Cat 5 Monsters on record from 1886

[cycloneye]

http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/satellite/s ... t5hur.html

One of them was in 1928 and when it made landfall here in Puerto Rico as a cat 5 with 160 mph maximum winds and gusts of 200 mph caused 312 deaths.

I hope that never a cat 5 comes here or to anyplace in the US coastline or around the world because catastrophical damage and losses of live will occur.

[Stormsfury]

Luis, if my memory serves me right, wasn't that the "San Felipe Hurricane"?

[cycloneye]

Yes SF San Felipe the only cat 5 that has made landfall in Puerto Rico ever.

[Steve H.]

Interestingly the 1928 hurricane also hit the Melbourne, FL area and was said to have created the inlet here by cutting thru the barrier islands. Though not a cat 5 at landfall it was still fairly potent and its exact strength was unknown at landfall :o

[Stormsfury]

Interestingly the 1928 hurricane also hit the Melbourne, FL area and was said to have created the inlet here by cutting thru the barrier islands. Though not a cat 5 at landfall it was still fairly potent and its exact strength was unknown at landfall :o

Yep ... I thought that the San Felipe Hurricane also hit Florida as well. It is estimated that at time of landfall (according to NHC's best track records), it was a Category 4 at landfall.

[ColdFront77]

I spent some time in Melbourne to visit my brother and sister-in-law back in early March for five days. I figured that there may of been a landfalling hurricane along that portion of the Florida coast.

The Kennedy Space Center was built on Cape Caneveral, along the east central Florida coast becomes in history there have rare been landfalling hurricanes along that portion of the eastern seaboard. They are in a way, at least due for at least a weak hurricane in the near future.

[Steve H.]

The east coast is overdue from Cocoa Beach south to Ft. Lauderdale. Imagine the 1928 hurricane hitting, say West Palm, NOW!! For some reason people seem to think that it can't/won't happen. I have seen pictures of destruction (back in '38 I believe) in that area when it was unpopulated. I have talked to people that believe it would never happen again like that due to improved construction . People have short memories, and recent history (outside of Andrew) has perpetuated the myth that strong storms that landfall are a thing of the past. Someday there will be a rude awakening in store for the coast :o

[Aslkahuna]

at the thought that the 1926 Miami Beach Hurricane could ever possibly repeat as estimates are that it would make Andrew look like a walk in the Park on a Sunny Day. Unfortunately, like Earthquakes in CA hurricanes in FL are inevitable.

Steve

[Derek Ortt]

Cyc,

that 1928 hurricane, I believe, was also the same one that made landfall in sfla and caused those 2,000 deaths on the shores of Lake Okeechobee.

Also, an interesting ntoe about that hurricane was there was never a 3rd US landfall. Unlike most every other hurricane that hits Florida in that manner, this particular one did not ever emerge into the GOM, which is a good thing as the 2100+ US deaths in FL and PR were more than enough

[Stormsfury]

The east coast is overdue from Cocoa Beach south to Ft. Lauderdale. Imagine the 1928 hurricane hitting, say West Palm, NOW!! For some reason people seem to think that it can't/won't happen. I have seen pictures of destruction (back in '38 I believe) in that area when it was unpopulated. I have talked to people that believe it would never happen again like that due to improved construction . People have short memories, and recent history (outside of Andrew) has perpetuated the myth that strong storms that landfall are a thing of the past. Someday there will be a rude awakening in store for the coast :o

Good post, Steve. The bottom line is this ... if it's happened before, that means it surely can happen again.

[isobar]

The 1938 cane listed was the famous New England Hurricane that made landfall 9/21/38 as a cat 3.

Andrew qualifies for the cat 5 club now.

[pojo]

No one has mentioned the Labor Day Hurricane of 1935, or Camille or Andrew...all of which were cat 5 monsters!

[isobar]

pojo - The complete list is on cycloneye's link at the top of the thread. Camille and '35 Labor Day are there, but Andrew is not.

[cycloneye]

Yes isobar Andrew as a cat 5 has caused some controversy because some say that the winds were not strong as a cat 5 (over 155 mph) and others say it had over 155 mph at landfall.

I think that Derek Ortt can tell his thinking about it because last year when they change the status of Andrew he voiced a great argument against classifying it as a cat 5.

[isobar]

RE: Andrew's status ... I know there are many who will never accept the change without a reliable surface anemometer reading.

I thought the timing of the announcement was pretty sucky, IMO. Right at the 10th anniversary, it seemed ceremonial.

[Steve H.]

Believe me, I did not forget the 1935 hurricane. I'm in the midst of gathering more data from it again. There was at least one survivor left on Matecumbe Key last year, but he would never talk about it. I've been wanting to go down to the keys to see if I can get an interview, but haven't gotten around to it. Hope he's still with us I know that very few remain. Many people living on living that key were put to work on Flagler's railroad post Depression; some were WWI vets. They were living in "camps" down there and pretty much in the dark regarding news, never mind the weather. Reports did come in from off Cuba that a Depression had formed near the southern Bahamas and was moving westward. It was forecast to become a TS, but nothing more was heard about it until a ship report came from near Cuba reporting significant pressure drops. As time passed word was sent to Miami that the storm was strengthening to severe levels, and that a train needed to be sent from Miami to the Keys to evacuate however they could, as the storm took a tun to the NW. Somehow the train got delayed leaving Miami (3 hours), then finally headed down to the Keys. That delay cost most, if not all, on board their lives. The train headed into the storm. As rain and wind increased, the train began to get boggged down by wind driven sea ater beginning to encroach on the tracks. As the train pulled into Matecumbe key they ran into something they didn't expect. A storm surge of unknown height that tore the train right off the tracks and swept all those waiting or onboard into the blackness of the the night and sea. Many drowned. Others were decapitated or impaled. The survivors had some miraculous stories; one awoke in the top of a palm tree :o Eyewitness accounts talked of sustained winds over 200 miles an hours, which lasted near 55 minutes at Long Key. But all anemometers were destroyed, so accurate records were not available for winds, although pressures were recorded in some areas (down to 26.55 at Upper Matecumbe key). But the eye was small so we don't really know how low it went (8 miles). Eyewitnesses recalled seeing sparks flying in the air, later realizing that it was the wind blowing the sand particles together causing the sparks. There are some who believe the winds were closer to 250 for a while, which analysis later showed was not out of the realm of possibilities Unreal! Imagine that happening again. Someday it will. A friend of mine was down there last year and said he saw the plaque on the side of US 1 in Islamorada. Uh oh.....tornadoes in KC.....later.

[isobar]

Steve, I've also read reports that based on damage assessments, gusts to 250 were probable. My simple brain still can't fathom this storm.

Intensified from a TS to cat 5 in 39 hrs
Total diameter of storm: 40 (forty) miles
Damage path: 30 miles
Eye: 8 miles
BP: 892 mb taken at Long Key
Pressure gradient: 1" every 6 miles

Here are a couple links I've found interesting.

http://www.aoml.noaa.gov/hrd/Storm_pages/labor_day/labor_article.html
http://www.srh.noaa.gov/TLH/topevents/
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/weather/hurricane/sfl-1935-hurricane.story

[Steve H.]

Thanks Isobar. The more info the better.