1944 Atlantic hurricane season
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| Season summary map |
| First storm formed |
July 13, 1944 |
| Last storm dissipated |
October 20, 1944 |
| Strongest storm |
#7 – 140 mph (220 km/h) (1-minute sustained) |
| Total storms |
11 |
| Hurricanes |
7 |
| Major hurricanes (Cat. 3+) |
3 |
| Total fatalities |
1,156 |
| Total damage |
$202 million (1944 USD) |
Atlantic hurricane seasons
1942, 1943, 1944, 1945, 1946 |
The 1944 Atlantic hurricane season officially began on June 16, 1944,[1] and lasted until October 31, 1944. These dates conventionally delimit the period of each year when most tropical cyclones form in the Atlantic basin.
The 1944 season was near average. A Category 1 hurricane hit North Carolina. A Category 3 hit Jamaica. Another Category 3 hit Florida late in the season. A Category 1 hurricane and a tropical storm hit Mexico. Another tropical storm hit Grand Isle, Louisiana.
[edit] Storms
[edit] Hurricane One
| Category 1 hurricane (SSHS) |
|
|
| Duration |
July 13 – July 18 |
| Intensity |
90 mph (150 km/h) (1-min), Unknown |
The first storm of the season formed on July 13 and moved northwest, paralleling the Bahamas, slowly strengthening. It recurved once in the Gulf Stream off the Georgia coast and became a hurricane shortly thereafter. The storm passed between the US and Bermuda and became extratropical as it entered the north Atlantic.
[edit] Tropical Storm Two
| Tropical storm (SSHS) |
|
|
| Duration |
July 24 – July 28 |
| Intensity |
65 mph (100 km/h) (1-min), Unknown |
A tropical storm moved through the Lesser Antilles on July 24. It continued through the Caribbean Sea, and dissipated on July 28 over the Western Caribbean. The storm caused some damage on southern Hispaniola, but no deaths were reported.
[edit] Hurricane Three
| Category 1 hurricane (SSHS) |
|
|
| Duration |
July 30 – August 4 |
| Intensity |
90 mph (150 km/h) (1-min), 990 mbar (hPa) |
On July 30, a tropical storm was located in the eastern Bahamas. It moved northwestward, becoming a hurricane the next day. The hurricane moved inland over southern North Carolina on August 2, and continued northeastward until dissipation on August 4. The hurricane caused $2 million in damage (1944 dollars) but no deaths.
[edit] Hurricane Four
| Category 3 hurricane (SSHS) |
|
|
| Duration |
August 16 – August 24 |
| Intensity |
120 mph (195 km/h) (1-min), 973 mbar (hPa) |
A small tropical storm existed east of Barbados on August 16. It passed through the islands, and steadily intensified to a major hurricane as it passed through the Caribbean. The major hurricane struck eastern Jamaica on August 20, causing major damage to crops from flooding. It continued westward across the Caribbean, hitting the eastern Yucatán Peninsula on August 22. Hurricane Four moved across the Bay of Campeche, and hit the Mexican port of Tuxpan, Veracruz, on August 24 just before dissipating. The hurricane caused several million dollars in damage, and left 216 people dead.
[edit] Tropical Storm Five
| Tropical storm (SSHS) |
|
|
| Duration |
August 19 – August 23 |
| Intensity |
60 mph (95 km/h) (1-min), Unknown |
A tropical storm hit northeastern Mexico on August 22, causing little damage after it dissipated on the 22rd.
[edit] Tropical Storm Six
| Tropical storm (SSHS) |
|
|
| Duration |
September 9 – September 11 |
| Intensity |
50 mph (85 km/h) (1-min), Unknown |
A tropical storm hit southeastern Louisiana on September 10. It dissipated the next day, after causing minor damage in Mobile, Alabama.
[edit] Hurricane Seven
| Category 4 hurricane (SSHS) |
|
|
| Duration |
September 9 – September 15 |
| Intensity |
140 mph (220 km/h) (1-min), 943 mbar (hPa) |
The most notable hurricane of the season was the Great Atlantic Hurricane (sometimes referred to as the Great American Hurricane), an intense Cape Verde-type hurricane that traveled up the Eastern Seaboard as a Category 2, sweeping the beaches, sinking ships, and throwing wave watchers into the sea. The entire coastline from Cape Lookout, North Carolina to Cape Cod were raked with hurricane-force winds. The hurricane caused several millions of dollars in damage, as well as 390 deaths.
[edit] Hurricane Eight
| Category 1 hurricane (SSHS) |
|
|
| Duration |
September 19 – September 22 |
| Intensity |
80 mph (130 km/h) (1-min), Unknown |
A tropical wave developed into a tropical storm in the western Caribbean Sea on September 19. It became a hurricane later that day, and hit the Yucatán Peninsula on September 20. The hurricane turned southward in the Bay of Campeche, making landfall near Campeche, Campeche, on September 22. The hurricane dissipated later that day, after resulting in extensive damage from flooding as well as 200-300 fatalities.
[edit] Hurricane Nine
| Category 2 hurricane (SSHS) |
|
|
| Duration |
September 21 – September 27 |
| Intensity |
100 mph (155 km/h) (1-min), Unknown |
A tropical disturbance from the Cape Verde region developed into a tropical storm in the south-central Atlantic on September 21. The storm made a broad turn to the north and slowly strengthened. It became a hurricane while well east of Bermuda and continued its journey north. The storm was briefly a Category 2 hurricane with winds of 100 mph (160 km/h) before weakening in the cooler waters of the north Atlantic. The storm was able, however, to maintain hurricane status until it became extratropical in the far north Atlantic south of Greenland.
[edit] Tropical Storm Ten
| Tropical storm (SSHS) |
|
|
| Duration |
October 1 – October 3 |
| Intensity |
45 mph (75 km/h) (1-min), Unknown |
The tenth storm was a weak tropical storm that formed to the immediate northeast of Barbados in early October. The storm turned north with peak winds of 45 mph (72 km/h). It never got any stronger. After moving north for a little ways, the storm turned away from the islands and dissipated causing nothing but rain showers.
[edit] Hurricane Eleven
| Category 3 hurricane (SSHS) |
|
|
| Duration |
October 12 – October 20 |
| Intensity |
120 mph (195 km/h) (1-min), 962 mbar (hPa) |
A tropical storm formed in the western Caribbean Sea on October 12. It headed northward, becoming a hurricane the next day. It drifted westward, followed by another northward turn where it reached major hurricane strength. It crossed Cuba at this intensity on October 18, and continued northeastward where it made landfall on Sarasota, Florida on October 19. The hurricane continued northeastward over the southeast United States, and became extratropical on October 21. The hurricane caused $100 million in damage (1944 dollars), as well as 300 casualties.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
[edit] External links
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Tropical cyclones of the 1944 Atlantic hurricane season
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