Must-see: new NWS website on September 1928 hurricane

[MiamiensisWx]

This is new. I found this great website within the main NWS Miami website. It contains lots of good, general information on the 1928 San Felipe Segundo-Okeechobee Hurricane that killed 2,500 people in Florida and over 1,000 in the Caribbean. The page here also contains rarely-seen images of the destruction caused by the 145MPH Category Four storm at landfall in southeast Florida, town by town. Check it out!

http://www.srh.noaa.gov/mfl/newpage/Okeechobee.html

What do you think? This storm was quite amazing.

[gatorcane]

That is what we all fear in South Florida. A similar scenario also happened in 1926, and in the late 1940s - particularly 1947 - which was Palm Beach's last major hit from the East. That storm hit Boca Raton directly.

Wilma doesn't even come close to this level of destruction

[MiamiensisWx]

It is good that building codes have improved in several respects since then, though.

[gatorcane]

It is good that building codes have improved in several respects since then, though

Even respected mets that I know say that a CAT 4/5 from the east in Palm Beach would be horrific - considering that some of the most expensive property values in the State are in Palm Beach County

[gatorcane]

The introduction is eerily similar to what is going on right now with real estate and the CAT 4s and CAT 5s returning closer to home (e.g. the 1926 hurricane can be replaced with Wilma).

In September, 1928, only about 50,000 persons lived in South Florida. The land and real estate boom was already beginning to fade, although many subdivisions and new communities were still being built. The devastating Great Miami Hurricane of September, 1926, had already sounded a loud alarm to the new residents about the vulnerability of their new homes to tropical cyclones. However, most of the damage from that storm was in Dade and Broward counties. Even so, a bellwether of what was to come occurred with the Great Miami Hurricane of 1926 as flood waters from Lake Okeechobee were swept by that storm into Moore Haven, the county seat of Glades County, killing over 100 people

[gatorcane]

PALM BEACH COUNTY HITS FROM EAST: 1920s TO 1950

1926, July: Cat. 2, brush (hit Martin/St. Lucie/Indian River counties directly, but passed just offshore and gave effects to Palm Beach County); Cat. 4 in Bahamas with 140MPH winds

1928, August: Cat. 2, brush (nearly identical to July 1926 storm, but did not reach Cat. 4 in Bahamas)

1928, September: Cat. 4, 145MPH, West Palm Beach (direct hit)

1933, September: Cat. 3, 125MPH, Jupiter (direct hit); Cat. 4 in Bahamas with 140MPH winds

1947, September: Cat. 4, 155MPH, Boca Raton (direct hit); Cat. 5 (stalled) in Bahamas with 160MPH winds; hit New Orleans area/Louisiana/Mississippi after Florida

1949, August: Cat. 3, 125MPH - 130MPH, West Palm Beach area (direct hit)

Does not include CAT 1 or CAT 2 hurricanes or tropical storms.

[CentralFlGal]

It is good that building codes have improved in several respects since then, though.

In some areas they have. I used to live in an older modular home located in the northern part of the flood area of Lake Okeechobee, just past the Kissimmee River. Cute little canal front house, but it definitely would not withstand the fury of a storm of this nature.

The developers building up this area on blocks of farmland purchased out of estate will build to code, but the older homes and trailers may not stand a chance.

[Ola]

That Hurrican hit Puerto Rico as a Cat 5.

[Audrey2Katrina]

That Hurrican hit Puerto Rico as a Cat 5.

There's really no way to tell for certain.. I've seen reports of winds being Cat 5, I've seen other saying 100 mph, but most reliable sources put the range of steady between 140-150 mph with gusts to around 165... even the PR stations reported max gusts of about 165 which would be compatible with a high-end 4. It's hard to tell nearly 100 years after the fact. Perhaps cycloneye could shed some light on this.

A2K

[boca]

I can't imagine anything worse than Wilma since that storm directly affected me,but I know it can be alot worse like Andrew hitting Ft Lauderdale instead of Homestead.

[Audrey2Katrina]

I can't imagine anything worse than Wilma since that storm directly affected me,but I know it can be alot worse like Andrew hitting Ft Lauderdale instead of Homestead.

God-forbid! The damage would've been astronomical!

A2K

[MiamiensisWx]

Would a large, Cape Verde-type, borderline Category Four/Category Five hurricane with an intense eyewall and 155MPH sustained winds making direct landfall on Fort Lauderdale create a larger surge along with the southeast Florida coast than most other storms because of a larger windfield offsetting the effects of the Gulf Stream (which typically reduces the surge of a storm approaching from the east)? Also, Port Everglades/Las Olas/canals/the North/South New River/much of eastern Broward County is more surge-prone than areas further north. What amount of surge would a storm like this, with sustained hurricane-force extending out about 100 miles and sustained tropical storm-force winds out 180 miles, would be done to this area and along the southeast Florida coast? What would the damage be? Can any professional mets express their thoughts? Thanks!

[MiamiensisWx]

There's really no way to tell for certain.. I've seen reports of winds being Cat 5, I've seen other saying 100 mph, but most reliable sources put the range of steady between 140-150 mph with gusts to around 165... even the PR stations reported max gusts of about 165 which would be compatible with a high-end 4. It's hard to tell nearly 100 years after the fact. Perhaps cycloneye could shed some light on this.

A2K

It was most likely NOT a Category Five when it hit Puerto Rico; however, it was very likely a high-end Category Four. I agree with that. A reported pressure of 936 millibars in Puerto Rico from the storm corresponds, along with the wind readings and damage reports compared to those from the other islands in the Leeward Islands the storm devastated, to a middle to high-end Category Four.

I think the storm may have been near or at it's peak when it passed over Guadeloupe. Official records keep it at a high-end Category Three when it passed over that island; however, damage reports to well-built concrete, steel, and flimsy structures alike from Guadelupe after the storm appear to be more extreme than those from Puerto Rico. Also, the storm's eye was estimated at 14 miles wide when it crossed Guadeloupe. That, along with reports that the city of Pointe a Pitre on Guadeloupe had only one concrete structure (a police station) standing after the storm and an unofficial report (likely from the center of the eye) from the Saintes Islands just south-southwest of Pointe a Pitre of 27.45 inches (929 millibars), indicates that the storm likely was near or at it's peak here. Any thoughts?

[CHRISTY]

Would a large, Cape Verde-type, borderline Category Four/Category Five hurricane with an intense eyewall and 155MPH sustained winds making direct landfall on Fort Lauderdale create a larger surge along with the southeast Florida coast than most other storms because of a larger windfield offsetting the effects of the Gulf Stream (which typically reduces the surge of a storm approaching from the east)? Also, Port Everglades/Las Olas/canals/the North/South New River/much of eastern Broward County is more surge-prone than areas further north. What amount of surge would a storm like this, with sustained hurricane-force extending out about 100 miles and sustained tropical storm-force winds out 180 miles, would be done to this area and along the southeast Florida coast? What would the damage be? Can any professional mets express their thoughts? Thanks!

my goddness capeverde do you realize what your talkin about?iam not a professional met but i will tell you something... if that were to happen it might look like andrew but more spread out!

[HurricaneJoe22]

Kiss Broward goodbye if that happens.

[senorpepr]

BTW, I'm not calling anyone here a w|shcaster. I just felt the inexplicable urge to post this image. Carry on.

[MiamiensisWx]

LOL, senor! Good one!

I am NOT -removed-. I am just presenting a website on this 1928 hurricane. On my scenario, I just posted a possible scenario. I DON'T want it to happen; I do, however, want to know more specific information on what the impacts might be. Sorry if I sound like a wishcaster... time to be trout-slapped...

[AussieMark]

Would a large, Cape Verde-type, borderline Category Four/Category Five hurricane with an intense eyewall and 155MPH sustained winds making direct landfall on Fort Lauderdale create a larger surge along with the southeast Florida coast than most other storms because of a larger windfield offsetting the effects of the Gulf Stream (which typically reduces the surge of a storm approaching from the east)? Also, Port Everglades/Las Olas/canals/the North/South New River/much of eastern Broward County is more surge-prone than areas further north. What amount of surge would a storm like this, with sustained hurricane-force extending out about 100 miles and sustained tropical storm-force winds out 180 miles, would be done to this area and along the southeast Florida coast? What would the damage be? Can any professional mets express their thoughts? Thanks!

isn't that similar to the 1947 SE Florida Hurricane?

[MiamiensisWx]

isn't that similar to the 1947 SE Florida Hurricane?

Yep, it is. However, am I talking about a scenario in which it approaches from the east-southeast and makes landfall on Fort Lauderdale with 155MPH sustained winds, an intense eyewall, large windfield, and 25-mile-wide eye.

[Audrey2Katrina]

isn't that similar to the 1947 SE Florida Hurricane?

Yep, it is. However, am I talking about a scenario in which it approaches from the east-southeast and makes landfall on Fort Lauderdale with 155MPH sustained winds, an intense eyewall, large windfield, and 25-mile-wide eye.

Let's just go all out and call it a full strength Wilma, with a Katrina windfield... br-r-r--r... not a prospect I like even thinking about... may it NEVER happen.

A2K