1916 Texas hurricane

rdf:langString 1916 Texas hurricane

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rdf:langString Atl

rdf:langString Estimated

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rdf:langString Utility poles downed by the hurricane

rdf:langString = A disheveled remains of a wooden building along the coast

rdf:langString The waterfront was the city's hardest-hit area.

rdf:langString Much of Corpus Christi was affected by power outages.

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rdf:langString Storm damage in Corpus Christi

rdf:langString Building destroyed by the 1916 Texas Hurricane.jpg

rdf:langString A map of the hurricane and its isobars in the western Gulf of Mexico

rdf:langString Hurricane Six surface analysis 18 Aug 1916.jpg

rdf:langString Surface weather analysis of the hurricane nearing landfall upon Texas on August 18

rdf:langString hurricane

rdf:langString The 1916 Texas hurricane was an intense and quick-moving tropical cyclone that caused widespread damage in Jamaica and South Texas in August 1916. A Category 4 hurricane upon landfall in Texas, it was the strongest tropical cyclone to strike the United States in three decades. Throughout its eight-day trek across the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico, the hurricane caused 37 fatalities and inflicted $11.8 million in damage. Weather observations were limited for most of the storm's history, so much of its growth has been inferred from scant data analyzed by the Atlantic hurricane reanalysis project in 2008. The precursor disturbance organized into a small tropical storm by August 12, shortly before crossing the Lesser Antilles into the Caribbean Sea. The storm skirted the southern coast of Jamaica as a hurricane on August 15, killing 17 people along the way. No banana plantation was left unscathed by the hours-long onslaught of strong winds. Coconut and cocoa trees also sustained severe losses. The southern parishes saw the severest effects, incurring extensive damage to crops and buildings; damage in Jamaica amounted to $10 million (equivalent to $249 million in 2021). The storm then traversed the Yucatán Channel into the Gulf of Mexico and intensified further into the equivalent of a major hurricane on the modern-day Saffir–Simpson scale. On the evening of August 16, the hurricane struck southern Texas near Baffin Bay with winds of 130 mph (215 km/h). Buildings were razed at many coastal cities, the worst impacts being felt in Corpus Christi and surrounding communities. Beachfront structures were destroyed by a 9.2-foot (2.8 m) storm surge. Strong gusts and heavy rainfall spread farther inland across mainly rural sectors of southern Texas, damaging towns and their outlying agricultural districts alike. Railroads and other public utilities were disrupted across the region, with widespread power outages. Eight locations set 24-hour rainfall records; among them was Harlingen, which recorded the storm's rainfall maximum with 6 inches (150 mm) of precipitation. The deluge wrought havoc on military camps along the Mexico–United States border, forcing 30,000 garrisoned militiamen to evacuate. Aggregate property damage across Texas reached $1.8 million (equivalent to $45 million in 2021), and 20 people were killed. The hurricane quickly weakened over southwestern Texas and dissipated near New Mexico by August 20.