A P ~I L 1943 MONTHLY WEATHER REVIEW 49
NORTH ATLANTIC HURRICANES AND TROPICAL DISTURBANCES OF 1942
By HOWARD c. SUAiNER
[Weather Bureau, Washington. January 19431
All fully developed tropical disturbances of 1942, to the end of September, ran their full courses during the last two weeks of August. The first, a storm of near hurricane intensity, moved inland on the Texas coast during the morning of August 21. Nine days later, and before dam- age from the first storm could be repaired, a large and destructive hurricane crossed the coast just a hundred miles southwest of the first, storm. A third disturbance, apparently of hurricane intensity, passed east of Bermuda some distance a t sea during the night of August 25. Because of war restrictions on radio reports there is little available material on this storm. September was unusually free from tropical disturb- ances. On two occasions, the 2d and 28th, disturbed conditions prevailed in the vicinity of Bermuda, but in both cases the intensity of the storm and the course fol- lowed are not definitely known. On the 12th conditions were disturbed near Nassau in the Bahama Islands, but no organized storm developed. Tracks of these three September storms are not included on the chart as definitive information on intensity and movement is not available. The hiatus in destructive tropical storms continued through October with three disturbances expending most of their energy over the ocean, and without any damaging winds being reported on shore. During early November a severe hurricane described an unusual path from the Atlantic north of Cuba into the Caribbean Sea, and struck inland over British Honduras causing some loss of life and severe property damage in the area north of Belize. A total of 11 tropical disturbances were observed dur- ing the 1942 season, four of which developed full or near hurricane winds. Three of the September storms, cov- ered in the test, are not included in the accompanying table as data on their movement and intensity are lacking.
Tropical disturbance of August 18-22.-The disturbed conditions with squally weather and thundeistonns which prevailed along the Louisiana coast on the 19th, were doubtless associated with the northwestward movement of a wave formation which had been detected in the north- western Caribbean on August 17. No definite character- istics of a tropical storm were observed until about mid- night of the 20th. Moving west-northwestward toward the Texas coast, and giving few advance indications because of its small diameter, the disturbance passed inland over the Bolivar Peninsula near Gilchrist as a storm of near-hurricane intensity. Curving northward, after crossing the coast, the storm center traversed Chambers, Liberty, San Jacinto and Polk Counties with gale winds prevalent along the north Texas coast as far south as Galveston. The storm quickly lost intensity as it moved inland toward Palestine, where a wind of only 22 miles per hour was reported. The lowest pressure reported during the passage of the storm was 993.9 millibars (29.35 inches), at Gilchrist, and the maximum recorded wind velocity, for a 5-minute period, was 66 miles per hour (extreme 72) from the south- east reported from the Port Arthur OfEce at 9:20 a. m. (C. W. T.) August 21. Tides were 3 to 7 feet above mean low water along the upper coast with the highest recorded a t High Island about 30 miles northeast of Galveston. High tides caused considerable inundation of lowlands but, as much
of the territory was uninhabited and had been under
water before, damage from this cause was confined mostly to small craft and pier installations. Wind damage to propert has been estimated at $180,-
while high tides were responsible for damage amounting
to about $21,000. No loss of life or serious injury was reported.
Warnings were issued for this storm on the. morning of the 19tl1, being lowered when winds became light on the Louisiana coast. Further warnings were issued on the 21st. Only coastal reports were available on the 20th, and the storm was so small and had so little effect on it,s surroundings that its true character was not seen unt,il the winds increased materially with its arrival on the coast. Tropical DGturbance of August d6-26.-A st,orm, appar- ently of hurricane intensity and with gales over a wide area, passed a short distance east of Bermuda during the night of August 25. No previous history is available on
this storm. Bermuda reported a maximum wind velocity of 64 miles per hour a t 3 a. m. (E. W. T.). Hurricane of August 2l-$O.-The hurricane which swept inland over the Matagorda Bay area of Texas during the early morning hours of August 30, 1942, was one of the most severe storms on record for the Texas coast. Gales and hurricane winds prevailed over a path about 250 miles wide, with storm tides along the coast from the center nort'heastwarcl to southwestern Louisiana. The wave, from which this storm formed, passed over the Windward Islands near Santa Lucia on August 21, at- tended by heavy squk-~lls but with no indications of organ- ize.d circulat,ion. hlovin rapidly we.stward though the
of Jamaica during the night of the 24th, where its progress became slower and the first indications of development were noted. It passed north of Swan Island as a moderate storm hut with definite indications of rapidly increasing intensity, and crossed the tip of Yucatan Peninsula during the night of August 27, attended by full hurricane winds. Passing into the Gulf of Mexico, a.nd moving northwest- ward in an almost straight line it reached the Texas coast, approximately two days later, as a large and severe storm attended by full hurricane winds over a path nearly 150 miles in width. Seadrift, in Calhoun County, where a fairly complete calni occurred, reported the lowest pressure along the coest, 951.6 millibars (28.10 inches), August 30, a t 4:55 a. In. The highest wind a t Seadrift was estimated at. 115 miles per hour. Hurricane winds accompanied the storm as far inland as Atascosa County. At San Antonio, 130 miles from the coast, the st,orm still retained great strength and c.aused considerable damage. Tides were extremely high near the path of the cent'er and high tides extended well to the right of the center. The highest reported was 14.7 feet a t Matagorda, Tex., which placed the entire town 1mde.r 4 to 8 feet of water. Precipitation during the storm was generally light, and because of the rapid movement of the storm center it was of short duration. Contrary t,o the general rule for tropical 3torms of rapid movement, more rain fell on the left than on the right of the center. The maximum reported was
9.25 inches, on the coast about 25 miles to the left of the central track. Estimates of damage from the hurricanehave been placed a t $11,500,000 to property and $15,000,000 to crops. The path of destruction covered all or portions of thefollow-
000, and to crops, principa 9 ly rice, in escess of $400,000,
central Caribbean Sea, t E e wave formation pa,ssed south
50 MONTHLY WEATHER REVIEW APRIL 1943
ing counties: Mat orda, Calhoun, Aramas, Refugio, Jackson, Victoria, % oliad, De Witt, Karnes, Wilson, Atascosa, and Bexar. High tides and waves proved to
be very destructive during this storm and by far the greatest value of warnings was in the saving of human life. In a storm which inundated entire cqmmunities and in certain localities left not a single residence undamaged the loss of only eight lives is remarkable. In the Galveston
storm-warning district done, some 50,000 soldiers and civilians were evacuated to higher ground and safer localities through the warnings. Disturbance of September 16-$b.-Between the 15th
and 22d, a artiallydeveloped wave moved westward through the e aribbean from the Windward Islands, near Santa Lucia, to British Honduras. A t Swan Island, on the 20th, pressure fell to 1,002.4 millibars (29.60 inches) but no wind higher than Beaufort force 6 was reported in any observation. No advisories were issued on this storm.
Tropical disturbance of October l-$.-On October 1 a circulation developed northeast of the Bahama Islands, and moved northeastward as a storm of wide extent and considerable intensity. It passed east of Bermuda during the night of October 2-3, attended by a large ale area,
force. Disturbance, October 10-12.-This storm also formed northeast of the Bahamas, but moved north-northwesb ward to a position off the North Carolina Capes where its northward progress was blocked. It then curved inland over the northeastern North Carolina coast and gradually dissipated on the 12th. Heavy rainfall was recorded over northeastern North Carolina and to the northward, but no damaging winds were reported. Slight Tropical Disturbance of October 13-1 8.-Forming
in the northern Caribbean this disturbance moved over eastern Cuba on the 13th and, after crossing the Bahamas, curved northeastward over the Atlantic passing some dis- tance west of Bermuda on the 17th. On the 18th it was absorbed into a stronger disturbance southeast of New England. This storm increased only slightly in intensity after leaving the Bahama region and, so far aa is known, did not attain hurricane intensity.
Hurricane of November 6-1 1 .-A disturbance developed over the extreme southeast Bahamas in a katallabaric wave that had moved up from the West Indies during November 3 and 4. The lowest ressure obsemed during
(29.44 inches), accompanied by a northeast wind force 9, at Georgetown, Exuma Island. No report of damage has
but with no available reports showing winds of \ unicane
its passage over the southern Ba E amas waa 997 millibars
been received from the Bahamas. Blocked from entering
the Gulf of Mexico by a ridge aloft, the disturbance turned southwestwaxd and, increasing to hurricane or near hurri- cane force, crossed the north coast of Cuba a short distance southeast of Cay Paredon Grande where, in the 2 p. m. observation of the 6th, a wind of 70 miles per hour from the northeast, and pressure 994 millibars (29.35 inches), was reported. Camaguey, in the interior of south-central Cuba, recorded a low pressure of 999.7 millibars (29.52 inches) with gusts of wind up to 46 miles per hour from the south-southwest. The disturbance weakened somewhat as it crossed the mountainous region of Cuba, but still retained an active cyclonic circulation as it passed into the Caribbean. Moving southwestward it regained hurricane intensity and, on approachin the Yucatan Peninsula, turned west-
and 8 p. m. of the 8th. The center emerged into the Bay of Campeche on the 9th, with lowest pressure at Campeche 998.9 millibars (29.50 inches) and a hi hest wind of force
regained hurricane intensity while in the Gulf of Mexico.
On the 10th its northwest movement was blocked by high pressure at the surface and aloft and, being forced back southeastward, it reentered Yucatan and dissipated on the
11 th in the interior of the peninsula. The lowest pressure, throughout the history of the storm, was 991.5 millibars (29.28 inches) recorded at 6 and 7 p. m. of the 8th in the observato at Belize, with winds
damage was reported from a coastal area 100 miles long and 40 to 50 miles deep. The center passed inland near or over the small village of San Pedro which was 90 percent destroyed. From Caye Corker came a report that a
tidal wave had cut the island into three distinct parts carrying away everything in its path. Damage throughout the afTected area of British Hon- duras has been estimated a t four million dollars. Of this total, one million is listed as destruction to private prop- erty, dwellings and public buildings, and the remaining three million as damage to cocoanut and other plantations and possible losses to the mahogany and chicle industries. Nine lives were lost in the northern district, but as many small fishing boats were dashed on shore or driven out to sea, the total loss of life is still unknown. A synopsis of the hurricanes and tro ical disturbances of 1942 is given in the following table, !'heir paths, num- bered I to VI11 chronologically, are shown on the accompanying chart.
ward and struck i I f and over British Honduras between 6
9 from the east. There is no evidence t % at the disturbance
ranging up to 54 miles per hour. % orth of Belize severe
APRIL 1943 MONTHLY WEATHER REVIEW
52
Abilene, Albuquer- Atlanta, Billings, Bismarck, Boise, Browns- Buffalo, Burling- Charles-
Tex. que,N.Mex. Ga. Mont. N. Dak. Idaho ville, Tex. N. Y. ton, Vt. ton, S. C.
(538m.) (1,630m.) (ZgSm.) (1,095m.) (512m.) (870m.) (7m.) (220m.) (132m.) (17m.)
Date
Cincin- Denver, El Paso,
(152m.) (1,627m.) (1,196m.) nati, Ohio Colo. Tex.
Aug. 18-22..
Aug. 25-26-
Aug. 21-30 -
Sept. 15-22.
Oct. 1-3---.
Oct. 10-12.-
Oct. 13-18..
Nov. 5-11.
-~
Surface _____ 500 1000 ____.__
1'500 ..._.___
2)OOO _______ 2'500 .______
3:OOO _______ 4 000 .______
5'000 .______
6:OOO _______ 8,000 _______ 10,000 ______ 12,000 ______
Place where first re- ported
--- --------------
30 162 3.2 30 212 2.3 29 289 3.3 30 349 3.0 30 251 0.8 29 284 1.8 30 123 6.2 27 273 4.0 29 260 0.9 29 232 2.3 29 258 1.8 30 69 1.4 30 234 3.2
.._.._____.._..._...____.__.___ 29 289 3.7 _______.___.__. _.___...._..._._. 30 12G 6.2 27 270 5.1 29 268 1.8 29 232 4.1 29 266 2.7 ___________________.__
30 175 4.7 _____..____ 29 268 4.4 _.__.___.__ 30 280 1.9 29 287 2.0 24 154 3.5 22 264 6.3 24 299 4.7 29 251 4.6 28 262 3.9 _____._____....._._._.
30 182 4.3 .......____ 29 275 5.2 30 346 2.0 28 273 3.2 29 280 1.9 22 l i 0 1.9 16 297 4.9 17 291 5.6 28 272 7.1 26 272 6.8 ...._...... 30 2% 2.8 29 209 4.6 30 216 2.9 28 278 6.4 29 297 1.7 24 292 4.6 28 234 1.7 21 193 1.2 12 302 5.7 11 303 7.7 28 289 9.6 22 284 7.9 30 70 7.8 30 219 2.6 28 229 5.0 30 234 3.2 27 287 9.0 27 267 3.8 23 290 5.1 27 232 3.5 19 201 1.3 __..._.____ 10 304 8.8 27 28911.6 14 288 6.6 30 202 1.2 30 220 2.6 26 243 5.2 30 239 4.6 23 295 12.2 26 267 5.8 22 311 6.8 25 236 5.4 18 233 3.3 ..- ____ ..__ 10 303 10.5 26 289 13.1 13 291 9.1 29 238 3.7 29 234 3.6 27 258 7.3 29 257 5.9 19 300 14.4 22 274 9.7 19 307 10.3 23 243 7.4 17 263 6.4. .... ___. __. .___ .__. 24 299 15.9 11 296 14.8 24 275 7.0 28 244 6.5 24 269 9.7 28 253 7.5 19 304 15.4 17 279 11.9 18 305 13.1 19 238 7.5 16 272 7.6 ___ .__. ___. ... ____ ____ 19 301 17.8 ..- ____ .._. 18 277 9.7 28 250 9.1
22 275 11.5 26 257 9.0 18 302 17.0 14 282 14.3 16 307 17.4 18 256 7.0 13 271 10.4 ___ .___ ____ --. ____ ____ 17 305 16.0 .-- .__. _.__ 18 283 12.1 27 256 11.5 17 291 12.1 18 270 10.1 ..- ____ _._. 11 296 15.7 ___ ____ ____ 12 268 10.7 10 285 8.9 ___ ____ ____ --. ____ ____ -.. _._. ____ .._ ._.. .___ 11 286 12.7 23 270 13.7 14 302 14.5 15 270 12.0 _._ .... ____ ___ _.__ ____ ___ ____ ____ __.. ___ .__. ____ __. ____ .___ _.. ____ ____ ._. ____ ____ _._ ____ ____ .-- ____ ____ 17 284 11.8
10 333 16.0 10 283 12.3 ___ ____ ____ ___ ____ ____ ___ ____ ____ ___ ____ _.__ ___ _._. ____ ___ ____ ____ ___ ____ ____ ___ ____ ____ ___ ____ ____ ___ ____ ____ 11 286 13.6
Yucatan Channel---
Southeast of Bermu- da.
Windward Islands near Santa Lucia.
Windward Islands near Santa Lucia.
Northeast of Bahama Islands.
Northeast of Bahama Islands.
Caribbean Sea south of eastern Cuba.
.Near Puerto Rico ...
MONTHLY mTEATHER REVIEW
North Atlantic hurricanes and tropical disturbawes of 1942
[Number of storm in table corresponds to numhcr of path on accompanying chart]
APRIL 1943
Coast lines crossed
Texas ______
None-. ____ - __ _.
Yucatan and Texas.
British Hondu-
None ._.___ __. -
ras.
N o r t h Caro- lina.
Cuba _________
Cuba and Brit- ish Hondu- ras.
Maximum wind velocity reported
72 miles per hour SE., Port Arthur, Tex.
64 miles per hour reported a t Ber- muda. 115 miles per hour N. (estimated), Seadrift, Tex.
Beaufort force 6...-.
Attended by large area of gale winds.
Gale winds near center.
N o w i n d s o v e r strong (25-38 miles per hour). 70 miles per hour N E ., P a r e d o n G r a n d e C a y , Cuba.2
Lowest barometer reported
993.9 millibars (29.35 inches), Qilchrist, Tex.
951.6 millibars (28.10 inches), Seadrift, Tex.
1,002.4 millibars (29.60 inches), Swan Is- land. No data 1 ____________
____do.) ______________
Place of dissipa- tion
E a s t -C e n t r a l Texas.
Northeast of Ber-
Southern Texas-..
muda.
Central British
Unknown- - - - - - - -.
Hooduras.
E a s t e r n N o r t h Carolina.
North Atlantic
Intensity
Near hurricane in- tensity.
Likely of hurri- cane intensity.
Full hurricane. - -
Not of hurricane intensity.
Unknown from a v a i l a b l e r e - ports.
Probably not of *hurricane in- tensity.
Not of hurricane intensity.
Full hurricane. - -.
Remarks
No loss of life or serious injury reported; wind damage to property estimated $lsO,ooO to crops $~,O O O ; and additional $Zl,OOO from high tides. Complete history lack- ing.
8 lives lost in Texas, damane e s t i m a t e d
Attended by wide area of gale winds and dan- gerous squalls as it passed east of Bermu- da. No damaging winds re- ported, heavy rainfall o v e r n o r t h e a s t e r n North Carolina. No reports of damaging winds.
duras.
1 Restriction of radio reports has resulted in a scarcity of material on storms that expended their greatest energy over water surfaces, without seriously affecting coastal areas.
2 Higher wind velocities undoubtedly occurred in British Honduras, but records are not available.
METEOROLOGICAL AND CLIMATOLOGICAL DATA FOR APRIL 1943
[Climate and Crop Weather Division, J. B. KINCEB, in charge]
AEROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS
NOTICE.-Effective with the December 1942 issue, the publication of table 1 (RAOB summaries) was discontinued indeihite1y.- EDITOR.