1903 Florida hurricane

Hurricane Three
1903 Florida hurricane

Category 1 hurricane (SSHWS/NWS)
Formed	September 9, 1903 (1903-09-09)
Dissipated	September 16, 1903 (1903-09-17)
Highest winds	1-minute sustained: 90 mph (150 km/h)
Lowest pressure	976 mbar (hPa); 28.82 inHg
Fatalities	14 direct
Damage	$500,000 (1903 USD)
Areas affected	The Bahamas, southern Florida, Florida Panhandle, Alabama
Part of the 1903 Atlantic hurricane season

The 1903 Florida hurricane, also known as the 1903 Inchulva hurricane for its sinking of the British steamship Inchulva, was an Atlantic hurricane that caused extensive wind and flood damage on the Florida peninsula and over the adjourning Southeastern United States in early to middle September 1903. The third tropical cyclone and third hurricane of the 1903 Atlantic hurricane season, it first developed over the Bahamas on September 9 and moved northwest, becoming a hurricane the next day and passing near Nassau. Peaking at , equivalent to a moderate Category 1 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale, the cyclone then turned to the west-northwest on September 11 and passed just north of the Bimini Islands. As it crossed the Bahamas, the cyclone produced hurricane-force winds that caused extensive damage to crops and buildings, but no deaths were reported over the island chain.

Two days later, the cyclone struck near Fort Lauderdale in southeast Florida, causing a moderate storm surge of up to about to the north of the landfall location and winds of up to 84 mph (135 km/h). The storm caused the sinking of the Inchulva, drowning nine of her crew members. The cyclone also caused extensive wind damage in present-day Broward and Palm Beach Counties, although most of the losses were to crops such as sugarcane. At least two people died as the hurricane crossed the Florida peninsula, producing heavy rainfall. In Northwest Florida, Alabama, and Georgia, the cyclone produced widespread rainfall, causing some crop damage. Additionally, a storm surge caused boats to be blown ashore in the Florida Panhandle, although structural damage was relatively minor. In all, the storm killed 14 people in Florida and produced $500,000 in damage.

Meteorological history

File:1903 Atlantic hurricane 3 track.png

Map plotting the track and intensity of the storm according to the Saffir–Simpson hurricane wind scale

Based upon scientific research conducted by the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration's Hurricane Research Division in 2003, the cyclone is estimated to have first begun as a moderate tropical storm south of Mayaguana in the Bahamas early on September 9 with maximum sustained winds near , though due to scarce observations its genesis likely occurred earlier than this time but was undetected operationally. Moving slowly northwest, the cyclone quickly strengthened into a hurricane with winds of 75 mph (121 km/h), equivalent to Category 1 on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale, early the next day. By 00 UTC on September 11, it attained a peak intensity of 85 mph (137 km/h), the first of two along its path, while centered about west of the Bahamian capital Nassau on New Providence Island. Turning to the west-northwest, the cyclone maintained its intensity while passing just north of the Bimini Islands. Just before 00 UTC on September 12, the cyclone struck South Florida near Fort Lauderdale with an estimated central pressure of . Thereafter, the hurricane weakened upon crossing the Florida Everglades, and about 18 hours after making landfall, the cyclone entered the Gulf of Mexico near Egmont Key, south of Saint Petersburg in the Tampa Bay region, with winds of 60 mph (97 km/h). At this time, the cyclone was still moving west-northwest as it had started nearly two days earlier.

Although diminished in intensity after its passage over the Florida peninsula, the cyclone quickly re-organized and began to re-intensify over the gulf. Early on September 13, it regained hurricane intensity while centered about 100 mi (160 km) south of St. Marks in the Big Bend area of Florida. Curving to the northwest and increasing its forward speed, the hurricane attained its second and strongest peak intensity, 90 mph (140 km/h), as it neared the Florida Panhandle. On the afternoon of September 13, the hurricane passed just west of Cape San Blas, about 20 mi (32 km) south of Port St. Joe, Florida, but did not make landfall there. As its heading backed to the north-northeast, the cyclone moved made its second and final landfall in the contiguous United States near Panama City just before 00 UTC on September 14. After moving inland, the cyclone rapidly diminished to a strong tropical storm and continued to weaken as it entered southern Alabama early on September 14. The next day, it turned northeast and then east-northeast, and by 00 UTC on September 16, it degenerated into a tropical depression. Less than 24 hours later, the system dissipated just east of the Georgia/South Carolina border.

Preparations

Between 06 and 12 UTC on September 10, the United States Weather Bureau issued storm signals, equivalent to a tropical storm warning in 2012, from Cedar Key, Florida, to Charleston, South Carolina. These were later upgraded to hurricane warnings in South Florida. Due to inclement weather conditions in West Palm Beach, which had been newly incorporated as a town just days earlier, businesses suspended their normal operations and people boarded up buildings, even as the strongest winds arrived. As the cyclone moved into the Gulf of Mexico, reports from September 12 through September 14 helped ships prepare for the storm.

Impact

In the Bahamas, the cyclone produced a barometric pressure at or below on Cat Cay for about 10 hours beginning at 11 UTC on September 11. For a period of 30 minutes after 15 UTC, the pressure dropped to , after which hurricane-force winds decreased substantially, shifting from northeast to southwest via north, before restrengthening just after 16 UTC. The entire storm practically ceased by 23 UTC late that day. Only of rain attended the passage of the hurricane on the island. On New Providence Island, Nassau recorded a pressure of and winds of 60 mph (97 km/h) at 00 UTC on September 11, shortly before the anemometer blew away. Afterward, the winds shifted from east to south and were estimated to be as high as 90 mph (140 km/h). On the island, the hurricane destroyed the fruit crop and caused considerable damage to small structures. The storm also caused heavy damage to local shipping, but monetary losses and loss of life, if any, in the Bahamas are unknown.

In southeast Florida, no wind or pressure observations were available within 50 mi (80 km) of the location where the eye of the cyclone struck the coast. However, the cyclone did produce a storm surge up to at Jupiter, which was near the radius of maximum wind, then estimated to be about 50 mi (80 km), and reported peak sustained winds of 84 mph (135 km/h). The lowest pressure at Jupiter dipped to at 23 UTC on September 11. Winds of damaging force extended 30 mi (48 km) north of Jupiter, and the preponderance of the damage was limited to areas south of that settlement. Only pineapple sheds were damaged at Jupiter. In West Palm Beach, many buildings were unroofed and much debris, including roofing materials, branches, paper, and driftwood, was thrown into the streets. As northeast winds reached their peak between 21 UTC on September 11 and 01 UTC the next day, parts of buildings blew away. In the Black section of the town, just one church stood after the hurricane. Hotels on the nearby island of Palm Beach survived, but many coconut palms and other vegetation were prostrated. On the west shoreline of Lake Worth Lagoon, homes were swept off their foundations and their interiors flooded.

The settlements of Pompano, where the eye was believed to have come ashore, and Delray were nearly destroyed, with trees defoliated and many buildings dismantled. Damage in the Miami area was confined to small buildings overturned, trees uprooted, smokestacks downed, metal awnings broken, and metal roofs scattered. Only two or three homes were blown off their foundations in the northern part of the area. Losses in South Florida reached $100,000 (USD 1903), mainly to crops such as sugarcane in the Everglades. Two ships were beached and wrecked: the schooner Martha T. Thomas, blown ashore south of Jupiter without loss of crew members, and the British steamship Inchulva, wrecked near the Orange Grove House of Refuge at Delray. Nine crew members aboard the Inchulva drowned as she stranded just off the beach. The wreck was later salvaged and transformed into an underwater diving attraction. In Central Florida, the cyclone only caused minor damage to structures and blew down trees, but at least two people died at Tampa. The storm also damaged businesses in the area and reportedly blew down half the local orange crop. Heavy rainfall occurred along the path, peaking at 11.40 in (289.56 mm) at Fort Meade, Florida.

In the Florida Panhandle, the hurricane produced a pressure of and winds up to 80 mph (130 km/h) at St. Andrews settlement, near Panama City. The peak storm surge was measured at up to in the town of Apalachicola. Up to 50% of the cotton crop was destroyed but overall structural damage was minor, though ships were grounded near Apalachicola. As the cyclone moved inland over Alabama and Georgia on September 14 and 15, it produced widespread rains peaking at at Griffin, Georgia. Minor crop damage occurred in low-lying areas, but advance warning reduced the potential damage. In all, the hurricane killed 14 people, all in Florida.

See also

• 1932 Florida–Alabama hurricane
• Hurricane Erin (1995)
• List of Atlantic hurricanes
• List of tropical cyclones

Bibliography

• Barnes, Jay (1998). Florida's Hurricane History. Chapel Hill Press. ISBN 0-8078-2443-7.
• Kleinberg, Eliot (2003). Black Cloud: The Deadly Hurricane of 1928. Carroll and Graf Publishing. ISBN 0-7867-1386-0.