Bustling 1930s tropical era even busier than previously thought

(Weather Underground )
May 7, 2012|By Ken Kaye, Sun Sentinel

The five-year span from 1931 to 1935 was one of the busiest tropical periods ever, producing four of the top 25 deadliest hurricanes on record.

After reanalyzing time-worn storm data with modern techniques, scientists have discovered that stretch was even more active than originally thought. They found 15 new systems and removed four, bringing the total number of tropical storms and hurricanes to 58.

“It was an extremely busy period,” said Chris Landsea, the National Hurricane Center’s science and operations officer, who heads up the reanalysis project, an on-going program to ensure tropical history is accurate.

Revealed in the latest tropical dig: the 1933 season, second busiest on record behind 2005, wasn't quite as active as first thought. Originally, 21 systems, including 10 hurricanes were recorded. Instead, that year was found to have 20 tropical storms, including 11 hurricanes.

The reanalysis also determined that 12 hurricanes struck the U.S. coast from 1931 to 1935 rather than 11, as previously recorded. Of the twelve, four were major, including the Labor Day Hurricane of 1935, which struck the Florida Keys.

That system initially was believed to have sustained winds of 160 mph. However, because of its intense low pressure and tiny eye, scientists recalculated the winds to be 185 mph.

"That’s a fairly large increase," Landsea said. "But we know the winds had to be extreme."

The storm killed 408 people, the eighth deadliest storm in continental U.S. history. Its wind speed was second only to 1969’s Camille, which struck the Mississippi Gulf coast with sustained winds of 190 mph.

The other major hurricanes that hit the United State in the early 1930s included: A Category 4 hurricane that struck in Texas in 1932, a Category 3 hurricane that hit Texas in 1933, and a Category 3 hurricane that hit Florida in 1933.

Outside of the United States, four of the top deadliest hurricanes included:

A Category 4 that struck Belize in 1931, killing about 2,500 people; A Category 4 that struck Cuba in 1932, killing about 3,500 people; a tropical storm that hit Honduras and El Salvador in 1934, killing about 3,000 people; and a Category 1 that hit Haiti and Honduras in 1935, killing about 2,150 people.

To reanalyze past tropical systems, scientists restudy storm data, maps and ships reports. As a result of the project, 10 years after Hurricane Andrew struck Miami-Dade County, it was upgraded from a Category 4 to a Category 5 system.

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