florida hurricane florida hurricane known tampa bay hurricane hurricane direct landfall state florida date forming october complex interactions weather systems southern caribbean_sea storm rapidly strengthened striking western cuba entering gulf_of_mexico peaked winds corresponding category status modern day saffir quickly weakened approaching florida landfall south continued weaken proceeded inland remnants persisted days longer advance storm preparations taken threatened areas coastal florida mainly including evacuation thousands residents damage extensive cuba people killed cyclone effects united_states minor moderate significant impact citrus crops deaths occurred country high tides caused flooding low lying terrain cyclone structure extensively observed investigated meteorological history end september moved north typical position associated weather disturbance moved central_america interacted surface low pressure area guatemala broad high pressure area moved united_states intense storm moved eastward atlantic_ocean connected cyclone shear line stretching bermuda caribbean_sea spawned upper level low open waters moved westward october day located feature guatemala began moving northeast upper level low approached began deepening modern day analysis estimates system tropical storm early october shortly emerging caribbean storm moved slowly northeastward steadily intensifying october attained maximum sustained winds corresponding category status modern day saffir began accelerating curved northward october hurricane crossed extreme western cuba sustained winds miles hour central pressure inhg emerged gulf_of_mexico cyclone peaked winds mph equivalent low end category status october held peak intensity hours minimum barometric pressure inhg recorded lowest known air pressure relation storm rapid deepening storm described difficult account conditions caused led dissipation regarded extraordinary immediately peaking severity storm weakened quickly lower florida keys moved ashore early october near near south winds mph measured pressure inhg calm eye hurricane passed overhead storm deteriorated tropical storm proceeded inland extratropical cyclone gale force winds october remnants emerged coast north_carolina atlantic curved southeastward bending westward dissipating october preparations impact hurricane warnings issued coastal areas florida including florida keys tampa bay area panhandle storm advisories posted state atlantic coast portions discontinued october small craft warnings remained place canceled flights miami havana cuba guatemala small navy vessels secured larger ships rode storm sea neighborhood plaza residents evacuated homes emergency shelters area opened local business slowed considerably exception grocery stores selling emergency supplies schools closed windows boarded houses businesses course hurricane heavily observed investigated resulting abundance information provided comprehensive understanding tropical cyclone vertical structure detail monthly weather review article titled note movement structure florida hurricane october hurricane passage western cuba accompanied wind gusts mph sugar cane crops destroyed cutting supplies united_states tons towns lost communication outside areas hurricane reports indicate people country killed prior storm arrival florida outer fringes caused gusty winds torrential rainfall causing minor freshwater flooding streets cyclone spawned tornado struck city tampa inflicted minor damage sustained minute winds reached mph tides shore ran normal rainfall amounted winds united_states extreme storm impact considered relatively minor properties incurred damage primarily high tides flooding deep occurred low lying locations piers warehouses sustained damage sporadic power outages reported citrus farms suffered fairly severe damage accounting total crop million losses fatalities reported state north southeastern georgia gusty winds blew relation storm
1946 Florida hurricane