Preview warning: The article title was redundantly supplied in |name=. Remove this parameter; the article title is used as the name by default.
1916 Texas hurricane
Surface weather analysis of the hurricane nearing landfall upon Texas on August 18
Meteorological history
Formed
August 12, 1916 (August 12, 1916)
Dissipated
August 20, 1916 (August 20, 1916)
Category 4 major hurricane
1-minute sustained (SSHWS/NWS)
Highest winds
130 mph (215 km/h)
Lowest pressure
932 mbar (hPa); 27.52 inHg
Overall effects
Fatalities
37 (Jamaica: 17, Texas: 20)
Damage
$11.8 million (1916 USD)
Areas affected
Lesser Antilles
Jamaica
Cayman Islands
Mexico
Texas
IBTrACS
Part of the 1916 Atlantic hurricane season
The 1916 Texas hurricane was an intense and quick-moving tropical cyclone that caused widespread damage in Jamaica and South Texas in August 1916. A Category 4 hurricane upon landfall in Texas, it was the strongest tropical cyclone to strike the United States in three decades. Throughout its eight-day trek across the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico, the hurricane caused 37 fatalities and inflicted $11.8 million in damage.[nb 1]
Weather observations were limited for most of the storm's history, so much of its growth has been inferred from scant data analyzed by the Atlantic hurricane reanalysis project in 2008. The precursor disturbance organized into a small tropical storm by August 12, shortly before crossing the Lesser Antilles into the Caribbean Sea. The storm skirted the southern coast of Jamaica as a hurricane on August 15, killing 17 people along the way. No banana plantation was left unscathed by the hours-long onslaught of strong winds. Coconut and cocoa trees also sustained severe losses. The southern parishes saw the severest effects, incurring extensive damage to crops and buildings; damage in Jamaica amounted to $10 million (equivalent to $280 million in 2023). The storm then traversed the Yucatán Channel into the Gulf of Mexico and intensified further into the equivalent of a major hurricane on the modern-day Saffir–Simpson scale.[nb 2]
On the evening of August 16, the hurricane struck southern Texas near Baffin Bay with winds of 130 mph (210 km/h). Buildings were razed at many coastal cities, the worst impacts being felt in Corpus Christi and surrounding communities. Beachfront structures were destroyed by a 9.2-foot (2.8 m) storm surge. Strong gusts and heavy rainfall spread farther inland across mainly rural sectors of southern Texas, damaging towns and their outlying agricultural districts alike. Railroads and other public utilities were disrupted across the region, with widespread power outages. Eight locations set 24-hour rainfall records; among them was Harlingen, which recorded the storm's rainfall maximum with 6 inches (150 mm) of precipitation. The deluge wrought havoc on military camps along the Mexico–United States border, forcing 30,000 garrisoned militiamen to evacuate. Aggregate property damage across Texas reached $1.8 million (equivalent to $50 million in 2023), and 20 people were killed. The hurricane quickly weakened over southwestern Texas and dissipated near New Mexico by August 20.
Cite error: There are <ref group=nb> tags on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=nb}} template (see the help page).
^Goldenburg, Stan (June 1, 2018). "A3) What is a super-typhoon? What is a major hurricane? What is an intense hurricane?". Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ). 4.11. Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory. Archived from the original on June 15, 2006. Retrieved August 2, 2019.
and 22 Related for: 1916 Texas hurricane information
The 1916Texashurricane was an intense and quick-moving tropical cyclone that caused widespread damage in Jamaica and South Texas in August 1916. A Category 4...
The 1916 Atlantic hurricane season featured eighteen tropical cyclones, of which nine made landfall in the United States, the most in one season until...
Bazentin, France, with a loss 104 men. 1916Texashurricane — The hurricane made landfall at Baffin Bay, Texas, with maximum wind speeds at 135 mph (215 km/h)...
The 1900 Galveston hurricane, also known as the Great Galveston hurricane and the Galveston Flood, and known regionally as the Great Storm of 1900 or the...
Prevention "Hurricane Costs". www.coast.noaa.gov. Retrieved May 30, 2018. "Ascertainment of the estimated excess mortality from Hurricane María in Puerto...
Louisiana and eastern Texas Other strong early-season hurricanes: 1916 Gulf Coast hurricane – A destructive Category 3 hurricane that struck the central...
Florida Keys hurricane in Texas were the deadliest of any tropical cyclone in the Texas Coastal Bend, killing at least 284 people. The hurricane produced...
with the other being 2016. The first hurricane, Hurricane Hanna, made landfall in Texas on July 25. Hurricane Isaias formed on July 31, and made landfall...
along unprotected stretches of the Texas coast due to the storm's 16.2 ft (4.9 m) storm surge. Overall, the major hurricane inflicted at least $30 million...
The Atlantic hurricane season is the period in a year, from June 1 through November 30, when tropical or subtropical cyclones are most likely to form...
fourth, after Florida, Texas, and Louisiana, in the number of cyclones that produced hurricane-force winds in a U.S. state. Hurricanes in North Carolina history...
The list of United States hurricanes includes all tropical cyclones officially recorded to have produced sustained winds of greater than 74 mph (119 km/h)...
The 2021 Atlantic hurricane season was the third-most active Atlantic hurricane season on record in terms of number of tropical cyclones, although many...
twenty-fifth named storm, tenth hurricane, and third major hurricane of the record-breaking 2020 Atlantic hurricane season, Delta formed from a tropical...
Galveston hurricane. This storm caused devastation across the Greater Antilles, before making landfall in Texas as a Category 4 hurricane on the modern-day...
Category 4 hurricanes are tropical cyclones that reach Category 4 intensity on the Saffir–Simpson scale. Category 4 hurricanes that later attained Category 5...
operations. Most notably, the Mexican Drug War, Texas City Disaster, Hurricane Harvey, Hurricane Katrina, Hurricane Rita, Bastrop County Complex Fire, Operation...
Hurricane Betsy was an intense, deadly and destructive tropical cyclone that brought widespread damage to areas of Florida and the central United States...
(January 17, 2010). TexasHurricane History (PDF) (Report). Weather Prediction Center. Retrieved June 14, 2022. "1851 Hurricane Not Named (1851175N26270)"...
The 1931 Atlantic hurricane season was an active hurricane season, with a total of 13 storms recorded, which was the most since 1916. However, only three...
the following year, but the undefeated 1916 squad would bring national recognition to Tulsa. The 1916Hurricane outscored its opponents 566–40, including...
Global Information
