factors such as a high pressure system, which at this time of the year, is perched in the northern Atlantic Ocean and extending as far as the Eastern Caribbean island chain. This is one of the "steering currents" which causes the hurricane to travel along the periphery of the high pressure system and curve northwest when conditions permit. But sometimes cyclones behave erratically, reversing or doing loops, such as Hurricanes Flora and Ginny in 1963.
Hurricane researchers say that the Atlantic is entering an active phase. The record shows that the mid-1940s to mid-1960s was an active period for intense hurricanes, then a lull came in the 1970s to mid-1990s. Activity started again in the mid-1990s leading researchers to believe that a new multi-decadal activity period has started again. Hurricane researcher Professor Bill Gray of Colorado State University, in an interview with the Nation at the National Hurricane Conference earlier this year, said that because systems will be forming further south this year, the island must be watchful. He said that storms forming around eight degrees north would put the island at greater risk.
Even when there were close brushes, Barbados misses the strongest winds which are normally in the northern eyewall, said Gray. He also explained that if Barbados takes a direct hit, it is likely to be very bad not only because of those northern winds but because systems which are likely to hit the island will be strong given the location of training and direction they will travel. Best concurred that systems forming close to Barbados posed greater risks, though if they formed too close they are not that severe because there is not much time for development of the strong winds, though rainfall would be a factor. He agreed that the storms likely to hit Barbados were the ones forming between 8� and 11� north and as long as they were east of Barbados, they were always a threat.
"As long as they form east of Barbados my advice to the public is: be alert but be extra careful if they form east-south-east of Barbados," said Best.
________________________________________
Hurricane impacts since colonization
• 1660, December: Hurricane. Vessels ran aground.
• 1674, August 10: Very strong hurricane. 300 buildings destroyed. 200 dead; No. sugarcane for two years.
• 1675, August 31: Strong hurricane. Island devastated
• 1694, October 17: Weak hurricane passes. Ships thrown ashore.
• 1780, October 10: Slow moving hurricane. Barbados battered for 48 hours. 4 326 dead; �1 million damage.
• 1786, September: Severe gale. Every vessel driven ashore. Great damage to homes and crops. Many people killed.
• 1813, July 22: Tropical storm passed north. Ships damaged.
• 1815, September 29: Hurricane passed north of island. Gale force winds experienced.
• 1816, September 15: Hurricane passed north. Heavy rains; severe flooding; stores damaged.
• 1817, October 21: Passing hurricane damaged ships;
• 1819, October 13: Hurricane. Two dead; heavy rains; Foster Hall landslides; ships wrecked;
• 1822, December 19: Hurricane passed north; winds from south and west; very heavy seas.
• 1831, August 10: Severe hurricane. Over �2 million damage. 1 525 dead.
• 1837, July 9: Tropical storm hit island. Vessels thrown ashore. one church destroyed; chimneys blown down.
• 1846, September 11: Severe tropical storm passed south and drove vessels ashore.
• 1848, September 18: Tropical storm passed north dumping much rain.
• 1855, August 24: Tropical storm killed three; drove boats ashore. Rainfall was 9 inches at Edgecumbe and 10.36 inches at Bayfield.
• 1872, September 8: Severe thunderstorm. Between 8.01 and 11.02 inches of rain.
• 1877, September 21: Tropical storm passed over Barbados. No serious damage.
• 1886, August 15: Hurricane passed 40 miles north of Barbados. Gale force winds; 7-9 inches of rain. floods in St. Michael; landslides in St. Joseph and St. Thomas
• 1894, October 12: Tropical storm passed north-west. Destroyed hundreds of homes. 18 fishermen missing.
• 1898, September 10: Strong hurricane passed south. 83 dead; 9 937 houses destroyed, 4 519 damaged; 50,000 homeless.
• 1901, July 2: Tropical storm passed south. Severe floods, more than 20 inches of rain in St. Peter killing one person.
• 1949, August 31: Weak tropical storm dumped over 10 inches of rain in St. Joseph, St. John, St. Thomas, St. George; 5 to 6 inches of rain in the north.
• 1955: September 22: Hurricane Janet passed south of Barbados. Winds over 110 mph damaged or destroyed 8 100 small houses, 20,000 homeless.
• 1963, September 24: Hurricane Edith passed 50 miles south; 7 to 8 inches of rain.
• 1970, October 1: Tropical depression. Flooding in Bridgetown and St. Michael.
• 1980, August 3: Hurricane Allen passed north of Barbados. Destroyed about 35 houses and damaged 200 more.
SOURCES:
• A former Director of the Barbados Meteorological Service Deighton Best
• The Barbados Museum and Historical Society

[FireRat]

1831 (August 10) killer in Barbados. Monstrous hurricane that can't be excluded from the list of cyclones in the lesser antilles, took 1,500 lives.

Ok thanks your post. I did not know that for Barbados so glad to have this info FireRat . If you have any infos of history of cyclones in others islands you can post them, i will appreciate .

You're welcome my friend!

I'll post more storms if I find them as time goes on. You have put together a very nice list, very impressive and I also thank you for posting.

[Gustywind]

1831 (August 10) killer in Barbados. Monstrous hurricane that can't be excluded from the list of cyclones in the lesser antilles, took 1,500 lives.

Ok thanks your post. I did not know that for Barbados so glad to have this info FireRat . If you have any infos of history of cyclones in others islands you can post them, i will appreciate .

You're welcome my friend!

I'll post more storms if I find them as time goes on. You have put together a very nice list, very impressive and I also thank you for posting.

Thanks for you nice post and comments, i appreciate sincerely.

[Gustywind]

Hey Cycloneye, do you have any infos concerning all the hurricanes who have hit la isla del encato? If you have any infos, you can post them.
Gustywind

[Gustywind]

Hey Cycloneye, concerning Puerto-Rico i found this very interresting article but lacking of more datas after 2004 Jeanne. Whereas iI appreciate the very nice pics. Enjoy it .
http://huracanado1.tripod.com/index.html

Hurricanes and Tropical Storms in Puerto Rico from 1500 to 1899


Damage by hurricane "San Ciriaco"


August 8th, 1899


The history of hurricanes in Puerto Rico starts with the arrival of Christopher Columbus to the island in November 19th, 1493. Even though the island was "discovered" that year, the first Spanish settlement in Puerto Rico was established years later by Juan Ponce de León. This is the reason for having the first official records of tropical cyclones passing through Puerto Rico in the first decade of the 1500s. From that time on we have records of tropical cyclones in Puerto Rico until the present times.

The naming system of storms here was based on the catholic tradition of naming the storm with the "saint" of the day (e.g. San Ciprián on September 26th). There was also the case that storms repeated in the same day on different years such as with San Felipe I and San Felipe II on September 13th, 1876 and 1928 respectively. This tradition of naming storms that way ended with hurricane Betsy on 1956 which is still remembered here as “Santa Clara”. Years later with the passage of hurricane Donna in 1960, the storm was recognized as “San Lorenzo”.


16th Century

1508, August 16th; Tropical Storm “San Roque”

First tropical cyclone in record in Puerto Rico. It was reported by Juan Ponce de León when his ship was brought to the shore by the high winds and waves in the southwest coast of Puerto Rico. The southwest area was the most affected.



1514, July; Unnamed Tropical Storm

There are strong doubts if this storm was in 1513, 1514 or 1515. Historians in recent times have been leaning more towards 1514 as the date. A lot of Indians died due to the plagues and lack of food. In the “West Indies Documents” there are the reports of the treasurer of Puerto Rico reporting the damage by the storm in Puerto Rico to the Crown in Spain.


1526, October 4th-5th; Hurricane “San Francisco"

Reported as a violent hurricane that moved slowly over the north of Puerto Rico and affected the Dominican Republic on October 5th. This hurricane caused extensive damage and widespread flooding.

1530, July 26th; Hurricane “Santa Ana”

First of 3 tropical cyclones that affected Puerto Rico that year. Some historians talk of 5 tropical cyclones that year, but 2 of them are doubtful. Affected the entire island and destroyed half of the houses in San Juan, some historians estimate the storm passed in July 28th. Puerto Rico had a population of 3,100 inhabitants based on that year’s census.

1530, August 22nd; Tropical Storm “San Hipólito”

Affected the entire island with extensive flooding and a lot of crop damage.

1530, August 31st; Hurricane “San Ramón”

Violent hurricane that caused more extensive flooding and crop damage. There was so much suffering that many of the residents considered leaving the island.

1537, July or August; Unnamed Tropical Storm

Some historians talk of 3 tropical cyclones that year, but because of the lack of evidence only one can be attributed. The storm caused extensive damage to agriculture and widespread flooding. Many deaths were attributed to the storm, specially of slaves.

1545, September 7th; Unnamed Hurricane

This hurricane was reported by ocular witness in the Dominican Republic and it is presumed that it affected Puerto Rico. Apparently it was a large slow-moving storm that caused a lot of rain but was not very intense in terms of winds.

1568, August 24th-25th; Hurricane “San Bartolomé”

Based on historian Alejandro Tapia, this was the first tropical cyclone designated with the saint of the day. The earlier tropical cyclones were designated by historians years later after their passages. This was a severe hurricane that caused widespread damage in San Juan and in Santo Domingo on August 25th.

1575, September 12th; Tropical Storm “San Mateo”

Last tropical cyclone in Puerto Rico in the 16th Century and the first of 5 to occur in the Saint Mathew’s Day (Día de San Mateo). There are no details about its effects and trajectory.


17th Century

This century has almost no cyclones reported but there is the assumption that some were not reported due to the lack of communication and the big crisis of abandon and lack of communication with the other Spanish colonies and Spain that the island suffered during this century. This crisis left the island basically drifting in a social and economical stall. This effects were felt directly in the records of hurricanes in that time because little or no information was almost every time found due to the lack of reports of every kind in that period.

1615, September 12th; Hurricane “San Leoncio”

Severe hurricane that caused extensive damage to the San Juan Cathedral, to the agriculture and the sugar crops. There were several deaths and in the San Juan harbor some ships with cargo sank. Due to the lack of food, much of the food had to be imported from the neighboring islands. This was the first tropical cyclone to hit the island since “San Mateo” 40 years earlier.

1626, September 15th; Tropical Storm “San Nicomedes”

Apparently the storm passed trough the northern coast of the island. Caused near 30 deaths and in the San Juan Bay 30 ships were sunken.

1642, September; Unnamed Hurricane

Based on reports it was a severe hurricane of big size and strength. They day of passage is unknown and because of that the storm has no name. Destroyed houses and affected the agriculture. Years earlier the cacao was started to being cultivated and it was badly affected.

1657, August; Unnamed Hurricane

Unknown day of passage. Caused big damage to the agriculture which caused lack of food. It ended destroying the cacao crops which were abandoned because no one took care of them later. Some historians say that from 1657 until the end of the century there were other cyclones in Puerto Rico but the evidence is not very clear.


18th Century

The 18th Century is much more active in terms of tropical cyclones in Puerto Rico because the reports are more complete and frequent.

1713, September 6th; Hurricane “San Zacarias”

Since the last cyclone there have been already 56 years until this hurricane hit Puerto Rico. Caused a big storm surge in the south coast and it is estimated that a lot of damage was cause to the south side of the island.

1713, October 3rd; Tropical Storm “San Cándido”

Occurred 4 weeks after the last storm. Passed close to the south of the island and affected the Dominican Republic. Caused a lot of storm surge damage in the south coast.

1718, September 7th; Tropical Storm “Santa Regina”

Passed over or near the northeast side of the island. Caused some damage in San Juan, the most important was the “Nuns Convent” in San Juan that lost its roof.

1730, August 30th; Tropical Storm “Santa Rosa”

Not much information on this one, only that it passed to the south of the island and caused damage to plantations and houses.

1738, August 30th; Hurricane “Santa Rosa”

Exactly eight years after the last storm occurred a tropical cyclone with the same name but with hurricane strength at this time. Caused extensive damage to houses and agriculture and San Juan was badly affected. It is estimated that it entered in the eastern side of the island, crossing it and later affecting the Dominican Republic.



1738, September 12th; Hurricane “San Leoncio”

The route of this storm was interesting as it entered the Caribbean Sea by Guadeloupe then moving west-northwest close to St. Thomas and changing west over the south side of Puerto Rico then to the south of Hispaniola on September 13th. Caused a lot of flooding in the south side of the island affecting agriculture, San Juan did not report much damage.

1740, August 3rd; Hurricane “San Esteban”

This hurricane passed close to the south of the island then later affecting the northeast of the Dominican Republic. The city of Ponce reported the most damage.

1740, September 11th-12th; Hurricane “San Vicente”

Second hurricane of that year in Puerto Rico. Affected San Juan and the northern side of the island, apparently it was not a strong hurricane.

1742, October 28th; Hurricane “San Judas Tadeo”

Passed at some distance north of the island after affecting St. Thomas and turning more west-northwest. Strong south winds caused high seas in the south coast of Puerto Rico causing damage to some English ships. This resulted in the occupation by some of the locals of one of the ships that was brought onshore by the storm.

1751, August 18th; Tropical Storm "San Agapito"

The storm affected the entire island and it is possible that the route was across the island from south to north. An earthquake was reported during the passage of the storm.

1766, September 19th; Hurricane "San Genaro"

Severe hurricane that affected the east half of the island. Caused damage to rice, corn, bananas, coconuts and other crops. The trajectory of this storm is very doubtful as it passed over Monserrat in September 13th possibly turning after that passing over northeast Puerto Rico 6 days later, which is too much time.

1766, October 7th-8th; Hurricane "San Marcos"

Passed over Guadeloupe were a storm surge combined with a river overflow created a big flooding. Crossed Puerto Rico from southeast to northwest causing the worst damage in the east side even though it affected the entire island.

1767, August 7th; Hurricane "San Cayetano"

Passed somewhat retired from the south of the island. Caused big flooding and damage to crops. In the island of Martinique 1,600 people were drowned.

1772, August 28th-29th; Hurricane "San Agustín"

It was a strong hurricane that passed trough the Leeward Islands, then St. Thomas, crossing Puerto Rico from Fajardo to Mayaguez and affecting Hispaniola. Damage in Puerto Rico was severe.

1772, August 31st; Hurricane "San Ramón"

Second hurricane of the year, passed only three days after the last hurricane. Affected the island of Barbados then moving northwest towards the Leeward Islands and St. Thomas passing over the northeast side of Puerto Rico with lesser damage than the earlier storm.

1775, August 1st; Tropical Storm "San Pedro"

"Saint Peter" passed close to the southwest corner of the island then over the Dominican Republic. Its effects are unknown.

1780, June 13th; Tropical Storm "San Antonio"

Only cyclone on record in the month of June in Puerto Rico. Passed close or just south of Puerto Rico then over the Dominican Republic. Damaged an English ship in the south coast. Affected crops and properties in Puerto Rico causing a lot of damage in the Dominican Republic.

1780, October 14th; Hurricane "San Calixto"

Known as the "Great Antilles Hurricane" is one of the most infamous and damaging of all times. The hurricane dismantled Barbados with winds estimated in close to 200mph destroying trees completely until flying. In St. Lucia it caused 6,000 deaths and in Martinique it caused 9,000 deaths in part due to the storm surge. The center of the hurricane passed close to the southwest tip of Puerto Rico then over the east side of the Dominican Republic turning towards Bermuda were it sank 50 ships. Damage in Puerto Rico was not very important but this storm was included in the list due to the importance of the damage it caused. Affected severely St. Vincent and Grenada.


1785, September 25th; Tropical Storm "San Lupo"

Passed over Puerto Rico causing severe damage, mainly in the rural areas. For the first time a governor (Juan Dabán) visited the island to offer relief and inspect the damage.



1788, August 16th; Hurricane "San Roque"

Hurricane that passed south of the island but due to its large size affected it entirely. This was the last tropical cyclone of the 18th Century in Puerto Rico and by this time the island had 35 localities and population of 100,000 people.



19 Century

1804, September 4th; Hurricane "Santa Rosalía"

First hurricane to affect Puerto Rico in the 19th Century. It passed north of the island without much important damage. Later the storm affected very hard the city of Charleston, South Carolina.

1806, September 11th, Hurricane "San Vicente"

Affected severely Dominica causing 131 deaths. Passed south of Puerto Rico causing a lot of damage in Ponce.

1807, August 17-19; Hurricane "San Jacinto"

A very slow-moving storm that affected the island for 50 hours. Flooded all the rivers and destroyed much of the crops. Loss of life was big. The storm moved over the Leeward Islands then over the Virtin islands, then crossing Puerto Rico from southeast to northwest before passing over the Dominican Republic.

1813, July 23rd; Tropical Storm "San Liborio"

Caused a lot of damage in the southwest part of the island, specially to the coffee crops.

1813, August 21st; Tropical Storm "Santa Juana"

Affected Dominica before passing close to the south of Puerto Rico, then the storm affected South Carolina. Damage to agriculture.

1814, July 23rd; Tropical Storm "San Liborio"

One year after, the same day another tropical cyclone passed close to Puerto Rico. Again the storm affected hard the south side and it was felt in San Juan. At the time the storm passed there was a 7 month drought but the passage was not very helpful because it destroyed the crops.

1816, September 18-20; Hurricane "San José de Cupertino"

Passed over Martinique and then close or over the south coast of Puerto Rico. Damage to crops.

1818, September 22nd, Tropical Storm "San Mauricio"

Cause minor damage to the island. The passage of this storm is unclear, it is reported that it was felt in the south side of the island, specially in Guayama.

1819, September 21st-22nd, Hurricane "San Mateo"

It was a severe hurricane. Moved over the Virgin Islands causing 101 deaths then over Puerto Rico the night of September 21st. The storm sank a lot of ships in San Juan and it is estimated that this storm destroyed most of the houses and crops in Puerto Rico.

1824, September 9-10; Hurricane "San Pedro"

Passed very near the south coast affecting mainly the area from Juana Díaz to Cabo Rojo.

1825, July 26-27; Hurricane "Santa Ana"

Santa Ana is one of the strongest hurricanes in record in Puerto Rico. Caused 374 deaths and 1,200 injured. Made landfall in Puerto Rico at 11pm in the area of Humacao and Yabucoa leaving the island by Arecibo and Vega Baja at 8:30am. Affected mainly the east, north and center of the island, the southwest was not much affected. This is the second storm to cause more deaths in Puerto Rico's history only after "San Ciriaco" in 1899. In San Juan the storm decimated the poor suburbs leaving the city without communication to the rest of the island. Apparently the storm was small in size, if it were larger the storm would have destroyed the entire island. Guadeloupe measured a pressure of 27.10 inches of mercury or 918 millibars. The storm's intensity in Puerto Rico is estimated to be around category 4 force with winds of around 150mph.

1827, August 17th; Tropical Storm "San Jacinto"

Crossed the island from southeast to north affecting the agriculture. In the harbors around the island some ships were sunk.

1835, August 13th; Hurricane "San Hipólito"

Crossed the island from southeast to north lasting around 6 to 7 hours over land affecting mainly the east and north of the island. This storm passed north of Hispaniola, over Cuba and affected Galveston, Texas.

1837, August 2nd-3rd; Hurricane "Nuestra Señora de los Angeles"

It was a severe hurricane that crossed the island from southeast to north in a period of 10 to 12 hours. The first storm to have a barometric reading in Puerto Rico were San Juan got a minimal pressure of 28.00 inches of mercury or 948 millibars. In San Juan the storm killed 11 people and sank some ships.

1851, August 18th; Hurricane "San Agapito"

Passed very close to the southwest side of the island but the effects took all of Puerto Rico. The storm was estimated to have winds of around 100 mph sustained when the closest point of approach 1. Big damage to agriculture. The storm entered Florida by the city of Apalachicola on August 22nd.

1852, September 5th; Hurricane "San Lorenzo"

The storm made landfall in southwest Puerto Rico with winds estimated in the area of 70 mph to 80 mph 1. Affected the southwest side of Puerto Rico causing big flooding and damage to Guayanilla and Mayaguez.

1867, October 29th; Hurricane "San Narciso"

One of the strong hurricanes of Puerto Rico's history affected the entire island. Caused 211 deaths because of the flooding. The storm passed directly over St. Thomas the afternoon of October 29th with estimated sustained winds of 120 mph and a reported pressure of 952 millibars 1 causing 600 deaths by drowning and in the bay 50 ships sunk. The storm made landfall in Puerto Rico at around 5-6 pm somewhat weaker than when it hit St. Thomas passing over Caguas and leaving the island in the west. The rare thing with this storm is that with such insignificant pressure readings (29.60 in/hg or 1002 mb in San Juan and 29.40 in/hg or 995 mb in Arroyo) the storm caused so much damage. The first tropical cyclone were the wind speed is known.

1871, August 21st; Hurricane "Santa Juana"

This is the first tropical cyclone in which Puerto Rico got the warning of the storm coming because the telegraph and the ultramarine cable was already working in the Caribbean. The storm passed over the Virgin Islands and a message was sent to San Juan. The eye of the hurricane moved over the Virgin Island and around 20 miles northeast of Puerto Rico with estimated sustained winds of 120 mph 1.St. Thomas got a pressure of 28.40 in/hg or 962 millibars and 27 deaths. The storm passed just north of San Juan with a pressure measured of 29.53 in/hg or 1000 millibars. Damage in Puerto Rico was minimal.

1876, September 13th, Hurricane "San Felipe I"

One of the worst hurricanes in the 19th century affected the island by 10 hours crossing it from east to west. The storm made landfall with estimated sustained winds of 100 mph weakening and with a pressure report from Mayaguez of 991 millibars 1. San Juan got winds of 60mph and a pressure of 29.20 in/hg or 988 millibars and a rain total of 4.71 inches. This is the first storm were rain was measured in Puerto Rico. A total of 19 deaths was associated to the storm, by this time the first daily weather observations were done in Puerto Rico.


1878, November 28th; Tropical Storm "San Rufo"

First tropical cyclone to affect Puerto Rico in the month of November. The storm passed just over the south coast of Puerto Rico in a just south of due west direction with estimated sustained winds of 70 mph 1. The storm was felt in the east and south of the island with San Juan reporting winds of 20mph and a pressure of 29.64 in/hg (1004mb). Little damage reported.

1888, September 1st-2nd; Hurricane "San Gil"

Passed some 100 to 150 nm north of Puerto Rico estimated as a category 1 hurricane 1. The effects in the island were the heavy rains which caused over 100 deaths due to river flooding. This hurricane is similar to Donna in 1960 which had the same tragic effect in Puerto Rico without passing over the island.


1889, September 3rd-4th; Hurricane "San Martín"

Passed near St. Thomas with estimated sustained winds of 105 mph at a distance of around 40 nm from the northeast tip of Puerto Rico and at around 90 nm northeast of San Juan 1. Damage to banana crops only. Winds of 48 mph were measured and a pressure of 29.43 in/hg (996mb) in San Juan and 29.30 in/hg (992mb) in Humacao.



1891, August 19th-20th; Hurricane "San Magín"

The eye of the hurricane passed close to the southwest tip of Puerto Rico in a west-northwest direction with estimated sustained winds of 100-105 mph 1. Big flooding was reported in the island with the city of Carolina 6 to 8 feet under water. This was one of the deadliest hurricanes in the Antilles were it killed more than 700 people in Martinique.



1893, August 16th-17th; Hurricane "San Roque"

Entered the island by Patillas at 7-8 pm and left Puerto Rico by 3am in Isabela. The storm was estimated to have sustained winds of 115 mph at time of landfall 1. San Juan got 29.17 in/hg (987mb) pressure and winds of 55 mph with rains of 2.36 inches. This is the first storm were flags were used to warn people of a storm coming, this was done in the goverment offices. The hurricane affected hard the railroads.



1896, August 31st-September 1st; Hurricane "San Ramón"

Last hurricane in Puerto Rico under the Spanish control. Crossed the southwest area of the island making landfall in the vicinity of Ponce with estimated sustained winds of 100 mph.



1899, August 8th; Hurricane "San Ciriaco"

This hurricane has some records that are hard or impossible to break:

1) The last hurricane of the 19th Century.

2) First hurricane with Puerto Rico under the control of USA.

3) The natural disaster that has killed most people in Puerto Rico's history; 3,369 deaths.

4) The storm that has caused more rain in 24 hours with a total of 23.00 inches in Adjuntas.

5) First tropical cyclone with a rain map in Puerto Rico and the first under the National Weather Service (NWS) in Puerto Rico.

San Ciriaco formed near the Cape Verde Islands and crossed the Atlantic towards the Antilles, then moved towards the United States turning east over the North Atlantic towards Europe. The hurricane made landfall in southeast Puerto Rico at around 8am with estimated sustained winds of 140-145 mph and a pressure of 27.75 in/hg or 939 millibars leaving the island around 2pm in the vicinity of Aguadilla 1. The storm's hurricane wind radii was of 80-85 nm and the rain area was of around 385 nm. Pressure in San Juan was of 29.17 in/hg (987mb) and rain totals of 6.37 inches. In Mayaguez the winds picked up to 112mph and a pressure of 28.86 in/hg (977mb). In 48 hours an average of 10.1 inches of rain was estimated for the entire island. That is the normal rain rate of 2 summer months in Puerto Rico. During the hurricane a total of 890 people died and 1,294 were drowned. Some injured died later and the total was elevated to 3,369 deaths. Damage estimates to property were a total of $35,889,013 3.

In the article "La marejada ciclónica de San Ciriaco" or "The Storm Surge of San Ciriaco" 2 it is mentioned the deadly storm surge that entered in the area of Humacao near one mile inland in some places with the winds coming from the east (onshore) in the northern eyewall of the storm. Storm surge estimates are of at least 15 feet in the area which has places like Punta Santiago which are several feet below sea level and were entire families were lost in the storm and were never found after. San Ciriaco was the deadliest storms in Puerto Rico and is also on record as one of the strongest to hit the island and still more than a century after its passage is a storm that deserves to be studied in every aspect.

[Gustywind]

20th Century

1901, July 7th; Tropical Storm "San Cirilo"
First storm to hit Puerto Rico in the 20th Century. The center of the storm moved over the southwest tip of Puerto Rico in a northwesterly direction with estimated sustained winds of 70 mph in the early morning of July 7th 1. The storm was mostly experienced in the southwest area of the island and produced rains of 5 to 6 inches in 72 hours in Barranquitas, Caguas and Humacao. The wind report of San Juan was of 52 mph and a pressure of 29.60 in/hg (1002 mb).

1901, September 11th-12th; Tropical Storm "San Vicente"
The center of this tropical storm moved over the north coast of Puerto Rico in a westerly direction with estimated sustained winds of 60 mph during the night of September 11th and early morning of September 12th 1. The wind report from San Juan was of 52 mph and a pressure of 29.89 (1012 mb). The storm affected all the crops in Puerto Rico, specially the citrus.

1910, September 6th-7th; Hurricane "San Zacarias"
The eye of this hurricane passed around 20 miles south of the south coast of Puerto Rico in a westerly direction with sustained winds estimated in 100 mph 1. Strong gusts were reported in the northeast side of the island and in San Juan winds reached 72 mph with a pressure of 29.66 in/hg (1004 mb). The rest of the island apparently did not report very much activity. The rare thing with this hurricane is that the worst conditions were experienced in the northeast side of the island with the storm passing close to the south coast.

1915, August 11th; Hurricane "San Triburcio"
The storm passed around 100 miles south of Puerto Rico in a westerly direction with winds estimated in 100 mph near the center. Two people were drowned in the sea in Cabo Rojo, the storm caused mountainous seas in the south coast. Also the agriculture was affected with crops damaged. The minimal pressure in San Juan was of 29.77 in/hg (1008 mb) and winds of 62 mph. The strongest winds were experienced in the Central Mountain Range and the south.

1916, August 22nd; Hurricane "San Hipólito"
Estimated to be a small sized hurricane that crossed Puerto Rico from east to west. The storm's intensity was estimated to be at 90 mph sustained at time of landfall and weakening as it crossed the island. San Juan reported winds of 92 mph and a pressure of 29.82 in/hg (1010 mb). One death was attributed to the storm and the worst damage was reported in the east and northern part of Puerto Rico, specially Santurce. The monetary damage is estimated at $1,000,000 dollars.

1921, September 9th-10th; Hurricane "San Pedro"
This hurricane passed well south of Puerto Rico in a west-northwesterly direction as a category one storm, then it moved in a northerly direction over eastern Hispaniola re-curving into the open Atlantic passing close to Bermuda. Cabo Rojo, PR had winds of 60 mph and a pressure of 29.68 in/hg (1005 mb) and Ponce reported a pressure of 29.70 in/hg (1006 mb). The winds measured in San Juan were of 44 mph with a pressure of 29.82 in/hg (1010 mb). The main effect of the storm was heavy surf in the south coast and damage was minimal, one death was reported.

1926, July 23rd-24th; Hurricane "San Liborio"

The storm entered the Caribbean Sea by Martinique and strengthening as it moved in a general west-northwest heading until making landfall in the southwest of Puerto Rico with estimated sustained winds of 80 mph the night of July 23rd. The winds in San Juan were measured of 66 mph and a pressure of 29.62 in/hg (1003 mb). The hurricane killed 25 people and damage estimates are of $5,000,000 dollars. Many houses were destroyed around the island.

1928, September 13th; Hurricane "San Felipe II"

This is considered one of the most intense hurricanes in the history of the Antilles and the strongest in Puerto Rico's history. This infamous hurricane developed in the area of the Cape Verde Islands reported in September 6th. Moving generally in a westerly direction for the next few days, the storm strengthened into hurricane intensity and further increasing its force passed over the island of Guadeloupe the afternoon of September 12th with sustained winds estimated to be near 125 mph (110 kts) and a reported pressure in the island of 940 millibars. As the storm entered the Caribbean Sea it continued to strengthen becoming a category 5 intensity (Saffir-Simpson Scale) hurricane.


"San Felipe" made landfall in Southeast Puerto Rico in the vicinity of Guayama-Arroyo at around 2 PM AST September 13th with officially estimated sustained winds of 160 mph and a measured pressure in Arroyo of 27.50 in/hg or 931 millibars (It is not known if this pressure was actually measured in the eye). For the next eight to ten hours the eye of the hurricane crossed Puerto Rico from southeast to northwest without losing much strength, still with category 5 intensity when it left the northwest side of the island in the vicinity of Aguadilla at around 10-11 PM AST September 13th. The wind report from San Juan was of sustained 160 mph at around 1 PM AST before the instrument was destroyed by the winds. Stronger winds were probably felt after the instrument was destroyed, this are the highest sustained winds ever reported in Puerto Rico. As the official intensity estimates are of 160 mph (140 kts) when the storm hit Puerto Rico, there are estimates of sustained winds in the area of 180-200 mph were the strongest part of the eyewall passed over, which was the southeast coast of the island. Damage surveys in the aftermath of the storm reveal that there was catastrophic destruction all around Puerto Rico, but that the towns which were directly in the path of the eye and strongest part of the eyewall were literary "blown" out of the map. This was the case in places like Guayama, Arroyo all the way north to Naguabo and westward. The storm was also very big as estimates are of hurricane conditions in Guayama during 18 hours ( 4 am-10 pm September 13th) and San Juan during 12 hours ( 4 am-4 pm September 13th). Rain reports were of 29.60 inches of rain in 48 hours.


After blasting Puerto Rico the hurricane continued in a west-northwesterly direction over the Bahamas Islands as a category 4 storm finally making landfall in the vicinity of West Palm Beach, Florida in the night of September 17th with estimated sustained winds of 150 mph (130 kts) and a measured pressure of 929 millibars. The storm made catastrophic damage in Florida also causing a storm surge in Lake Okeechobee showing the massive size and power of the storm, at least 1,800 deaths were caused by the storm in that state. The storm moved further inland into Florida and the eastern side of the United States while finally dissipating near the Great Lakes area in September 20th.


As mentioned above, Puerto Rico was devastated by the storm and the towns were the eye passed directly over were the worst affected with many places becoming unrecognizable after the event. At least 312 deaths were related to the hurricane. Damage estimates are of $50,000,000 dollars (Which for that time is a very high amount). A total of 24,728 houses were completely destroyed and 192,444 were severely affected. Almost no building in Puerto Rico survived the hurricane without any damage 2. Many sugar cane factories which were new at that time and were valued at millions of dollars were reduced to debris by the hurricane. The coffee crops were all lost and coffee was imported to Puerto Rico from 1929 to 1934 to satisfy local demand 3. The economy of Puerto Rico which was struggling before the hurricane was further affected by it and it took more than a decade to recuperate entirely from the effects of this infamous storm which to the date, is the strongest hurricane to hit Puerto Rico in it's history.

1931, September 10th-11th; Hurricane "San Nicolás"
Category 1 hurricane that crossed the north coast of Puerto Rico from east to west with estimated sustained winds of 90 mph. The storm made landfall in Fajardo at 8 PM leaving the island by Aguadilla at 2 AM. The hurricane continued in a westward track across the south of Hispaniola and into Yucatan and Mainland Mexico. The winds in San Juan reached 90 mph from the northwest and a pressure of 29.17 in/hg (987.8 millibars) at 10 PM AST. The hurricane lasted around 2 hours in San Juan. Two people died in the storm and the worst damage was to agriculture, estimates are of $200,000 dollars.

1932, September 26th-27th; Hurricane "San Ciprián"
Only four years after hurricane "San Felipe" yet another major storm hits Puerto Rico. "San Ciprián" developed east of the Northern Leeward Islands and strengthened fast becoming a hurricane and crossing St. Marteen, Anguilla and the Virgin Islands as a category 3 hurricane the day of September 26th. The eye of the hurricane made landfall in Eastern Puerto Rico around 10 PM AST September 26th and crossing the island during the next 7 hours until exiting Puerto Rico near Mayaguez at 5 AM AST September 27th. Winds at time of landfall in Puerto Rico are estimated to be of sustained 120 mph or category 3 intensity. There is a pressure report from two ships in Ensenada Honda, Ceiba (landfall point of the hurricane) which measured 27.70 in/hg (938 millibars) and 28.00 in/hg (948 millibars). These pressure reports support at least a category 3 intensity hurricane at landfall in Puerto Rico. In San Juan the anemometer broke when the winds reached 66 mph, and they reported a pressure of 980 millibars when the eye of the hurricane passed to their south at around 1 AM AST September 27th. After affecting Puerto Rico, the hurricane continued in a westward motion across the south coast of Hispaniola and weakening to tropical storm status finally dissipating over Mexico in October 3rd.

Damage in Puerto Rico was extensive all across the island and 225 people died as a result of the storm, damage estimates are of $30,000,000 dollars. Many of the deaths were caused by the collapse of buildings or flying debris. A total of 25,000 people lost their homes and 46 municipalities were severely damaged. In the agriculture, the citruses were the worst damaged because they were in the worst affected area. In Arecibo a total of 24 people died when they took shelter in a building that collapsed during the hurricane. Puerto Rico was still recuperating from "San Felipe" and this storm brought more misery and desolation to the island.

1943, October 14th; Hurricane "San Calixto"
This hurricane passed far south of Puerto Rico in a westerly direction, then suddenly the storm turned in a northward direction passing 70 miles west of Puerto Rico and near Punta Cana, Dominican Republic as a category 1 hurricane (90 mph). The storm ended in Nova Scotia. Winds of 60 mph were reported in the west of Puerto Rico, this caused damage to houses from Cabo Rojo to Aguadilla. Rains of 12 to 18 inches caused flooding in the rest of the island. No deaths were reported, for first time the Reconnaissance Aircrafts to study the cyclone.

1949, September 21st; Hurricane "San Mateo"
Short-lived hurricane that passed some 40-60 nm south of Puerto Rico with winds estimated of 80 mph near the center. In Saint Croix the damage was strong but the effects in Puerto Rico were relatively minor, mainly in the south and southwest side. In Ramey AFB, Aguadilla winds of 64 mph were measured and in San Juan the winds reached 38 mph. Almost all of the rivers flooded.

1956, August 12th, Hurricane Betsy (Santa Clara)
Hurricane Betsy developed from a tropical wave in August 9th east of the Lesser Antilles. The storm rapidly strengthened reaching hurricane status reaching an estimated peak of intensity of sustained 120mph (105 kts) winds and weakening before passing over the island of Dominica and very near the southwest of Guadeloupe in the afternoon of August 11th. At this time the storm was estimated to have winds of 90 to 110 mph. The hurricane continued moving straight to Puerto Rico making landfall in the southeast of the island by the town of Patillas at 8 AM AST August 12th. The intensity of the hurricane at this time was estimated to be at 90 mph and the storm was moving at a fast forward speed of 21 mph with an eye of 14 nm in diameter. In only 3 hours the eye of the hurricane crossed Puerto Rico leaving the island by Arecibo (north coast) at 11 AM AST August 12th. San Juan reported winds of 92 mph, a pressure of 29.56 in/hg (1001 mb) and rain totals of 3.19 inches. Ramey AFB in Aguadilla reported sustained winds of 85 mph with a gust of 115 mph. The highest rainfall report was in Rio Grande with 8.70 inches. After passing over Puerto Rico, Betsy continued in a northwest track strengthening back to category 2 intensity and re-curving northeastward into the open waters of the Atlantic losing its tropical characteristics as it moved into cooler waters by the 20th of August.

Damage made by "Santa Clara" in Puerto Rico was bad in the southeast, central and northern areas of the island, the hurricane did not impact very much the southwest side. A total of 16 peopled died in the storm and 15,000 houses were destroyed. Damage estimates are of $40,000,000 dollars. This is the first hurricane that was tracked in radar as it crossed Puerto Rico.

1960, September 5th-6th; Hurricane Donna (San Lorenzo)
Hurricane Donna is one of the infamous Atlantic hurricanes due to the path of destruction the storm left from the Caribbean trough the Bahamas, Florida and the Eastern Seaboard of the United States. In Puerto Rico the effects of Donna were associated with deadly flashfloods which killed over 100 people when the storm passed 70 nm northeast of the island. Donna originated from a tropical wave which became a tropical depression south of the Cape Verde Islands on August 29th. Moving in a classic Cape Verde track the depression became a tropical storm in August 30th as it was approaching the Lesser Antilles. Tropical storm Donna became a hurricane in September 1st and still intensifying until reaching its peak of intensity of 160mph (140 kts) sustained winds when the storm was about 100 nm east-northeast of Guadeloupe in August 4th. Hurricane Donna weakened somewhat before passing very close to Antigua and near of over Barbuda, St. Marteen and Anguilla, by this time the hurricane was estimated to have winds of 150 mph when it hit Antigua and Barbuda weakening steadily to 130-135 mph when it passed the St. Marteen area. Donna continued in a west-northwest track passing close to the north of the Virgin Islands, 36 nm north of St. Thomas and 70 nm northeast of Fajardo, Puerto Rico the afternoon of September 5th with winds estimated to be at 125-130 mph near the center. The hurricane then moved in a more westward track across the Bahamas blasting the island as a category 4 storm estimated to have winds of 150 mph at that time. After that, the hurricane made landfall in the Middle Florida Keys in the early morning hours of September 10th with winds of 140 mph and a pressure of 932 millibars. Then the huricane started to recurve over the state making a second landfall near Napes, Florida still as a category 4 intensity hurricane emerging near the city of Daytona as a borderline category 3-4 hurricane and making two more landfalls in the North Carolina Outer Banks and Long Island, New York as a category 2 hurricane, after that the hurricane lost its tropical characteristics dissipating over Eastern Canada in September 14th.


Damage in Puerto Rico was mainly due to rain, not much wind was experienced in the island. Rainfall amounts were tremendous with estimates of 15 to 20 inches of rain in a 6 to 10 hour period, which can be a record for Puerto Rico. These excessive rainfall amounts caused all rivers to flood over their banks killing 107 people by drowning. The worst floods occurred in the eastern half of the island with much of the deaths registered in the city of Humacao were the river claimed most of the lives. The Red Cross reported 137 people death or missing, 519 destroyed houses and 3,762 houses affected. Many people did not took precautions even with the warnings issued resulting in the tragedy in Humacao were people did not abandoned their houses and when the river came and swept away their houses, with them inside. As well as in Puerto Rico, the Leeward Islands, Bahamas and United States suffered heavy damage by this powerful hurricane. In Florida the Keys were blasted by the full force of the winds and storm surge of the hurricane with many islands under the water during the height of the storm. The damage path continued all across the Florida Peninsula and the Eastern Seaboard all the way up to New York City and Boston.


1961, October 2nd-3rd; Tropical Storm Frances
Tropical storm Frances developed just east of the Lesser Antilles in September 30th passing just southwest of Puerto Rico in the night of October 2nd and morning of October 3rd. Heavy rains were reported in the southwest of the island and winds of 35 mph reported. The storm was estimated to have winds of 60 mph at closest point of approach. Frances the strengthened to hurricane intensity re-curving into the Atlantic and dissipating in October 10th. No deaths associated to the storm in Puerto Rico.



1963, September 26th; Hurricane Edith
This hurricane formed just east of the Lesser Antilles on September 23rd and intensifying until passing Near St. Lucia as a category 2 intensity hurricane. After weakening the hurricane passed around 20 miles southwest of Puerto Rico with winds of 75 mph night of September 26th. Edith then hit the Dominican Republic and dissipated over the Bahamas in September 29th. The hurricane caused some damage to bridges and crops in the south of Puerto Rico.



1964, August 23rd; Hurricane Cleo
Hurricane Cleo formed east of the Lesser Antilles moving in a westward track in August 20th. During the next few days the storm strengthened until reaching hurricane intensity and blasting Guadeloupe with winds of 130-135 mph sustained on August 22nd. After that, Cleo continued in a westward track passing 100 nm south of Puerto Rico with winds of 155 mph causing minor damage and with winds of 52 mph reported in Punta Tuna, Maunabo. The hurricane passed just south of Barahona, Dominican Republic and over southwestern Haiti as a category 4 hurricane, weakening and crossing Eastern Cuba the eye of Cleo moved over South Florida as a rapidly strengthening category 2 hurricane with winds of 105 mph and a pressure of 968 millibars. The Cleo re-curved inland over the North Carolina area and moved out into the ocean were it regained hurricane intensity finally dissipating east of Nova Scotia on September 5th.



1966, August 26th; Hurricane Faith
Hurricane Faith developed east of the Lesser Antilles in August 21st and moving in a general westward direction and intensifying until becoming a hurricane. Faith passed around 90 nm north of San Juan moving west-northwest with winds of 85 mph near the center. Wind reports in San Juan were of 45 mph and minimal damage. The hurricane caused high seas in the north coast. After that, the hurricane re-curved after reaching the peak intensity of 125mph.



1966, September 28th; Hurricane Inez
Inez was a powerful hurricane that passed around 70 nm south of Puerto Rico in September 28th. The winds at that time were estimated to be of 150 mph sustained near the center. Inez developed east of the Antilles in September 21st and moved towards the islands until reaching Guadeloupe in September 27th, the storm was estimated to have winds of 125 mph when it hit the island. Inez continued to strengthen as it moved south of Puerto Rico and over Southern Hispaniola, then having a very erratic track over Cuba, South Florida, Yucatan and finally Mainland Mexico in October 11th. A reconnaissance aircraft measured a wind of 197 mph at 4,000 feet when the storm was south of Puerto Rico. At that time it was the record of speed for cyclones in the area. In Puerto Rico the highest winds were of 52 mph in Tallaboa, Peñuelas and in Mona Island the winds were estimated in the 70-80 mph range. Damage was minimal in Puerto Rico.



1967, September 9th, Hurricane Beulah
Powerful category 4 hurricane that passed some 40 miles to the southwest of Puerto Rico with winds estimated of 145 mph near the center. Beulah formed east of the Antilles in September 5th and moved over the St. Lucia area as a tropical storm, then the storm rapidly strengthened to hurricane intensity and reaching major hurricane status south of Puerto Rico. The hurricane made a sharp turn to the left passing just south of Hispaniola and weakening fast, then the hurricane hit Yucatan as a category 2 storm and making a final landfall in the Brownsville, Texas area as a category 3 intensity hurricane, finally dissipating inland in September 22nd. Damage in Puerto Rico was in the south coast, to beach houses, boats and roads.



1975, September 15th-16th; Tropical Storm Eloise
Eloise passed 30 to 40 nm north of Puerto Rico as a tropical storm moving in a westward direction. Eloise became a tropical depression in September 13th and maintaining that strength as it moved over the extreme Northern Leeward Islands. When it passed north of Puerto Rico the system reached tropical storm status and it was estimated to have winds of 50 mph as it moved north of the island. Then the storm briefly reached hurricane intensity making landfall in the Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic area in September 17th with winds estimated to be at 75 mph. Eloise ended making landfall in the Florida Panhandle in September 23rd with winds of 125 mph (110kts) and a pressure of 955 millibars. This resulted in very extensive wind and storm surge damage in the area and also an outbreak of tornadoes associated with the storm. In Puerto Rico the damage was caused by very heavy rainfall and extensive flooding around the island. The southwest side was the worst affected and 44 people died by drowning. Rainfall data indicate that the record of 23 inches of rain in 24 hours by hurricane "San Ciriaco" in 1899 may have been exceeded but the information cannot be confirmed.



1979, July 17th-18th; Tropical Storm Claudette
Claudette was a weak tropical storm that passed over the north coast of Puerto Rico in a westward direction. Apparently the storm weakened to tropical depression strength just before landfall. Claudette never got very much strength and ended making landfall near Corpus Christy, Texas in July 24th. The winds were estimated to be around 50 mph, apparently the storm brought a lot of rain to the area because damage estimates are of $609 million dollars. Damage in Puerto Rico was minimal.



1979, August 30th; Hurricane David
Hurricane David originated from a tropical wave that emerged from the west coast of Africa becoming a tropical depression in August 25th east of the Windward Islands. Moving in a westward direction the system continued to organize and became a tropical storm and later a hurricane as it was getting closer to the islands. David became a powerful category 4 hurricane as it blasted through the islands of Martinique and Dominica with sustained winds of 145 mph and a pressure of 933 millibars the afternoon of August 29th. This resulted in massive destruction in those islands. David continued moving west-northwestward passing around 70 nm southwest of Puerto Rico with an amazing intensity of 175 mph sustained winds and a pressure of 924 millibars. David weakened slightly and re-strengthened just prior to landfall near Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic with estimated sustained winds of 175 mph and a pressure of 926 millibars in the afternoon of August 31st. David is one of the worst hurricanes in the Dominican Republic's history, damage was catastrophic and more than 1,200 people died and many others were left homeless and in the misery. The high mountains of Hispaniola almost killed David from a powerful category 5 hurricane to a tropical storm when it left the island by the coast of Haiti, and skimming Cuba. David passed just east of Miami in a northward direction as a category 1 hurricane and strengthened to 100 mph moving along the coast from West Palm Beach all the way to the Georgia-South Carolina border as a category 1 hurricane. David ended losing its tropical characteristics in September 8th.

David is one of the worst hurricanes to hit the Caribbean in the 20th Century. When the hurricane passed south of Puerto Rico, hurricane conditions were experienced in the southeast, south and southwest areas of the island with estimated sustained winds of 75-85 mph. The rest of the island experienced tropical storm winds gusting to hurricane force at times. The seas became extremely violent in the south coast of the island and flooding was severe all across the island, specially in the north coast. A total of 7 people died during the storm. David was followed by tropical storm Frederick 5 days later.



1979, September 4th; Tropical Storm Frederick
Only 5 days after David, tropical storm Frederick passed directly over Puerto Rico. Frederick developed east of the Antilles on August 29th following the track of David. Becoming a hurricane east of the Leeward Islands, Frederick found some strong upper-level wind shear due to the outflow of hurricane David. The weak storm crossed Puerto Rico from east to west with winds of 50 mph and a pressure of 1004 millibars.

After passing over Puerto Rico, Frederick affected the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Cuba and entering the Gulf of Mexico were it became a powerful category 4 hurricane. Frederick ended making landfall in the Mississippi-Alabama coasts with sustained winds of 135 mph and a pressure of 946 millibars in the night of September 13th. Damage to the area was very heavy and estimates are of $3.5 billion dollars in damage, one of the most expensive hurricanes of all times in the United States. In Puerto Rico the damage was caused by flooding and damage estimates cannot be separated between David and Frederick, and are a total of $125 million dollars.


1981, September 8th; Tropical Storm Gert:


The center of this fast moving tropical storm moved through Puerto Rico from the southeast to the north-central coast of the island in a period of less than three hours. The storm's intensity was of sustained 60 mph at time of landfall. In San Juan the wind report was of 40 mph with a pressure of 29.66 in/hg or 1004 millibars. Rainfall amounts of 2-3 inches were reported. The strongest winds in Puerto Rico were reported at Fajardo with sustained 50 mph and a gust to 60 mph. Damage was minimal.


1984, November 7th; Tropical Storm Klaus:


Second storm in Puerto Rico's history in the month of November and is often remembered by the fact that it hit the island in the election's day of 1984. The system developed south of Puerto Rico in the Caribbean Sea in November 5th, moving northeastward and strengthening to tropical storm intensity the center of the storm passed just east extreme Eastern Puerto Rico during the night of the 7th. The storm's intensity was of around 50 to 60 mph but the area of strongest winds remained offshore Puerto Rico and over the US Virgin Islands. After affecting the area the storm intensified to hurricane status in the 8th while moving over the Atlantic Ocean and thereafter losing tropical characteristics in the 13th. Damage in Puerto Rico was relatively minor with highest winds reported in Roosevelt Roads with gusts to 37 mph. Rainfall amounts peaked at 3 inches. Trees down and power lines affected were the biggest results, other than disrupting somewhat the election process.

1989, September 18th; Hurricane Hugo:
Hurricane Hugo 1989 in Puerto Rico Report

Hurricane Hugo developed from a tropical wave in the area south of the Cape Verde island in September 10th 1989 when it became a tropical depression were it continued to intensify to tropical storm intensity in September 11th. The storm was steadily moving in a general westward track and it became a hurricane in September 13th when it was still east of the Lesser Antilles, the storm continued the intensification process towards its peak of intensity of max. sustained winds of up to 160mph (140kts) and a minimal pressure of 918mb measured by the Hurricane Hunters in the afternoon of September 15th 1989. In that mission the airplane was almost lost due to extremely severe turbulence in the eyewall of the deepening storm but thankfully the airplane was able to do an emergency landing in Barbados. Favorable upper-level conditions and a strong ridge to the north of the tropical cyclone made Hugo become such a formidable storm and took it westward across the Atlantic Ocean towards the Lesser Antilles. After Hugo peaked out with the category 5 intensity the storm leveled off to category 4 intensity all the way across the Lesser Antilles were it made landfall in Guadaleoupe with max. sustained winds of 140mph (120kts) causing severe damage to the island. Then the storm continued moving westward (W) over the island of Monserrat and then turning WNW in September 17th towards the US Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.

Hugo's intensity was fluctuating at times but the storm was pretty much in the same category 4 intensity until it made landfall in St. Croix, USVI in the early morning hours of September 18th with max. sustained winds of 140mph (120kts) and a minimal pressure of 934mb. Damage in St. Croix was very severe were almost every structure was either damaged or destroyed in the island. Then the storm continued moving in a general WNW to NW track towards the island of Vieques, Puerto Rico were it made landfall at 7am September 18th when the storm was estimated to be down to a borderline category 3-4 hurricane with winds of up to 130mph (110kts) and a pressure of 945mb. One hour later the storm made landfall in eastern Puerto Rico in the area of Fajardo and Ceiba leaving the island by the area of Luquillo and Rio Grande about two hours after landfall. The storm was also estimated to have winds of 130mph gusting to 160mph and the pressure measured in Roosevelt Roads in Ceiba was 946.1mb. The eye also passed very near or over Culebra, Puerto Rico and then the storm continued moving northwest passing 20 miles north of San Juan while weakening due to southwest shear and interaction with land. It may be noted that based on the amount of damage and the very near category 4 intensity of Hugo at landfall in Puerto Rico that the damage was very severe in the eastern side specially in the areas were the eyewall was experienced were the damage estimates are of sustained category 4 conditions in St. Croix, Vieques, Culebra and extreme Eastern Puerto Rico.

The storm then continued moving and weakening heading northwest then intensifying back to category 4 intensity when it made landfall near Charleston, SC in the early morning hours of September 21st 1989 as a 140mph (120kts) hurricane with a pressure of 933mb becoming the costliest storm in the US history with 7 billion dollars in damage being supperated by Andrew in 1992.

Wind-Pressure Reports in Puerto Rico and USVI:

The highest sustained wind speed measured in the area was in Roosevelt Roads with 105mph (90kts) sustained gusting to 120mph (105kts) and a minimal pressure measured of 946.1 millibars. It has to be noted that those peak winds were measured from the West and there is El Yunque mountain of over 3000ft high which might have blocked stronger winds. Culebra island in a more exposed area and in the northeast eyewall of the storm had an unnoficial wind speed report of a gust to 170mph (148kts) before the instrument was lost, this was in the harbour. San Juan reported sustained winds of 77mph (67kts) with a gust to 92mph (80kts) also with unofficial reports of 110mph (95kts) gusts in other parts of the San Juan Metro Area. The highest rainfall amount measured in Puerto Rico was of 9.20 inches in my hometown of Gurabo in Central Eastern Puerto Rico, but it also has to be mentioned that in such intense winds in the eyewall in the storm would be hard to measure rainfall due to horizontal rain so higher rainfall amounts may have been possible in the area were the eyewall passed over.

Damage in Puerto Rico and USVI:

Damage in the USVI was extensive with extremely severe destruction in St. Croix were almost every structure was either damaged or destroyed.

In Puerto Rico the damage was extensive in the east half of the island and it was specially severe in the eastern and northeastern areas of the island from Humacao northward to Rio Grande with 115 to 140mph sustained winds estimated based on damage, Roosevelt Roads Naval Station was very hard hit along with the mentioned area. Damage in the rest of the areas including San Juan was also extensive but at a lesser amount and the west and south sides of the island were left either with minimal or no damage. Vieques and Culebra also had the same damage situation than St. Croix and the Eastern part of Puerto Rico with around 80% of the houses either damaged or destroyed in both islands, specially in Culebra.


1995, September 5th-6th; Hurricane Luis:


Hurricane Luis was a powerful category 4 hurricane that originated in the far Eastern Atlantic Ocean and blasted the Northern Leeward Islands with winds of up to 135 mph bringing tropical storm conditions to Puerto Rico.


Luis formed from an organized tropical wave that emerged off the west coast of Africa and moved into the Atlantic Ocean, the first warning was issued by the National Hurricane Center the morning of August 27th. The system steadily intensified as it moved westward over the open Atlantic during the next several days and became a hurricane during the day of August 30th. A very strong mid-level to surface ridge maintained Luis moving westward despite the relatively high latitude that the storm had moving it towards the Northeast Caribbean. Luis continued to intensify and reached its peak of intensity of sustained 140 mph (120 kts) winds which maintained for nearly three days with slight fluctuations until reaching the island or Barbuda the morning of September 5th with estimated sustained winds of 135 mph (115 kts). Luis was a large storm with an eye of an average 30 to 40 nm wide and an eyewall of nearly the same width. By this time the ridge to the north of the storm had weakened and Luis was turning northwestward while the eyewall affected directly Antigua, St. Barthelemy, St. Martin and Anguilla. Also hurricane conditions were experienced in St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Eustatius, Guadeloupe and the British Virgin Islands. Hurricane Luis passed around 110 nm northeast of Puerto Rico the morning of September 6th, still the outer bands of the large storm affected the area causing tropical storm conditions through most of the islands, also the US Virgin Islands experienced tropical storm force winds.


The biggest effect of hurricane Luis in Puerto Rico was the chaos that put in test the capability of the government and the people for preparing for a major hurricane. Luis was the first big threat of a major storm in Puerto Rico since hurricane Hugo in 1989 and was a preamble for what the island experienced three years later with hurricane Georges. Otherwise, heavy surf caused erosion in the north coast and some trees down and moderate river flooding where the results of the passage of the storm through the region. In the Northern Leeward Islands the story was a lot different with 16 people killed and 2.5 billion dollars in damage making Luis the worst storm to hit the Northeast Caribbean since Hugo in 1989 and David in 1979.


1995, September 15th-16th; Hurricane Marilyn:


The extremely active 1995 Hurricane Season proved to be very hazardous for the Northeast Caribbean. Just two weeks after category 4 hurricane Luis, another hurricane was threatening the region. Marilyn developed from a tropical wave midway between Barbados and the Cape Verde Islands becoming TD #15 the afternoon of September 12th. The depression moved straight towards the Caribbean as it was intensifying and became tropical storm Marilyn six hours after the first advisory was issued. Barely four hours after that, Marilyn became a hurricane. Marilyn started turning and passed around 45 nm north of Barbados, just north of Martinique, over Dominica and just southwest of Guadeloupe as a category one hurricane during September 14th.


After that, Marilyn continued to strengthen moving northwest and passed over St. Croix the afternoon of the 15th, then between St. Thomas and Culebra, Puerto Rico that night. Marilyn was a small and intensifying hurricane and the intensity was estimated to be of sustained 110 mph winds when CPA happened to both islands. The east and northeast eyewall of the storm passed over St. Thomas bringing disastrous results and the west and northwest eyewall hit Culebra causing heavy damage there. Marilyn remained offshore from Puerto Rico causing tropical storm conditions for the east half and hurricane conditions in the island of Vieques. Culebra, as mentioned above, experienced the eyewall of the storm. St. Thomas reported a sustained two-minute wind of 105 mph with peak gust to 129 mph, the minimal pressure reported was of 956 millibars while sustained 70 mph winds were still reported, pressure in the center of the eye was estimated to be around 952 millibars. An unofficial gust of 125 mph was reported in Culebra, Puerto Rico, in the main island the highest wind report was of sustained 41 mph with a gust of 60 mph in Roosevelt Roads, a pressure of 996.5 millibars was measured. San Juan Intl. Airport (TJSJ) reported a peak gust of 45 mph in the early morning of the 16th.


The damage in the main island of Puerto Rico was minimal again but Vieques and Culebra did not escape the core of the hurricane. Damage in Vieques was moderate with some houses that lost their roofs, power lines down and lots of tree damage. Culebra had much severe damage as the eyewall blasted through there with many of the homes affected there, trees and power and water services severely damage and with damage estimates comparatively close to those of hurricane Hugo there in 1989. Marilyn was the worst hurricane to affect Puertorican land since hurricane Hugo in 1989.


1996, July 8th; Hurricane Bertha:


Hurricane Bertha was an unusually early call for the people in Puerto Rico and the rest of the region as it passed just northeast of the island during the afternoon of July 8th. Bertha developed from a tropical wave that emerged off the west coast of Africa and the first advisory on TD #2 was issued the night of the 4th. Bertha was named during the 5th as it moved generally west-northwestward towards the Caribbean. Bertha became a hurricane just before quickly passing through the Northern Leeward Islands and the Virgin Islands during the 8th emerging just north of Puerto Rico late in that day. The intensity of the storm was 80 to 90 mph sustained and the pressure dropping steadily in the 980s millibars. Bertha passed only 30 nm northeast of Puerto Rico but tropical storm conditions were felt in the island, hurricane conditions might have been possible in Culebra which was near the southern eyewall of the storm along with St. Thomas. The highest wind report in Puerto Rico was of 47 mph with a gust to 62 mph in San Juan and a pressure of 992 millibars was measured in Roosevelt Roads. Damage in the island was relatively minimal with trees down, power outages and river flooding. Three deaths were reported, two died in an automobile accident during the storm and one surfer was drowned. After affecting the area Bertha moved just north of the Bahamas as a category 2-3 hurricane and made landfall east of Wilmington, NC as a category two hurricane the afternoon of the 12th.


1996, September 9th-10th; Hurricane Hortense:


Hortense was a category one hurricane that caused devastating flooding in Puerto Rico while slowly moving resulting in 18 deaths and nearly 12,000 damage homes, mainly due to flooding. Hortense developed from a tropical wave east of the Lesser Antilles moving westward, first advisory was issued the morning of September 3rd. While moving westward the depression became tropical storm Hortense just before passing near Guadeloupe during the early morning of the 7th. Sustained winds of 53 mph with a gust of 80 mph were reported there. For the next two days the storm encountered strong upper-level winds than inhibited any strengthening. Hortense was moving westward but the steering flow became very erratic and the storm stalled around 100 nm southeast of Puerto Rico, then the storm started to move again but towards the northwest directly towards the southwest coast of the island while strengthening to hurricane intensity the afternoon of the 9th.


Hortense made landfall near Guánica, Puerto Rico at around 2 am AST of September 10th with sustained winds of 80 mph crossing the southwest part of the island for two hours and emerging in the Mona Passage in the vicinity of Cabo Rojo. This area experience sustained hurricane conditions along with the high elevations of the Central Mountain Range, the rest of the island experienced tropical storm conditions with hurricane conditions in gusts in many areas and extremely heavy rainfall. The highest wind report in Puerto Rico was an unofficial gust of 110 mph in Guánica but this report is not considered as reliable, otherwise the highest wind report was of 49 mph with a gust of 64 mph in San Juan (TJSJ) Intl. Airport. A gust of 75 mph was reported in Cupey in the south of San Juan. But the main effect from this storm was the heavy rainfall, averages of 15 to 20 inches of rain were reported across the interior of the island with the highest rainfall amount in San Lorenzo (Eastern Interior) with 24.6 inches of rain storm total. Hortense became the worst hurricane to hit Puerto Rico since hurricane Hugo in 1989 and the devastating flooding caused 18 casualties, 3 people missing and nearly 12,000 homes affected. The road system was also hard hit with many bridges left unusable and mudslides covering many roads in the mountainous areas. The main devastation with flooding was experienced in Guayama were the Guamaní River killed several people. Much of the island was declared disaster area and recuperation from the storm took several months for parts of the island.


After causing devastation in Puerto Rico, Hortense passed near Punta Cana, Dominican Republic with winds of 90 mph affecting also the Turks and Caicos Islands with hurricane force winds, later the storm became a powerful category 4 (140 mph) hurricane in the Atlantic while recurving to the north and making landfall in Nova Scotia were sustained hurricane force winds of 76 mph were reported in St. Paul Island.

1998, September 21st-22nd; Hurricane Georges:

Hurricane Georges 1998 in Puerto Rico Report

Hurricane Georges was the worst hurricane to hit Puerto Rico since hurricane "San Ciprian" in 1932. It was a category 3 intensity hurricane that crossed the entire island from east to west leaving destruction and damage all across.


Georges developed from a strong tropical wave that emerged from the west coast of Africa in the vicinity of the well known Cape Verde Islands which in September are a very common place for the development of strong tropical cyclones. A tropical depression was born in the morning of September 15th and 24 hours later it became tropical storm Georges, moving west in the far eastern Atlantic posing no inmediate threat to any land areas. The day later Georges steadily intensified becoming a hurricane. By September 19th Georges started a rapid-deepening process which led the storm to reach its peak of intensity in the morning of September 20th with max. sustained winds of 155mph/135kts and a minimun barometric pressure of 937mb, that happened when the storm was less than 300nm east of the Northern Leeward Islands. After this point the storm started a marked weakening trend with the pressure rising 26mb in less than 12 hours and the eye becoming less distinct. This weakening could be related to northerly upper-level wind shear that disrupted the structure of the hurricane due to an upper-level anticyclone located over the eastern Caribbean.


Then early in the morning of September 21st Georges made landfall in Antigua with top sustained winds of 115mph/100kts passing hours later over St. Kitts and Nevis still with the same intensity. With the intensity decreasing to 110mph/95kts shortly after passing St. Kitts and Nevis, Georges found better upper-level conditions with the shear diminishing and the outflow improving as the storm was approaching Puerto Rico. Later in that morning the eye of the hurricane moved over St. Croix, USVI and approaching Vieques, Puerto Rico. Satellite and radar images from Puerto Rico showed Georges becoming better organized as it was getting closer to Vieques. Georges passed over Vieques in the mid afternoon and around 6pm the eye of the hurricane made landfall in Eastern Puerto Rico with max. sustained winds of 115mph/100kts and a pressure of 967mb as the storm was intensifying and was back to category 3 intensity. This increase in the winds was based on 110mph/96kts sustained winds measrured in Fajardo, Puerto Rico when the eyewall of the storm came ashore, this report was the reason for increasing Georges back to category 3 intensity at landfall in Puerto Rico. In adition to that, the WSR-88D Doppler Radar in San Juan estimated sustained winds of 115mph/100kts when Georges was over Puerto Rico. Georges continued in a west/west-northwest direction over Eastern Puerto Rico with a very impressive eastern eyewall showed in the San Juan Radar. Georges passed 20nm south of San Juan at around 8pm, right over my hometown of Gurabo where the calm was experienced for more than 30 minutes followed by very turbulent and strong winds from the south asociated with the very strong eastern eyewall of the hurricane which lasted for several hours in my place. San Juan Intl. Airport (SJU) measured sustained winds of 79mph/69kts with a gust of 93mph/81kts at around 7:20pm of September 21st. The main reason for measuring lower winds in San Juas was the blockage of the Mountain Range south of the city, while cities like Caguas in Central Eastern, Puerto Rico where much affected by the strong winds also by the "Fujiwara Effect" of acceleration between mountains and valleys. The eye of the storm then continued moving now west over Central Puerto Rico and the land interaction for many hours caused the storm to weaken back to category 2 intensity with 110mph/95kts sustained winds as it was crossing the western part of the island. The eye of hurricane Georges left Western Puerto Rico at around 1am September 22nd still as a strong category 2 intensity hurricane 7 hours after landfall.


Georges continued over the Mona Passage passing over Mona and making landfall in Eastern Dominican Republic with sustained winds of 120mph/105kts and a pressure of 962mb later in the morning of September 22nd. The storm started to move in a more west-northwest direction over Dominican Republic passing just north of Santo Domingo and into the high mountains of Central Hispaniola. The storm lasted 21 hours over land weakening to 75mph/65kts in the morning of September 23rd making landfall later that day with the same intensity over Eastern Cuba. Still with a very impressive upper-level outflow, the storm left the north coast of Cuba by late afternoon September 24th and moving in a more northwesterly direction. Georges made landfall in Key West, Florida in the morning of September 25th with sustained winds of 105mph/90kts and a pressure of 981mb and then continued to move over the Gulf of Mexico intensifying further to 110mph/95kts and making its final landfall near Biloxi, Mississippi on the morning of September 28th with max. sustained winds of 105mph/90kts and a pressure of 964mb. Georges moved inland and became quasi-stationary being downgraded to tropical storm and dissipating early in the morning of October 1st.

Path of Destruction:


Georges was the second most destructive hurricane of the 1998 hurricane season after hurricane Mitch. A total of 602 deaths are directly assosiated to the path of the hurricane, this happened mainly in the Dominican Republic and Haiti due to the very heavy rains which caused a lot of flooding and mud slides as the storm came through Hispaniola.


In terms of damage, hurricane Georges left a path of destruction from the Leeward Islands to the USVI, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic and Haiti, Cuba, the Florida Keys and the states of Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama and the florida Panhandle. In the United States the damages estimates are of nearly $6 billion dollars.


Puerto Rico was hard hit by Georges with up to 72,605 houses affected by the storm of which 28,005 houses were completely destroyed. More than 26,000 people took shelter during the storm and a very high number was still in shelters during the aftermath of the hurricane. A 95% of the banana crop was destroyed and 75% of the coffee crop was lost. The entire electric system of the island was shut down by the hurricane and nearly the entire island was also without water. So far only 30,000 customers lost telephone service manily due to the new fiber optic lines installed all around the island. The road infrastructure was very affected mainly by flooding and muslides. The total damage estimates for Puerto Rico are of $1,907,026,374.


1999, October 21st; Tropical Storm José:

Hurricane José developed from the coast of Africa and the first advisory by NHC was issued the afternoon of October 17th as it was moving west towards the Lesser Antilles. The system was classified as a tropical storm the 18th when it was 400 nm east of the islands. As the storm was approaching, a more northwesterly track was assumed by the storm as a weakness in the high was northwest of the cyclone. José became a hurricane late in the 19th while centered about 150 nm east of the Lesser Antilles, the storm kept intensifying and peaked at an intensity of 85 kts (100 mph) sustained winds while approaching the island of Antigua the morning of the 20th. The hurricane then started moving in a more west-northwesterly track and moved over Antigua at midday of the 20th with sustained winds of 80 kts (90 mph), as this happened, strong southwest upper-level winds started to affect the cyclone and made it weaken to tropical storm intensity, the eye of the weakening hurricane passed near St. Barthelemy and St. Martin late in the 20th and over Tortola in the British Virgin Islands early in the 21st, by this time the cyclone had weakened to tropical storm intensity estimated to be near 60 kts (70 mph).


Tropical Storm José then passed just north of the US Virgin Islands and around 20 nm north of Culebra, Puerto Rico early in the afternoon of the 21st and later that afternoon around 45 nm northeast of Fajardo, Puerto Rico. Tropical storm force winds were measured unofficially in Luquillo early in the 21st with around 40-45 mph sustained with a peak gust of 55 mph. This was the only report of tropical storm intensity winds in the island, the higher elevations high have gotten tropical storm force winds also. Damage in Puerto Rico was light with river flooding and some wind damage in Culebra were power was also lost during a short period. After affecting the area, José regained hurricane intensity while recurving out in the open Atlantic and losing tropical characteristics.


1999, November 17th; Hurricane Lenny:


Hurricane Lenny was a historic storm for many reasons, specially due to its unusual path from west to east across the Caribbean, so late in the season and the high intensity (155 mph) that the storm attained during its trek across the Northeast Caribbean.


Lenny developed from a low pressure area (LPA) in the Western Caribbean and this system organized enough to be classified as a tropical depression during the afternoon of the 13th around 150 nm south of Grand Cayman Island. The morning of the 14th Lenny was named as a tropical storm while moving generally to the east during the next few days. On the 15th Lenny became a hurricane while south of Jamaica and weakened briefly while passing to the south of Haiti, then the storm continued to intensify as it was forecasted to directly hit Puerto Rico. Lenny was moving generally to the east-northeast and it began to rapidly intensify when south of Puerto Rico as it passed around 75 nm southeast of the island the morning of the 17th as a category 4 hurricane. Lenny then passed around 15 nm south of St. Croix bringing the northern eyewall over the island. By this time the storm was at its peak intensity of 135 kts (155 mph) sustained winds and a pressure of 933 millibars but this winds were confined to the southeast eyewall which did not affect St. Croix. As the storm moved away from St. Croix it encountered very weak steering currents and moved slowly while approaching the St. Martin-Anguilla area. Despite favorable upper-level winds Lenny weakened as it moved over St. Martin during the 18th with estimated sustained winds of 110 kts (125 mph) and weakened further as it was nearly stationary in the area becoming a tropical storm just south of St. Barthelemy and moving east-southeast passing over Antigua late in the 19th with winds estimated to be down to 55 kts (65 mph). Lenny then continued to move away and dissipated during the day of the 23rd around 600 nm east of the Leeward Islands.

Damage in Puerto Rico was again very minimal with some mud slides, trees down and heavy surf in the southeast coast which brought erosion. Vieques possibly got hurricane conditions and wind damage was more noticeable there. The highest wind report in Puerto Rico was a gust of 48 mph in Roosevelt Roads, nearly 6 inches of rain were reported throughout the event.


2000, August 22nd; Hurricane Debby:


Debby developed from a strong tropical wave that emerged off the coast of Africa and was classified as a tropical depression the afternoon of August 19th, Debby was named later in the 20th and despite vertical shear the storm continued to intensify becoming a hurricane with a peak intensity of 75 kts (85 mph) early in the 21st. The strong upper-level winds made the storm weaken slowly but steadily as it moved over the Northern Leeward Islands, the British Virgin Islands and 30 nm northeast of Puerto Rico during the 22nd. By this time Debby's intensity was estimated to be sustained 65 kts (75 mph). Debby continued to move just north of Puerto Rico and weakening while moving just north of Hispaniola as a tropical storm and finally dissipating in the Windward Passage in the 24th due to strong vertical wind shear. Even though the storm moved very close to Puerto Rico, the weak quadrant of the storm was the one that affected the island and no reports of tropical storm force winds were measured, the main effect of Debby in the area was very heavy rainfall that caused flooding in the entire country, specially in the area of Ponce and the northern coastal valleys, this heavy rainfall came after the storm moved away from the area when the main feeder band brought up to 12.63 inches of rain measured at Rio Piedras. An indirect death was also reported when a man fell of the roof of his house trying to remove and antenna.


2004, September 15th; Tropical Storm Jeanne:


Tropical Storm Jeanne developed from a rather weak tropical wave that crossed the Atlantic Ocean and organized quite rapidly just east of the Leeward Islands. The first advisory was issued by the National Hurricane Center during the day of the 13th and a tropical storm had formed in the 14th as the system was slowly moving over the Leeward Islands. Jeanne found favorable upper-level winds and continued to strengthen becoming nearly a hurricane when landfall occurred at around midday AST in the 15th near Maunabo, Puerto Rico with an official intensity estimate of 60 kts (70 mph) sustained winds. For the next 6 to 8 hours the center of the storm crossed Puerto Rico exiting the island near Arecibo but finally emerging out in the ocean near Aguadilla in the night of the 15th. Jeanne was the worst tropical cyclone to hit Puerto Rico since hurricane Georges in 1998. Wind damage specially in the eastern side of the island was moderate with many trees down, power lines and poles, signs blown out and some roofs of houses and businesses that were damaged. Flooding was also experienced throughout the island and storm surge flooding was reported in Humacao and Yabucoa. The entire island at one point was left without power but this was mainly due to a mistake made by operators of the electric system, even with that, the areas affected worst by the wind were nearly one week without power as it was the case in places like southern Caguas. The highest wind report was an unofficial report of 63 mph sustained winds in Salinas with a peak gust of 71 mph. San Juan reported sustained winds of 49 mph with a peak gust of 71 mph. Hurricane conditions may have been experienced in the area north of the center of the storm, specially from Yabucoa northward to Naguabo and the high elevations. The highest rainfall amount reported was in Vieques with 23.75 inches of rain storm total.


This storm proved to be a hazard to the government and people due to its rapid intensification just prior to affecting the area with preparations completed the same morning that the cyclone hit the island.


After hitting Puerto Rico, Jeanne officially became a hurricane and made landfall near Punta Cana, Dominican Republic with winds of 70 kts (80 mph), then the hurricane weakened over land causing catastrophic flooding specially in Haiti were over 2,900 people died specially in the area of Gonaives. Then Jeanne emerged as a tropical depression and moved northward over the Atlantic and was influenced again by a strong mid-surface ridge that made it turn in a loop back towards the west as it deepened back to hurricane intensity making landfall in Abaco Island, Bahamas early in the 25th with winds of 100 kts (115 mph) and late in that day and early in the 26th over Stuart, Florida with winds of 105 kts (120 mph). Damage in both the Bahamas and Florida was widespread mainly due to the fact that hurricane Frances hit the same area just two weeks earlier.

[Gustywind]

Cyclones and Hurricanes history in Dominican Republic
http://www.dominican-republic-live.com/ ... ublic.html

The cyclones, hurricanes and storms in Dominican Republic

1615 : The hurricane San Leonicio affected the island around September 12. Even if ONAMET don’t know the category it reached, it’s considered as one of the most devastating phenomena in the 1575-1615 period.

1899 : The hurricane San Ciriaco occurred on August 9 and reached the category number 3. The phenomenon crossed over the North West coast, including Puerto Plata.

1901 : San Cirilio was a category 1 hurricane and affected the country on July 7th. Even if it was directed towards the south of Puerto Rico, it caused floods and damages in the North East and North part of the country. It directly affected the Mona canal.

1930 : San Zenón is one of the hurricanes that are engraved in the Dominicans’ memories, because, even if its category was only 2, it devastated Santo Domingo city, causing more than 2000 dead people, 15000 injured people and destroyed many areas. Because of the lack of orientation and organisms at this time, the people thought that the hurricane eye was an end signal, whereas the winds started few minutes later. This phenomenon was a starting point for the dictatorship of Rafael Leonidas Trujillo Molina.

1950 : The tropical storm Baker took place on August 23 and crossed over Cabo Engaño while moving towards West North-West and getting out in the Atlantic Ocean by the Puerto Plata Province.

1952 : Charlie was a tropical storm that occurred on September 23. It crossed over the oriental provinces of the island, while going out on the Atlantic by the area corresponding to the municipalities of the Puerto Plata, Río San Juan and Gaspar Hernández provinces.

1955 : The Hilda hurricane happened on September 13 and moved in parallel of the Northern coast of the country. It reached the category number 2.

1955 : Only one month and 3 days later, the hurricane Hilda passed through the North-East coast of the Dominican Republic. This phenomenon reached the category number 3 and its eye crossed over Pedernales, causing human and material losses.

1958 : Ella was a hurricane category 2 that crossed over the country on August 31rst. It moved over the Barahona peninsula and produced rains on the South and South East of the country.

1958 : One month after this last, on September 14, the tropical storm Gerda affected the Barahona peninsula and went out of the territory by the Canal del Viento.

1961 : On October 2nd, the tropical storm Francés affected the country and moved towards the North East.

1963 : Edith entered in the country on September 27 and moved towards the North East. It was a category number 1 and did not cause many damages.

1963 : The Flora hurricane crossed over the Barahona peninsula on October 3rd. Category number 4, it passed away from the land but caused floods in the South, South West area and caused many dead people in these regions.

1964 : Cleo, a category 5 hurricane arrived on August 24th. It crossed over the South part of the Barahona Peninsula, causing floods and killing people.

1966 : On September 29th, Inés hurricanes category 5 affected the Barahona peninsula, destroying on its path the Oviedo village and leaving hundred of dead people.

1967 : Beluha is another category 3 hurricane that affected the country. From September 11th, it caused strong rains in the city of Santo Domingo, on the West of the country and in the Beata Island.

1975 : The Eloisa Hurricane, a number 1 phenomenon, affected from September 17 the Loma de Cabrera area and caused strong rains in the South of the island.

1979 : One of the strongest hurricanes arrived on August 31rts, and its name, David is in all memories. It was a category 5 hurricane that caused the death of more than 2000 persons, caused the flood of rivers in all the country and damages to infrastructures in the South region.

1979 : Six months after David, the tropical storm Frederick caused strong rains and floods in the South region of the country.

1980 : Allen was a category 5 hurricane that crossed away on the South of the island on August 5th. However, it produced strong surges and tides on the South coast.

1981 : On September 9th, the tropical storm Gert crossed by the North East of the country.

1982 : The tropical storm Derby formed itself in the Escosesa Bay and crossed over the North of the island on September 13th.

1987 : The hurricane Emily, which trajectory was parabolic, entered on the South coasts while crossing by the Nizao village and the Neyba bay on September 22nd, and went out by the North coast of Haiti.

1988 : A category 5 hurricane named Gilbert crossed slightly on the South of the Barahona peninsula on September 11th.

1996 : The Hortense hurricane passed through the Altagracia province, and the eye crossed over the International Airport of Punta Cana. Of category 3, this phenomenon produced strong rains on the East zone, causing floods.

1998 : Another hurricane that will stay forever in the Dominicans memories. George affected the island at dawn, entering by the East of the country and causing big damages: destructed houses in the East area, rains in the Cordillera Central, floods of the Sananeta River and the death of more than 1000 persons. This category 3 hurricane caused 12 feet waves and had a pressure of 971 MB.

2000 : The tropical storm Derby affected the North coast on August 23rd. This phenomenon moved in parallel to the Luperon and the Isabela coasts.

2003 : Odette is a tropical storm that entered in the island by the South West coast on the Cabo Falso Barahona on December 6th. It caused rains, mudslides and big damages on agriculture. It killed 8 persons too.

2004 : The hurricane Jeanne, category 1, entered in the country on September 16th. Even if it lost intensity when it made landfall, it caused flooding in the East region, destructed bridges and isolated, during a few days, the tourist zone of the East area.

2007 : Dean was the fourth hurricane of the season and affected the country on August 18th. It was a category number 4 hurricane, but it transformed into a tropical storm thanks to the Dominican geography. Communities as Punta Cana and the Malecón of Santo Domingo were partially destructed, five persons were injured, tens of houses destructed and a young Haitian boy who was 16 year-old died, swept away by the Caribbean sea waters.

2007 : The storms Noel and Olga, from September 28th to December 11th, were the phenomena that most affected the country. Noel reached sustained winds between 64km and 97km per hour. 73 persons died, 43 were lost, 64.096 persons were evacuated and 1.526 rescued. It caused the destruction of the El Duey village in Villa Altagracia and the isolation of 39 communities of the Southern region because of bridges’ collapses and rivers floods. The Olga storm, on the other hand, left 14 dead people in Dominican Republic, 34.480 victims and damages in 6.896 houses, and 76 isolated villages. The most affected province was Santiago because of the opening of the Tavera Dam by the Dominican Hydraulic Resources Institute (INDRHI) authorities.

[Gustywind]

Cuba Hurricanes Historic Threats
Chronicle of hurricanes in Cuba
http://www.cubahurricanes.org/history-h ... nicles.php

Hurricanes are the more devastating natural disasters occurred in Cuba during this century and in particular at the cyclone season from October to November.

However, only four got a dantesque character because of the human and material lost that it provoked. These four took place before 1959. Four years later, the Cuban government designed and passed a Measure System for Civil Defense of the country. It reduced damages of every type.
On October 20, 1926 a hurricane crossed over Isle of Pines and Havana with maximum winds of 230-250 KMS /H. It left 600 deaths and classified as the most expensive of the Cuban history by the fact that losses reached to 300 millions of dollars.

For Cubans, November 9, 1932, it is one of the fatal dates among all. That day, the worst catastrophic cyclone took place with winds of almost 250 KMS/H and the formation of storm tidal at southern waters of Camaguey, creating a huge wave of six meters of height. That day 3 033 persons went dead and prejudices reached to 40 millions dollars.

From a meteorological point of view, the most intense event, among the four big ones occurred on October 18 1944, with a combination of heavy rains with sustained gust of 262 KMS/H.
This one however, was the one that took fewer lives away at the capital of the country, since 300 people died.

From October 4 to 7, 1963, the Flora hurricane, with winds of up to 209 KMS/H flooded mountain chain of Sierra Maestra and its water hits searching a way out to the sea, caused the Cauto river a changing of its bed.

It caused death to more than one thousand farmers and indeterminate economic losses, and right from that tragic experience, the Revolutionary Government decided the creation of the Civil defense and the development of a meteorological service that up to that moment it only counted with two specialists.

On March 13, 1993 the badly called "The Century Storm" reached wind gust superior to a hurricane, and it provoked enormous losses and damaged 30 thousands houses.
It caused damage to two thousand 500 economic and social centers and the basic services of the population, it paralyzed temporarily the sugar harvest from Pinar del Río up to
Ciego de Avila and whole plantations went down with highly appreciated cultivation, such as bananas.

These atmospheric phenomena are not exclusive to Cuba, but to the whole tropical zone, since the North Atlantic region, including the Mexican Gulf and the Caribbean Sea, are classified as the fourth place in the world with respect to the formations of cyclones.
When one of them reaches sustained winds of 62 KMS/H, you are witnessing a depression of 63 to 1117 is a tropical storm if it goes over 118, it is a hurricane, although it is not an isolated point, but an extensive zone of hurricane winds up to 200 KMS around the center.

Each one receives a name to ease communication among the forecaster and people to whom messages go, so the Hurricanes Committee of the IV Regional Association of the World Organization of Meteorology elaborated lists in English, French and Spanish for several years.
A season begins with a man name and the other one with a woman and for those who receive it, need to reach a storm stage: a tropical or hurricane one. This denomination is kept meanwhile they exist, in spite of the fact they become weak and only be a tropical depression.
According to figures, Cuba has suffered 100 cyclones in this century, from which 10 have been great hurricanes.

The greatest part of cyclones in the period October-November are created at the western Caribbean Sea, at the southern part of Cuba and tend to move in courses next to the North and Northeast, so they are always a threat for the central and western provinces.
But the truth is, they are not the only ones causing problems, since the Niño stream (The Boy Stream ) creates unusual climate disorders, according to the time depending in greater or less heating of water at the sea surface, since they are warmer , they release greater quantity of energy.

This progressive movement caused in the country a great quantity of rain and strong winds and tornadoes between January, February and March of 1983 from which, specialists of the Meteorology Institute began a deeper study.

In the years, of the Niño appearance, researches shed surprising results during the rainy period, from May to October when precipitation started to behave under the historic average and its beginning is delayed.

Apart from that, polemic winter months in Cuba present heavy rains. On the contrary, experts of the National Center for the Climate, the Meteorology Institute, think that the presence of this phenomenon, La Niña (The Girl) at the Pacific Ocean is the cause of the notable reduction of rains between December and February.

At the inverse of what has happened with El Niño, or La Niña (The Boy or The Girl), the cooling of waters at the Pacific, causes very dried winters in Cuba and adjacent zones, since it inhibits the development of thick clouds with rains preceding the coming of winter fronts.

This assumed little girl, who does not have anything of an angel disappeared in May 1999 and came back in November, and at the end of December of that same year reached the strong event phase, something that only occurred in three occasions through the last 110 years.
In response to the climate fund conditions in a great scale, established by the La Niña Event, months of period of little rain from 1998 - 1999 were characterized by great contrasts.
Temperatures from January to April constituted the warmest since 1951 and there was a moment in which it ascended to 38.8 grades Celsius, but after a normal February, March behaved as one of the coldest ones since 1981.

In December 1999, there was a deficit of rains that turned the most important one since 1941, which brought about a worsening of the draught impact in the already affected zones.
If Cubans could move the archipelago farther than parallels and meridians that keep it at the Caribbean Sea, it is probable we could escape of the terrible passion cyclones and draughts feel for Cuba, although then we were threatened by atmospheric phenomena characteristic of other geographic regions.

So there is no choice but living with them and consequences and to go on practicing a lot time ago: to be prepared to face them.

Cyclone of the Five Days
Category SS-3
Date October 13th to 17th 1910
Affected provinces Pinar del Río / La Habana / Island of Youth
Barometric minimum 960 hPa
Wind speed 183 km/h (e)
Main feature Flooding
Material damages not exactly quantified
Human loss 700 death (e)

Synopsis
Flooding, extraordinarily extensive, was consequence of rainfall persisting over 6 days in a row, due to the trail of the hurricane that, after crossing over the west end of Cuba, made a loop to the NW of the province of Pinar del Río. All crops – particularly tobacco- and rural housing were destroyed and cattle was decimated to a high degree. The case of large amount of heads of cattle dragged and drowned in the flooding was repeatedly cited.

Hurricane of 1924
Category SS-5
Date October 18th to 19th 1924
Affected provinces Pinar del Río / Island of Youth
Barometric minimum 916 hPa (not registered over Cuba)
Wind speed 250 km/h (e)
Main feature destruction caused by dynamic effect of the wind
Material damages not exactly quantified
Human loss 90 death (e)

Synopsis
This hurricane crossed over the Peninsula of Guanahacabibes at the West End of Pinar del Río, and severely damaged tobacco crops. It affected even the most robust buildings on the zone and destroyed the entire communications infrastructure over the West half of the province. It seriously affected five ships of large size and sunk many smaller vessels, mainly dedicated to fishing.


Cyclone of 1926
Category SS-4
Date October 20th 1926
Affected provinces Island of Youth / La Habana / Pinar del Río / Matanzas
Barometric minimum 939 hPa
Wind speed 196 km/h
Main feature seven hours over Havana
Material damages 100 million pesos (e)
Destruction caused by dynamic effect of the wind and storm surge
Human loss about 600 death

Synopsis
It seriously affected the West part of the country, particularly the capital city. The strength of the wind demolished crops and noticeably affected the industrial infrastructure of the city. It sank a large amount of fluvial vessels and a great many among those anchored at the harbor. Thousands of houses were destroyed and tens of bodies dragged out to sea.


Hurricane of Santa Cruz del Sur 1932
Category SS-5
Date September 9th 1932
Affected provinces Camagüey / Ciego de Ávila / Las Tunas
Barometric minimum 915 hPa (not registered over Cuba)
Wind speed 240 km/h (At Nuevitas, Camagüey)
Main feature storm surge
Material damages not exactly quantified
Human loss 3 033 death and thousands injured and affected

Synopsis
It constitutes the greatest natural disaster of the XX century in Cuba. It mainly affected buildings on the province of Camagüey, but coastal facilities on the south coast were completely devastated. This hurricane produced a 6 m storm surge at Santa Cruz del Sur and other locations on the south coast of Camagüey. On this village alone it caused over 2500 death.

[Gustywind]

21TH CENTURY

Tropical Storm Fay

Havana. August 18, 2008 - Tropical Storm Fay was a tropical storm and the sixth named storm of the 2008 Atlantic hurricane season. Fay formed from a vigorous tropical wave on August 15 over the Dominican Republic. It passed over the island of Hispaniola, into the Gulf of Gonâve, across the island of Cuba, and made landfall on the Florida Keys late in the afternoon of August 18 before veering into the Gulf of Mexico. It again made landfall near Naples in the early hours of August 19 and progressed northeast through the Florida peninsula, emerging into the Atlantic Ocean near Melbourne on August 20. Extensive flooding took place in parts of Florida as a result of its slow movement.

On 18th August 2008 the storm dumped heavy rains on the Dominican Republic and Haiti, leaving eight people dead and six missing, as US weather experts forecast the system will strengthen to hurricane force as it approached Cuba. At 0000 GMT the storm was located about 100 kilometers (60 miles) southwest of Guantanamo, Cuba and about 320 kilometers (200 miles) southeast of Camaguey, Cuba. At 04.20 GMT tropical storm Fay struck Cuba's south coast with high winds and heavy rains, continuing its deadly trail across the Caribbean. The storm was forecast to strengthen as it moves overland before hitting Florida, where a state of emergency has been called, as a possible hurricane..

The tropical storm Fay passed east of Havana, and Cuban capital was spared from any damage. Some light rain and dark sky did occur in the early hours of the morning but almost no winds. The storm hit Cuba near the sparsely-populated Peninsula de Zapata close to the Bay of Pigs and went northward through Matanzas province. There was no reports of any significant damage or serious incidents.


Hurricane Gustav

Hurricane Gustav was the seventh tropical cyclone, third hurricane and second major hurricane of the 2008 Atlantic hurricane season. It formed on the morning of August 25, 2008, about 260 miles (420 km) southeast of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, and rapidly strengthened into a tropical storm that afternoon and into a hurricane early on August 26. Later that day it regained a pronounced eye as it made landfall on Haiti, near the town of Jacmel. As the hurricane moved over Haiti's mountainous terrain its circulation was disrupted and it lost a little strength downgrading it to tropical storm. However, on the morning of August 28 it restrenghten to hurricane status again as it started its move towards Jamaica. It hit Jamaica on August 29.

On August 29 60,000 people were evacuated from Cuba's western coasts. At 15:00 on August 30, as Gustav neared the west end of Cuba, it was upgraded to a Category 3 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale, with sustained winds near 125 mph (195 km/h). Three hours later it reached Category 4 strength and cuban government ordered additional evacuations, particularly in the low-lying Pinar del Rio province where 190,000 people were evacuated.

On August 30 Gustav made landfall twice on Cuba: first, on Isla de la Juventud and then on the mainland near the community of Los Palacios in Pinar del Río Province. On Isla de la Juventud nearly all the island's roads were washed out and some regions heavily flooded. Isla de la Juventud is a home to 87,000 people and recorded some serious damage: 20,000 homes out of 25,000 were completely destroyed and some 60 electric towers were knocked over leaving electrical grid on the island 100% damaged. In Pinar del Rio province the damage was even more excessive: 90,000 homes were damaged, 3,306 tobacco houses destroyed with 906 tonnes of tobacco leaves left wet. More than 32,000 acres of crops were ruined. Cuban national electric company indicated that a total of 136 electric towers were toppled over.

Authorities called the storm damage the worst since 1956. The 212 mph (341 km/h) wind gusts registered in the city of Paso Real de San Diego were the highest in Cuba's history, according to the provincial newspaper, the Guerrillero. Winds were so strong that the weather station instruments broke. Despite the severity of the storm and extreme damage no fatalities were reported.

By the early hours of August 31, Gustav exited Cuba and entered the Gulf of Mexico with maximum sustained winds of 135 mph and minimum central pressure of 958 millibars. During August 31 the storm moved in a northwest direction slightly losing its strength (despite passing over a shortened Loop Current) with sustained winds at 115 mph.


Hurricane Ike

Hurricane Ike was the ninth named storm, and fifth hurricane of the 2008 Atlantic hurricane season. It started as a tropical disturbance off the coast of Africa near the end of August and slowly developed. On September 1, it it was upgraded to Tropical Storm Ike. By late morning on September 2, Ike began to intensify again as shear relaxed a little on the system.[14] Throughout that day, deep convection developed around the center of Ike indicating that the storm was still intensifying. Again intensification stopped during the overnight hours as the structure of Ike remained mostly unchanged. Ike remained at the same intensity and structure through the early morning hours of September 3. However, by the late morning, Ike began to intensify again. The eye continued to become better defined and by mid-afternoon Ike was upgraded to a hurricane. Ike was in an area that lacked vertical wind shear and intensification was likely. Due to the lack of wind shear, Ike began to undergo explosive intensification and was upgraded to a major hurricane with winds of 115 mph (185 km/h) only three hours after being upgraded to a hurricane. During the three hour span, the pressure dropped 24 mbar (0.71 inHg). Ike continued to intensify and, by the early morning hours of September 4, was further upgraded to a Category 4 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale three hours later with winds of 135 mph (217 km/h) and a pressure of 948 mbar (27.99 inHg) making it the most intense storm in the 2008 Atlantic hurricane season. The explosive intensification lasted roughly 24 hours as Ike intensified from a tropical storm to a Category 4 hurricane with a pressure drop of 61 mbar (1.80 inHg). By the late morning 5th September Ike began to weaken as the cloud tops around the eye began to warm. By mid-afternoon, Ike was barely a Category 4 hurricane with winds of 135 mph (217 km/h). Ike began to show signs of intensification once more during the late night hours. The eye became more clear and better defined and the clouds around the eye began to deepen and become colder. However, a later pass made by the satellite found that the northern eye wall had eroded and most of the convection was in the southern semi-circle of the storm. This indicated that Ike was continuing to weakened and it became Category Three hurricane by the afternoon hours. During the late morning hours on September 6, wind shear continued to weakened Ike to a Category Two hurricane. This weakening was short lived and Ike began to undergo another round of rapid intensification, though not as significant as the first. Ike's eye began to clear out again and had intensified into a Category Four six hours after being downgraded to a Category Two. By the early morning hours of September 7, Ike had passed directly over the Turks and Caicos Islands with winds of 135 mph (217 km/h). Environmental conditions were supportive of intensification and Ike was forecast to intensity through landfall in Cuba.

As part of a preparation againsts Ike, government of Cuba had evacuated just over one million people. It made landfall as a strong Category 3 hurricane in Holguín Province, Cuba on the evening of September 7, near Cabo Lucrecia on the northern coast. It passed across the central provinces of Holguin, Las Tunas, and Camagüey, emerging over the sea to the south of Cuba during September 8. It made landfall a second time in Pinar del Río before entering the Gulf of Mexico in the afternoon of September 9 leaving Cuba in devastation.

Damages from Ike were estimated at up to $4 billion in Cuba. In Baracoa, 200 homes were reported to be destroyed and waves were running 23 feet (7 m) high and peaked at 40 in different area's of Cuba. As Ike had made landfall on September 8 as a category three hurricane on the north coast of eastern Cuba in the province of Holguin near Puerto de Sama, its winds of about 100 mph (161 km/h) caused widespread flooding and damage to the eastern provinces. Millions of Cubans have evacuated cities along the shoreline and moved to higher grounds as meteorologists say Eastern Cuba has never seen a storm this big."These people have never seen a Category 4 - or a category 3," said Jose Rubiera a meteorologist on Cubavision. Ike had dropped to a Category One by the time it crossed the island. It crossed the western end of the island in Pinar del Rio Province, close to the path taken by Hurricane Gustav ten days previously. Another 1.6 million people had evacuated in advance of its second landfall. The western areas of Cuba, already devastated by Hurricane Gustav just 10 days before Ike hit, suffered additional major flooding from the rain and storm surge. The sugar cane crop was devastated, with over 340,000 hectares destroyed. Alongside Gustav, they were described as the "worst ever" storms by Cuban officials.

In total, seven people were killed in Cuba from Ike. The combined damage from Ike and Gustav is over $5 billion (USD).


Hurricane Paloma

Hurricane Paloma is the seventeenth tropical cyclone, sixteenth tropical storm, eighth hurricane and fifth major hurricane of the 2008 Atlantic hurricane season. Paloma developed out of a strong tropical disturbance off the eastern coast of Nicaragua and northern coast of Honduras on November 5. The disturbance had slowly developed into a tropical depression while hugging the coastline. The depression strengthened into a tropical storm early on November 6, then a hurricane later that day. The next day, Paloma intensified into a Category 2 hurricane then soon a Category 3. Early on November 8, Paloma continued to intensify and reached Category 4 intensity, and then weakened into a Category 3 again before making landfall in Santa Cruz del Sur, Cuba. Paloma weakened into a tropical storm on November 9 while moving over Cuba, where it stalled out. It dissipated later that evening.

The system that became Paloma formed off a low pressure system on November 3. The next day, the depression strengthened into Tropical Storm Paloma and on the evening of November 6, Paloma strengthened into a hurricane. Gradual strengthening continued on November 7, and Paloma became a Category 2 hurricane that afternoon, the first hurricane to reach such intensity in the Atlantic in November since Hurricane Michelle in 2001. It continued to strengthen at a more rapid pace and became a Category 3 hurricane that evening, and a Category 4 hurricane early on November 8. That day the center of Paloma passed directly over Little Cayman and Cayman Brac that morning with 140 mph (220 km/h) winds.

As it was leaving Cayman Islands Paloma continued northeastward, and hit its peak winds of 145 mph (230 km/h) by 4 p.m. EDT (2100 UTC), making it officially the second most powerful November hurricane by windspeed in recorded history, behind only Hurricane Lenny in 1999. Paloma held steady in intensity, but it suddenly weakened to a 125 mph (215 km/h) Category 3 before making landfall near Santa Cruz del Sur, Cuba that evening, striking on the exact same day at the exact same place that the 1932 Cuba Hurricane did 76 years earlier.

After making landfall, Paloma steadily weakened over Cuba. It became a tropical storm early on November 9 and a tropical depression that afternoon while stalling over the area. Later that day, the last advisory was issued at 10:00 pm. EST.

In Sancti Spiritus Province in Cuba, over 85,000 students were evacuated from low-lying areas ahead of the projected arrival of Paloma with more evacuations yet to come. In the central-eastern province of Camagüey alone, more than 220,000 people had been moved from low-lying areas to higher ground. Another 170,000 people were evacuated in the eastern province of Las Tunas.

Cuban utility officials say Paloma's effect on the power grid was not as bad as the destruction caused by Gustav and Ike earlier in the season. Paloma did, however knock down power and telephone lines, as well as a major communications tower. The hurricane brought with it a 14 foot (4 meter) storm surge which moved the coastline inland by almost a mile (about 1.5 km) in Santa Cruz del Sur, doing extensive damage and many homes were damaged or destroyed. One death has been blamed on Paloma when a person drowned while crossing a river.

When Hurricane Paloma hit Cuba as a 125 mph storm on November 8, it marked the only time that 3 major hurricanes have hit Cuba in the same season; the other 2 were Gustav and Ike earlier this year, hitting at Category 4 and 3 intensity, respectively. This was the first use of the name Paloma in history. Paloma was the second latest-forming storm to reach Category 4 strength; only 1999's Lenny reached it at a later date than Paloma.



Hurricane Paul

Hurricane Paula was the sixteenth named storm and the ninth hurricane of the 2010 Atlantic hurricane season. Paula developed from an area of low pressure in the southwestern Caribbean Sea in early October. It slowly organised, and the National Hurricane Center declared it a tropical storm, giving it the name Paula on October 11 while located 105 miles (169 km) east-southeast of Isla Guanaja, Honduras. It was declared by the National Hurricane Center (NHC) because satellite imagery, surface observations and data from an Hurricane Hunters aircraft indicated that the area of low pressure had became a tropical storm. After intensifying into a category 2 hurricane with 85 knot (100 mph) winds, and maintaining category 2 intensity from 1245 p.m. Tuesday October 12 to 4 p.m. Wednesday October 13, Paula weakened to a tropical storm with winds of just 70 mph while located 110 miles west-southwest of Havana, Cuba at 11 a.m. Thursday. At 11 a.m. Hurricane Paula weakened to a remnant low, while located 20 miles north of Caibarien, Cuba. The remnant low of Hurricane Paula continued to drift near Cuba until it dissipated on October 16.

In Cuba, the outer bands of Paula brought heavy localised rains, especially to the Isla de la Juventud where 71 mm (2.8 in) of precipitation was recorded on October 12. As Hurricane Paula neared landfall in the country on October 13, heavy rain fell across much of Pinar del Río Province. In Cape San Antonio, 4.85 in (123 mm) of rain fell by the morning of October 14. The highest winds recorded during the storm's passage were measured in Puerto Esperanza at 68 mph (109 km/h). Throughout the country, Paula resulted in relatively little damage. Near Havana, a few homes lost their roofs and power was lost to many homes, mostly as a result of a precautionary power shutdown. High winds also downed numerous trees, blocking many roads. Along the coast, rough seas damaged parts of the capital city's seawall. Some streets near the shore were left under 1 to 2 ft (0.30 to 0.61 m) of water at the height of the storm. By the afternoon of October 15, emergency crews began clearing debris left behind by the storm.

Hurricane Tomas

Hurricane Tomas track
Hurricane Tomas was the nineteenth named storm and twelfth hurricane of the 2010 Atlantic hurricane season. Tomas developed from a tropical wave east of the Windward Islands on October 29, 2010. Quickly intensifying into a hurricane, it moved through the Windward Islands and passed very near Saint Lucia. After reaching Category 2 status on the Saffir-Simpson scale, Tomas quickly weakened to a tropical storm in the central Caribbean Sea, due to strong wind shear and dry air. Tomas later regained hurricane status.

On October 31, Hurricane Tomas passed very near Saint Lucia as an intensifying cyclone, producing 92 mph (148 km/h) winds on the island. By later in the day, it became increasingly better organized, and reports from the Hurricane Hunters indicated that the winds increased to 100 mph (160 km/h), a Category 2 on the Saffir-Simpson scale. Concurrently, the storm was being impacted by southwesternly wind shear, which computer models forecasted to increase. Despite the shear, Tomas was forecast to strengthen into a major hurricane. However, Tomas weakened as the convection waned near the centre, due to the shear and dry air, and by early on November 1 diminished to tropical storm status. Later that day, the storm was described as a "highly sheared tropical cyclone", because the circulation became dislocated from the convection by more than 100 miles (160 km). As a result, the winds were estimated to have decreased to 45 mph (75 km/h), although an area of thunderstorms reformed northeast of the centre. Over the subsequent day the structure became better organized, with more deep convection over the centre due to lighter shear and a moister environment. However, the structure again deteriorated, and Tomas weakened to tropical depression status on November 3 about 325 miles (520 km) southeast of Kingston, Jamaica.

As it turned northeastward through the Windward Passage, Tomas regained hurricane status by 0900 UTC on November 5, just 36 miles (58 km) west-southwest of the western tip of Haiti.

After re-attaining hurricane status, Tomas accelerated to the northeast due to an approaching trough, passing between eastern Cuba and western Haiti. Due to land interaction, the convection became slightly ragged-looking near the center, although atmospheric conditions favored continued intensification. During the afternoon of Novemer 7, strong wind shear caused Tomas to weaken back to a tropical depression Late on November 7, the National Hurricane Center issued its last advisory on Tomas as it became an extratropical storm.

Hurricane Tomas has caused neither fatal victims nor considerable property damage in Cuba after crossing close to the eastern tip of the island on 05. November 2010, Civil Defense authorities reported. Heavy rains were reported in the Cuban easternmost province of Guantanamo and also in the municipalities of Moa, Frank Pais, Sagua de Tanamo, Mayari, Antilla and Gibara, in Holguin; coastal flooding and a dozen collapsed houses have been also reported in those areas.

[jerry0503222]

1831 (August 10) killer in Barbados. Monstrous hurricane that can't be excluded from the list of cyclones in the lesser antilles, took 1,500 lives.








______________________________________
bar designs , guitar games , doremi

[Gustywind]

1831 (August 10) killer in Barbados. Monstrous hurricane that can't be excluded from the list of cyclones in the lesser antilles, took 1,500 lives.
Thanks for your post but i've already mentionned whereas i appreciate your focus. It's the second time that a poster emphasizes on, so i can imagine that this one was a huge one! Are you from Barbados?






______________________________________
bar designs , guitar games , doremi

[Gustywind]

Tropical Cyclones which affected the Bahamas
http://www.bahamasweather.org.bs/index. ... rm-history

THE HURRICANE OF 1785:
Wednesday 21st September, 1785 Destroyed what may have been the first Loyalist settlement in the Bahamas on Abaco, barely two years after the Loyalists emigrated there from New York in 1783. Did considerable damage to shipping in Nassau Harbour.

THE HURRICANE OF 1866:
Affected nearly all the Islands from the Turks and Caicos Islands to Grand Bahama.

THE HURRICANE OF 1866:
Affected nearly all the Islands from the Turks and Caicos Islands to Grand Bahama.

TROPICAL STORM OF OCTOBER 1938
Affected Abaco and Grand Bahama on the 19th October. Winds between 30 and 48 miles per hour were reported in squalls.

TROPICAL STORM OF NOVEMBER 1938
Affected Inagua, The Ragged Island Chain on the 7th and South Andros on the 8th. Maximum sustained winds got up to about 60 miles per hour.

TROPICAL STORM OF AUGUST 1939
This storm moved toward the northwest and passed over San Salvador, North Eleuthera and West End, Grand Bahama, between the 10th and 11th. Maximum winds reached 50 miles per hour in squalls.

TROPICAL STORM OF NOVEMBER 1939
The Center of this storm passed over Crooked Island on the 5th, with winds up to 50 miles per hour near the center. The storm moved northeast and over the Atlantic Ocean.

HURRICANE DONNA:
Hurricane Donna was a small, compact and extremely powerful hurricane, which moved westward through the Bahamas on 7th , 8th and 9th of September, 1960. Donna passed near Mayaguana and Acklins and directly over Ragged Island. Maximum sustained winds were between 85 and 100 miles per hour.

HURRICANE BETSY:
Hurricane Betsy, the hurricane that double back, caused severe flooding in Eleuthera and Abaco on the 6th, 7th, and 8th of September, 1965. Maximum sustained winds were between 80 and 120 miles per hour.

HURRICANE DAVID:
Hurricane David moved swiftly through the Bahamas, on the 2nd September, 1979, affecting Ragged Island Andros and Bimini with winds near 90 miles per hour. Some flooding occurred in New Providence and trees were uprooted.

TROPICAL STORM GERT:
Tropical Storm Gert passed over Mayaguana and near Crooked Island and San Salvador on the 10th September, 1981.

TROPICAL STORM KATRINA:
Tropical Storm Katrina moved over Long Island, just south of Exuma and near San Salvador on the 6th November, 1981.

HURRICANE KATE:
On the 18th November, 1985 Hurricane Kate moved westward just of the north coast of Inagua.

TROPICAL STORM ISIDORE:
Isidore passed across San Salvador, southern Cat Island and the extreme northern tip of Andros on the 25th and 26th September, 1984.

TROPICAL STORM FLOYD:
Tropical Storm Floyd moved east-northeast near the northern tip of Abaco and south of Grand Bahama on the 13th October, 1987.

TROPICAL STORM FABIAN:
Tropical Storm Fabian passed over the western portion of Grand Bahama on the 16th October, 1991, as an extra tropical low pressure system.

HURRICANE ANDREW:
Hurricane Andrew passed over Eleuthera, the Berry Islands and South Bimini on the 23rd August, 1992. Deadly Hurricane Andrew caused sever flooding and property damage in the islands mentioned and also in North Andros. Additionally, four deaths were reported but only two were directly attributed to Hurricane Andrew. Numerous tornadoes were spawned from thunderstorm clouds associated with Hurricane Andrew in the island of Eleuthera.

HURRICANE ERIN:
Hurricane Erin moved up the Bahama chain affecting Mayaguana, Crooked Island, Acklins, Long Island Cat Island, Eleuthera, the southern tip of Abaco and Grand Bahama from the 31st July to the 1st August, 1995.

HURRICANE LILY:
Hurricane Lily moved across the Exuma Cays and San Salvador on 19th October, 1996. Lily caused flooding and agriculture damage in Exuma and Long Island.

HURRICANE GEORGES:
Hurricane George affected the Turks and Caicos Island and South Andros with winds near 70 miles per hour between the 16th and 17th September, 1998. Damage was minimal.

HURRICANE DENNIS:
Affected San Salvador, Crooked Island, Eleuthera and Abaco from 27th to 28th August, 1999 with moderate winds and rain. Dennis caused some roof and storm surge damage mainly to coastal properties.

HURRICANE FLOYD:
The most destructive hurricane since the 1929 hurricane devastated Cat Island, Eleuthera and Abaco between 13th and 17th September, 1999, with sustained winds up to 120 miles per hour. New Providence also experienced coastal road and seawall damage, due to storm surge. There were also damages to roofs and in some cases, roofs were completely destroyed.

TROPICAL STORM HARVEY:
Tropical Storm Harvey caused some flooding on 21st September, 1999, in low-lying areas of Bimini, Grand Bahama and Abaco before soaking South Florida.

TROPICAL STORM IRENE:
Irene affected most of the Northwest Bahamas from the 14th to 16th October, 1999, with long periods of rain which were heavy at times. Mild to moderate flooding were experienced in some parts of the Northwest Bahamas.

[Gustywind]

Looks like the Irene name may not be a love story for our friends of Bahamas as TS Irene in 1999 has hit this territory Let's hope that Irene won't bring to much damages, but that's pretty worrying form them. Fingers crossed and prayers!