1916 Texas hurricane

Category 4 Atlantic hurricane

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. 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 $10.0 in 1916 is equivalent to about <calculated amount> in recent years million in ). 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. On the evening of August 16, the hurricane struck southern Texas near Baffin Bay with winds of 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 feet (3 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 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 $1.8 in 1916 is equivalent to about <calculated amount> in recent years million in ), and 20 people were killed. The hurricane quickly weakened over southwestern Texas and dissipated near New Mexico by August 20.

According to the U. S. Weather Bureau, the 1916 Texas hurricane "followed an average course for the type of August hurricanes that pass through the Yucatán Channel", but maintained an unusually brisk forward speed throughout its life. A possible precursor disturbance may have originated as early as August 8 near Africa, but observations were inconclusive in determining the formation of a tropical cyclone. based on a wind measurement from a nearby ship. There were no other observations of similarly gusty winds or low air pressures over the next three days while the system traced out the southern periphery of the Azores High westward into the eastern Caribbean Sea. Steady intensification was inferred during this period by the Atlantic hurricane reanalysis project in 2008, Near the Cayman Islands, a vessel recorded winds, ultimately proving to be the strongest offshore winds sampled in connection with the cyclone. It was larger than average upon landfall, with a 29 mile (47 km) radius of maximum wind. Neither the strongest winds nor lowest pressure were directly measured, and were instead extrapolated from peripheral data by the hurricane reanalysis project using storm surge modelling and pressure to wind relationships. Several other researchers in the 20th century made similar analyses of the landfall, all concluding that Texas was impacted by a major hurricane. A warning noting the likelihood of hurricane force winds was issued for the Yucatán Channel near Cuba's Guanahacabibes Peninsula on August 16. Maritime traffic was briefly halted before being allowed to resume course to Cuban and Central American ports. The hurricane dealt a heavy blow to Jamaica when the storm passed south of the Crown colony on the night of August 15, killing seventeen people and leaving thousands homeless. Although the U. S. Weather Bureau did not indicate a landfall, (equivalent to $10.0 in 1916 is equivalent to about <calculated amount> in recent years million in ). Among Jamaica's crops, banana cultivations were the most severely impacted; several communities and parishes documented a majority loss of their bananas, especially on the eastern half of the island. In Bath, the storm was the most devastating since the 1903 Jamaica hurricane. The eastern banana growing belt was thoroughly ruined; five thousand mature banana trees were toppled before the storm's closest approach to Bath, accounting for a near total loss of the fruit there. Sugar plantations also suffered greatly, An estimated 30–50 percent of the cocoa crop was damaged. Winds peaked at during the evening hours of August 15 in Bowden, cutting telegraph communications and damaging many buildings and banana trees. Several hours of gusty winds downed telegraph lines and fruit trees of all varieties throughout Saint Thomas Parish. Homes were unroofed and displaced in Annotto Bay, constituting most of the property damage there. making the dissemination of damage reports in Jamaica increasingly difficult. Debris littered roads, and in one case, a house was blown onto a highway. with one wreck resulting in two fatalities.

+ Effects of the 1916 Texas hurricane by Texas community Location DamageAlice $100,000Aransas Pass $150,000Corpus Christi $500,000Kingsville $100,000Rockport $75,000San Diego $50,000Rio Grande Valley(several towns) $300,000Other areas $500,000Total$1.8 million
General information on the hurricane's location and movement for American interests was first issued by the United States Weather Bureau on the morning of August 13, based on information from Saint Kitts. Alerts to vessels in the path of the storm prompted 20 steamers to anchor in New Orleans, Louisiana. Due to the storm's initially small size and the lack of data concerning it, the Weather Bureau lamented that "the location of the center of the storm was [ ] a very unsatisfactory matter", as was the case with two other tropical cyclones monitored by the agency in the same month. On August 18, as the storm neared Texas landfall, hurricane warnings were first issued, advising coastal residents from Cameron County northward to Calhoun County by telegraph and telephone of the hurricane's imminent approach. Galveston residents evacuated for the mainland via interurban routes and special trains as seas began to rise, filling railcars to capacity; in total, thousands of people evacuated the insular city. Another set of Southern Pacific traincars was readied at Seabrook in case more evacuations were required. A hundred automobiles were used to escort women and children from vulnerable sections of Corpus Christi to the safer buildings of the business district on the afternoon of August 18, finding havens at banks, hotels, schools, and the city hall. However, many city residents did not take precautions in protecting their property, as conventional wisdom held that destructive storms did not affect Corpus Christi. Fearing a repeat of the 1915 Galveston hurricane, some visitors in Galveston headed toward Corpus Christi, only to be caught in the incoming storm. The coastal steamer Pilot Boy sank in the entrance to the harbor at Port Aransas after being battered by the hurricane's rough seas, killing six of her crew. Outhouses and a dwelling at the Aransas Pass Light Station were undermined. The Category 4 hurricane moved ashore near Baffin Bay at 5:00 p. m. CST (22:00 UTC) on August 18, Damage from the hurricane was inflicted over a wide expanse of southern Texas and maximized along the coast. winds reached at least before the observing station's anemometer was knocked out of commission. Much of a coastal apartment compound was reduced to rubble floating in the Corpus Christi Bay. Conservative estimates placed financial losses for the city between $250,000–$500,000 (equivalent to $0.25 in 1916 is equivalent to about <calculated amount> in recent years–0.5 in 1916 is equivalent to about <calculated amount> in recent years million in ), and three people drowned along the immediate coast. Many of Port Aransas's frame buildings, piers, and other coastal structures fell victim to the rough seas. Small shipping interests were hurt in Port Lavaca, particularly the fish and oyster industry. Waterfront homes in the port city were destroyed. Port O'Connor and surrounding locales were impacted by winds that damaged numerous homes and dislodged the roof of a hotel. Strong winds also forced the sea inland, grounding boats and submerging the nearby grounds of the Epworth League in Seadrift. A relief train was sent from Austwell to Port O'Connor to evacuate storm stricken residents. Bay View College in Portland permanently closed following damage to its buildings. Intense winds in Kingsville unroofed homes and businesses. A city garage's collapse crushed several cars beneath. Governor of Illinois Edward Fitzsimmons Dunne was caught in the storm at Kingsville; he had been inspecting army camps along the Texas–Mexico border in the days before they were ravaged by the storm. Every house was damaged and most were destroyed in Riviera, located 15 mile (24 km) south of Kingsville. Farther north in Galveston, the hurricane produced winds that destroyed two homes. Moderate to heavy rains spread across southern Texas both ahead of the storm and to the right of the center's path. There were two foci of heavy rainfall: the first along the coast where a maximum of was reported in Harlingen, and a second borne of orographic lifting in the mountains of southwestern Texas. About one third of the cotton crop around Shiner was lost, and in some locations more than half of the pecans were blown off trees. The storm proved beneficial for cotton harvesting in Victoria County by helping to clear excess foliage. Many farm buildings and small structures were leveled in Beeville. In Brownsville, plate glass windows were blown out and fences and trees were toppled. Some militia camps were also deluged by the heavy rainfall in the Brownsville area, destroying thousands of dollars worth of government equipment after perishable munitions were exposed to the elements. All military encampments in the area were forced to be temporarily abandoned, with 30,000 people seeking refuge in public buildings in Mercedes and Mission. Similar damage occurred farther upstream along the Rio Grande Valley in Laredo, where the hurricane tore down small buildings and communication poles. Downed wires forced the city to shut down power for most of the municipality. Although damage was widespread, its overall magnitude along the Rio Grande remained slight. Sections of the San Antonio and Aransas Pass Railway and International–Great Northern Railroad were put out of commission, the former left mangled and obstructed by debris. Other trains in the region were delayed by 12–18 hours, (equivalent to $3.0 in 1916 is equivalent to about <calculated amount> in recent years million in ). Over a thousand workers were dispatched by the afflicted railroad companies to repair the railways. while winds swept through San Antonio. In total, twenty people were killed in Texas, and damage to property was estimated at $1.8 million (equivalent to $1.8 in 1916 is equivalent to about <calculated amount> in recent years million in ).