Atlantic Gulf Hurricane of 1919

The path of the Florida Keys Hurricane of 1919
Duration	Sep. 2 - 14, 1919
Highest winds	131-155 mph (210-249 km/h) (approx.) sustained
Damages	$22 million (approx.)
Fatalities	600-900 direct
Areas affected	Lesser Antilles; Bahamas; Dominican Republic South Florida, Southeastern Texas
Part of the 1919 Atlantic hurricane season

The Florida Keys Hurricane or Atlantic Gulf Hurricane of 1919 was an intense Atlantic hurricane. It was first detected near the Lesser Antilles on September 2, 1919. It travelled to the west-northwest and hit the Dominican Republic and the Bahamas, where it reached peak strength. Image File history File links Atlantic_gulf_1919_map. ... September 2 is the 245th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (246th in leap years). ... September 14 is the 257th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (258th in leap years). ... 1919 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... Miles per hour is a unit of speed, expressing the number of international miles covered per hour. ... Kilometre per hour (American spelling: kilometer per hour) is a unit of both speed (scalar) and velocity (vector). ... The Lesser Antilles are part of the Antilles, which together with the Greater Antilles form the West Indies. ... State nickname: Sunshine State Other U.S. States Capital Tallahassee Largest city Jacksonville Governor Jeb Bush (R) Official languages English Area 170,451 km² (22nd)  - Land 137,374 km²  - Water 30,486 km² (17. ... ... The 1919 Atlantic hurricane season was an ongoing event in the annual cycle of tropical cyclone formation. ... 1919 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... The Atlantic Ocean is Earths second-largest ocean, covering approximately one_fifth of its surface. ... This article is about weather phenomena. ... The Lesser Antilles are part of the Antilles, which together with the Greater Antilles form the West Indies. ... September 2 is the 245th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (246th in leap years). ...

The storm's center grazed the Florida Keys on September 9 as a Category 4 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale. It then entered the Gulf of Mexico and continued its general west-northwest track. The storm made landfall near Corpus Christi, Texas on September 14 as a Category 3 hurricane. Although the instruments needed to precisely measure a hurricane's wind speed were not available at the time, it is known that this hurricane produced a 12-foot storm surge in the Corpus Christi area, causing major damage. Palm trees in Islamorada The Florida Keys is an archipelago or cluster of about 1700 islands in the extreme southeast of the United States. ... September 9 is the 252nd day of the year (253rd in leap years). ... The Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale is a scale classifying hurricanes by the intensity of their sustained winds, developed in 1969 by civil engineer Herbert Saffir and National Hurricane Center director Bob Simpson. ... Gulf of Mexico. ... Flag of Corpus Christi Corpus Christi is a coastal city located in Texas, and since 2004, has become one of the fastest growing cities in the nation. ... September 14 is the 257th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (258th in leap years). ... Graphic illustrating storm surge. ...

The barometric pressure of the hurricane was taken, by a ship near the Dry Tortugas. It recorded a level of 27.37 inches (927 mb), making this hurricane one of the most intense in U.S. recorded history. It was the most intense hurricane to strike Key West in the 20th century. Fort Jefferson, Dry Tortugas The Dry Tortugas are a small group of islands, located at the end of the Florida Keys, USA, about 70 miles or 110 kilometers west of Key West which were discovered in 1513 by Spanish explorer Ponce de Leon. ... Map of Key West Key West is a city located in Monroe County, Florida. ... (19th century - 20th century - 21st century - more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s As a means of recording the passage of time, the 20th century was that century which lasted from 1901–2000 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar (1900–1999 in the...

Of the approximately 600-900 people killed by the storm, roughly 500 of them were aboard ten ships lost at sea.

Trivia

• One of the people forced to evacuate Corpus Christi was Bob Simpson, who would later become head of the National Hurricane Center and devise the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center is the division of National Weather Services Tropical Prediction Center responsible for tracking and predicting the likely behavior of tropical depressions, tropical storms and hurricanes. ... The Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale is a scale classifying hurricanes by the intensity of their sustained winds, developed in 1969 by civil engineer Herbert Saffir and National Hurricane Center director Bob Simpson. ...

External links

• Hurricane info on about.com
• History of the 1919 Atlantic Gulf Hurricane at the National Weather Service, includes many damage photographs