Ураган "Дог" (1950): История и последствия мощного атлантического шторма

Category 4 Atlantic hurricane

Hurricane Dog was the most intense hurricane in the 1950 Atlantic hurricane season. Prior to reanalysis by the Hurricane Research Division in 2014, it was considered one of the strongest Atlantic hurricanes on record, equivalent to Category 5 status on the modern Saffir Simpson scale, with winds of The fourth named storm of the season, Dog developed on August 30 to the east of Antigua; after passing through the northern Lesser Antilles, it turned to the north and intensified into a Category 4 hurricane. Dog reached its peak intensity with winds of over the open Atlantic, and after weakening it passed within 200 mile (322 km) of Cape Cod, Massachusetts. The storm became extratropical on September 12. Hurricane Dog caused extensive damage to the Leeward Islands, and was considered the most severe hurricane on record in Antigua. Many buildings were destroyed or severely damaged on the island, with thousands left homeless just weeks after Hurricane Baker caused serious damage there. In the United States, the hurricane caused moderate coastal damage, including damage to several boats, and resulted in 11 offshore drownings. Strong winds caused widespread power outages across southeastern New England. There were twelve people missing and assumed dead offshore Nova Scotia. Damage across its path totaled about $3 million (1950 USD$, 2009 USD).

The exact origins of Hurricane Dog are obscure, due to sparse ship and land observations over the eastern Atlantic Ocean; the storm may have originated from an easterly wave on August 24 near the Cape Verde islands, but there are no observations to support such development. Ships first encountered the storm on August 30, when the SS Sibrodin reported gale force winds and an area of low pressure about 320 mile (515 km) east southeast of Antigua. The storm is first documented as a hurricane with winds of late on August 30. With high pressures to its northeast, the storm tracked west northwestward and rapidly intensified: on August 31 it attained major hurricane status, reaching winds of —the first peak intensity in its life—before entering the Leeward Islands. Early on September 1, Hurricane Dog passed just north of Antigua as the equivalent of a Category 4 hurricane on the Saffir Simpson hurricane wind scale. A weather station on Antigua reported a pressure of , though the eye of the hurricane missed the station. Early on September 2, Hurricane Dog came under weak steering currents, causing it to drift northward. In 2014, a reanalysis of HURDAT by the Hurricane Research Division found that the peak winds in Hurricane Dog were more likely , marking a reduction in the intensity of Hurricane Dog from Category 5 to Category 4. A building ridge of high pressure to its north caused it to decelerate and weaken steadily for unknown reasons as it turned to the west; by September 9, the intensity had decreased to On September 10, Hurricane Dog began turning to the northwest, and a day later it headed north and then northeast. Late that day, it briefly re intensified slightly to before transitioning into an extratropical cyclone with hurricane force winds. The former hurricane passed within 200 mile (322 km) of Cape Cod on September 12. Shortly afterwards, the extratropical remnant turned to the east, losing hurricane winds for several days beginning on September 13. The system eventually turned to the northeast on September 15, and a day later it regained hurricane force winds as a vigorous extratropical cyclone. Early on September 17, the cyclone struck Scotland with winds of , but the system persisted until finally losing its identity north of Scotland on September 18. On the day of the hurricane's closest approach to the United States, the National Weather Bureau issued storm warnings from Cape May, New Jersey, to Eastport, Maine.

Passing through the Lesser Antilles, Hurricane Dog produced a storm surge of 8 feet (2 m) in Antigua. Winds on Antigua and Barbuda were estimated at , On Antigua, where hurricane force winds were reported for six hours, residents considered it the most severe hurricane in history. Damage throughout the Lesser Antilles totaled $1 million (1950 USD$, 2009 USD), primarily on Antigua and Barbuda, and included many damaged or destroyed homes, ruined crops, blocked roads from washouts or fallen trees, and power outages across the islands. The hurricane resulted in several shipwrecks; two people drowned when their small boat capsized. Heavy rain fell in the Mid Atlantic States, leading to flash floods in some locations. In Bel Air, Maryland, a car drove into the swollen Little Gunpowder Falls; three people in the car drowned and a fourth was injured. A further two people drowned in Lexington, Virginia. Though newspaper sources attributed the heavy rainfall to Hurricane Dog, In Provincetown, a car hit a woman—neither the driver nor the victim was able to see due to the rains. A man in Falmouth was paralyzed from the waist downwards after coming into contact with a wet tree limb next to a downed power line.

Before scientific reexamination reduced its winds, Hurricane Dog was listed as the second strongest Atlantic hurricane on record, tied with Hurricanes Gilbert in 1988 and Wilma in 2005; following reanalysis in 2012, the 1935 Labor Day hurricane also met this distinction. Only Hurricanes Camille in 1969 and Allen in 1980 were stronger, peaking at However, Hurricane Dog was referred to as "the great hurricane in the central Atlantic" in newspaper reports, and its name was seldom used. A relief fund was organized in the aftermath of the hurricane by The Daily Gleaner, a newspaper from Kingston, Jamaica. The newspaper invited its readers to help assist "their suffering fellow West Indians in the island of Antigua." Four days after the hurricane, the fund totaled £171,000 (1950 GBP, $ 2009 USD). One Antigua official stated the country "would appreciate voluntary assistance from outside, especially food and clothing".