MAJOR HURRICANES TO ENTER THE GULF COAST (1900 - 2003).

[sunny]

Interesting site.

http://www.geocities.com/hurricanene/gulfcoast.htm

Here is another:

MEMORABLE GULF COAST HURRICANES OF THE 20TH CENTURY

http://www.aoml.noaa.gov/general/lib/mgch.html


HISTORIC HURRICANES

http://www.hurricaneville.com/historic.html

[iceangel]

I didn't see the Hurricane of 1926 mentioned..It was also a strong category 3.

http://www.pensacolanewsjournal.com/new ... ane1.shtml

[sunny]

I didn't see the Hurricane of 1926 mentioned..It was also a strong category 3.

http://www.pensacolanewsjournal.com/new ... ane1.shtml

Huh - I wonder why? Thanks for the link, though.

[wxman57]

Best track data at Unisys -- http://weather.unisys.com/hurricane/atl ... /track.dat -- indicate that the 1926 hurricane didn't make landfall as a Cat 3, but a Cat 2. And it didn't make landfall in Pensacola, it moved ashore along the Mississippi coast near Bay St. Louis. Looks like the northern eyewall brushed the Pensacola area as it headed toward about 290 degrees to Mississippi.

[SouthernWx]

I firmly believe the 1926 Great Miami hurricane was still a major hurricane as it impacted the Pensacola area. In my research, I've seen reports that sustained winds were at least 114 mph at Pensacola NAS before wind instruments were destroyed....gusts estimated by naval weather observers at 150 mph or more.

It ranks with hurricane Ivan as one of the two most destructive hurricanes to ever strike the Pensacola area.....the naval air station was obliterated, and severe damage was reported from across Pensacola...including tremendous storm surge destruction.

That Unisys database is flawed in many respects. It still has the October 1898 Georgia/ NE Florida hurricane listed as cat-2, when research by WSFO JAX several years ago determined it was likely much more severe....and the AOML/ HRD "HURDAT" re-analysis agreed, with that hurricane now rated a 938 mb/ 120 kt category 4....based on observed 15-19' storm surge heights along the Georgia Coast from south of Savannah to St Mary's.

Also, the same track data shows the Great Miami hurricane as 115 kt at landfall over Miami, which seems unrealistically conservative considering the central pressure of 935 mb and an anemometer reading of 115 kt atop Allison hospital on Miami Beach was a 5 minute sustained wind; other research states the 2-minute wind speed was 138 mph (120 kt) BEFORE the instrument was destroyed. This was a large and extremely destructive Cape Verde hurricane. Based on available damage photos and weather obs from southeast Florida, I personally estimate the sustained winds of at least 120 kt (140 mph), and probably 125 (145 mph).

PW

[Derek Ortt]

I believe it has been reanalyzed and is a major hurricane at Pensacola landfall. It then moved back offshore and made a 3rd landfall in Mississippi as a cat 1

[Andrew92]

Is there any way I can post an image from just a file? (not an Internet source) Because if there is, I'd be willing to share my guess for what the best path of the 1926 Miami hurricane will look like when we see the re-analyzed version. I probably won't have intensity colors, but I have an idea for the path anyway.

-Andrew92

[AussieMark]

upload the image to http://www.photobucket.com and post it

[Andrew92]

Thanks TWW! I did just that, and here you have it guys:



I know it hit Miami (duh) and then Pensacola. Derek also indicated that it hit Mississippi as a Category 1. With that, I knew also that it moved very slowly into Pensacola. I even suggest that it may have made a loop and weakened to a TS before re-strengthening to a hurricane prior to hitting Mississippi.

I also believe it didn't just move straight west-northwest across the Atlantic. Notice that I have a track similar to storms like Andrew, Floyd, and Frances (a northwest motion halfway across the Atlantic).

Link showing a straight west-northwestward motion: http://www.weather.unisys.com/hurricane ... /track.gif

Who knows, I could be completely off the wall! We'll see when the re-analysis is made public!

Feel free to comment.

-Andrew92

[Huckster]

I believe the 1926 hurricane's re-analysis is going to be listed as follows:

Cat. 4 in SE Florida
Cat. 3 in SW Florida
Cat. 3 in NW Florida
Cat. 3 in Alabama
Cat. 1 in Mississippi

Landfall at Perdido Key, AL, Sep. 20th, 110 kts

Also, the hurricane that hit Louisiana in August of 1926 is going from 90 kts to 100 kts.

All that information is presented in powerpoint form on the Re-Analysis Project website located here

http://www.aoml.noaa.gov/hrd/hurdat/presentations/glennsims.ppt

Several other changes are also being made to other storms.

[Derek Ortt]

I do not believe that a loop was made over Pensacola. I believe it came into Mississippi as a weakening hurricane

[HurricaneBill]

Wasn't it taking the "worst case" track towards New Orleans?