Georgia's Really Strange Hurricane History

[Berwick Bay]

What are we to make of this? If you are a rational person, then what possible explanation is there? Many of you may know this already, but for others, here is the bizarre history of hurricanes along the Georgia Coast.

If you look at the history of hurricanes that have made landfall along the Georgia coast during the 1900's, you might ask yourself, "Why all the worry?" Only three storms have slammed into the coast in the past 106 years (1900-present)! Is there a need to be concerned? The answer is found by reading more from the book that Mother Nature wrote. If this book has only three chapters, the 1900s was chapter two. By reading this section of the book, indeed, a feeling of false security could easily befall upon us. We need to read chapter one, "Hurricanes that have hit the Georgia and Southern South Carolina Coast in the 1800's." This section of history will open your eyes!




Storms of the 1800s

While only three hurricanes hit the Georgia and the extreme Southern South Carolina coast in the 1900s, twelve such storms produced havoc for the developing coast during the 1800s. And unlike the weaker storms of the 1900s, in many cases, these storms were much more fierce!

In the 1890s alone, five hurricanes stuck the area with two in 1898 and two in 1893. Other strong storms produced wide spread damage in 1884, 1854 and in 1824. The storm in 1824 washed out all bridges between Darien and Savannah and was as destructive as a storm that hit in 1804. That storm was most likely the worst storm during that century, stronger than the 1893 one. The main reason there was not too much notoriety from it was because there wasn't too much built yet to be destroyed! The entire state was less than a hundred years old at that time. But Aaron Burr, the Aaron Burr who dueled with and killed Alexander Hamilton, was living on St. Simons Island at the time and wrote an account in of the storm. His accounts indicated that the eye passed directly over the island and destroyed nearly everything and killed many slaves and livestock. The loss of life was extensive and hardship was immense. The storm made its way up the coast destroying just about all in its path, passing over Savannah and moving into South Carolina. The storm destroyed Ft. Green which was the rebuilt of the original garrison, Forth George, which was destroyed in an earlier hurricane in 1756. The site of the ruins was later rebuilt under the commission of Robert E. Lee and renamed, Ft. Pulaski.




The Terrible Storm of 1893

On August 27, 1893, a ferocious storm was approaching the coast of Georgia. Storm warnings were up but the storm was much stronger that what could have ever been imagined. The people of Tybee battened down the hatches and prepared for "Another one" as hurricanes were a semi common storm during this period. But the storm proved to be too much for many of the people on the islands that day as winds continued to accelerate to beyond 100 mph then 120 and perhaps gusting even up to 150 mph!

For those who stayed, their worse fears became reality. As the eye of the storm moved overhead, the winds suddenly died and a period of tranquility existed on the island. The residents being "Storm-wise" knew that the winds would hit again and at the same force except from the opposite direction very shortly. They also knew of a terrible storm surge that was now just moments away. This would be an awful wall of water like a 20 foot tide crashing onshore in less than 30 minutes with waves of 20-25 feet on top of it! The ferocious winds earlier had already greatly weakened their homes; they knew there was not much chance of surviving in them. Their only chance for survival would be to climb the tallest trees and tie themselves in and hope and pray that they would be above the water and not be blown away. They eye of the storm went right over Tybee and into South Carolina bringing in that expected storm surge and it inundated all land east of the Wilmington river. When it was all over, more than 2,000 persons died in that storm from Savannah northward to Charleston, many washed out to sea.

This first chapter (hurricanes of the 1800s) of weather history tells of a completely different account than that of chapter two (hurricanes of the 1900s). Knowing about the history of hurricanes in the 1800's informs us that these storms did rake the coast in the past. But is the postulate that perhaps the climate is changing and the history of the 1900's of fewer hurricanes going to be the rule? Or is the assumption true that the climate has not dramatically changed and storm frequency of the 1800's is more of what we should expect? It seems that there are cycles of meteorological events that occur and that we might be moving out of a portion of one cycle back into another one. It also seems that once a storm hits an area, that same area is more likely to be hit again very soon.

[secretforecaster]

Thanks Berwick Bay! That was an eye-opener for me. Keep us posted Nostradamus!

[Jagno]

I hope and pray that the very last sentence in the original post is WRONG. LOL
Great find...........thanks for sharing.