not many people know
Paul Homewood
Helen has been declared the strongest hurricane to hit the Big Bend, Florida area.
But what about the unnamed hurricane that devastated Cedar Key in 1896?
This image shows the damage caused by an 1896 hurricane that struck Florida's Gulf and Atlantic coasts. With 2,200 kilometers of coastline, Florida is the most vulnerable state in the United States to these storms. Since European exploration began, more than 450 recorded tropical storms and hurricanes have reached its shores. The September 1896 hurricane destroyed much of the residential area of the town of Cedar Key on the west coast of the Florida peninsula, killing dozens of residents and destroying much of Cedar Key's industry. Before making landfall, the storm and its tides swamped more than 100 sponge boats, killing countless crew members. The hurricane then moved across the peninsula, causing widespread damage until it reached Fernandina on the Atlantic coast and then north to Virginia. This photo shows white and black survivors of Fernandina standing on the rubble, seemingly still shocked by the devastation
https://www.loc.gov/item/2021669942
The 1896 Cedar Key hurricane was a monster by any measure. Here's a summary from Wikipedia:
this 1896 Cedar Key Hurricane is a powerful and destructive tropical cyclone destroyed most of East Coast of the United Statesstarting with Floridaof cedar islandtowards the end of September 1896. Login It caused extensive damage; as a result, it became one of the costliest hurricanes in the United States at the time. fourth tropical cyclone 1896 Atlantic hurricane seasonwhich was established on September 22, probably from tropical wavethen across the Caribbean Sea to the south greater antilles. it entered gulf of mexico equivalent to a major hurricane Saffir-Simpson scaleand attacked Cedar Key (the offshore island chain including Cedar Key and Cedar Key City) in the early morning of September 29 wind 125 miles per hour. The area was inundated by devastating floods of 10.5 feet high storm surge Buildings were damaged, railway lines to the mainland were washed away, smaller outlying islands were submerged, and 31 people died. Strong winds also destroyed many red cedar tree This plays an important role in the region's economy. No hurricane will hit this part of Florida with similar intensity until 2023.
The cyclone continues to move inland suwannee river Valley, causing widespread damage to dozens of communities across northern Florida's interior; strong winds left few trees or buildings in the hardest-hit settlements. Hurricane leveled 5,000 square miles (13,000 kilometers)2) of northern Florida's dense pine forests, weakened turpentine industry. Crops and livestock were destroyed and thousands of people were left homeless. The storm killed at least 70 people in mainland Florida and caused approximately $3 million (equivalent to $110 million in 2023) in property damage across the state. Hurricane accelerates north, ravaging southeast Georgia and island. exist SavannahSevere winds that lasted for 45 minutes blew off the roofs of thousands of buildings. The city's parks, cemeteries and streets are littered with fallen trees, savannah river Dozens of wrecked ships were seen. At least 37 people have died in Georgia. Strong winds and high tides hit southeast south carolinadestroying rice crops and peeling off roofs. The storm then swept through much of the rural area North Carolina and caused serious storm damage Raleigh-Durham area.
Although the hurricane is weakening and turning into a hurricane extratropical cyclone On the evening of September 29, its rapid forward movement caused high wind speeds in some areas mid-atlantic stateswith wind gusts approaching 100 mph (160 km/h). Additionally, heavy rain fell west of the storm's path. exist Virginiaboth urban and agricultural areas suffered extensive damage. flash flood shenandoah valley ultimately ended in failure Earth dam upstream from stauntonunleashing a torrent that swept homes off their foundations and destroyed the town's business district. exist washington d.c.Thousands of trees were uprooted or snapped, communications were disrupted, and localized strong wind gusts damaged many public and private buildings. this White House The place was in chaos. climax in chesapeake bay Causes flooding in coastal cities. exist pennsylvaniaflooding and strong winds caused widespread damage. Railroads in the state's west were plagued by washouts and landslides, while in the southeast hundreds of barns were destroyed. Storm destroys a 5,390 ft (1,640 m) bridge susquehanna river,and gettysburg battlefield Hundreds of trees disappeared, some of which struck and damaged historic monuments. Strong winds extending eastward to long island. Heavy rainfall hits western region Ohiothe hurricane's extratropical aftermath wreaked havoc on shipping in the region great lakes. The storm killed at least 202 people and caused more than $9.6 million (equivalent to $352 million in 2023) in damage.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1896_Cedar_Keys_hurricane
Like Helen, Cedar Islands rapidly intensified over the Gulf before continuing to cause massive damage inland, through Georgia, the Carolinas, and into New York. In Florida alone, 115 people died and 12,000 were left homeless. Cedar Key was hit by a 10.5-foot storm surge, which was larger than any storm surge recorded during Helen. Larger surges, exceeding 12 feet, were seen in nearby Yankeetown.
Not surprisingly, much of Cedar Key's residential areas and industry were destroyed. Helen, by contrast, did not leave behind any similar damage that cannot simply be explained by stronger buildings.
Georgia also bore the brunt of the storm, with plantations and rice crops damaged, homes largely destroyed, and the dense pine forest east of Folkestone completely cleared. The storm was still wreaking havoc when it reached Virginia and produced the worst storm in Richmond's history.
In the aftermath of the storm, catastrophic flooding spread as far north as Ohio.
An estimated 202 people died.
Despite this, the 1896 hurricane was only rated a Category 3, with winds of 125 mph. Remember, Helen's winds were said to be 140 mph.
So how did authorities arrive at the 125 mph estimate? Remember, in those days, anemometers were useless for measuring wind speeds in hurricanes, even if you actually had an anemometer in the center of the storm. Below is a record of how hurricane research came to its conclusions. I've highlighted the parts related to login:
https://web.archive.org/web/20110604063810/http://www.aoml.noaa.gov/hrd/hurdat/metadata_master.html
Simply unscientific!
The analysis cited by Partagas, and on which the latest analysis is based, can be read here , which is no better, mostly referring to newspaper reports.
There is no mention of actual recordings of wind speed or central pressure in any of their or HRD's analyses. This is not surprising since this all happened in 1896.
However, we expect Storm Helen to cause much less damage in Florida and inland, but to be a much stronger storm.
Sorry, I just don't believe it.
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