1932 Cuba hurricane

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1932 Cuba hurricane
Deadliest in Cuban history)
Damage$40 million (1932 USD)
Areas affected
IBTrACSEdit this at Wikidata
Part of the 1932 Atlantic hurricane season

The 1932 Cuba hurricane, known also as the Hurricane of Santa Cruz del Sur

Bahamas
, with lesser effects felt elsewhere.

The

Bahamas Islands and near Bermuda. On November 13, the system transitioned into an extratropical cyclone
and dissipated the next day.

As an intensifying hurricane in the southern Caribbean Sea, the storm moved near the

Curacao resulted in the damaging of the harbor fortification. The storm lashed the coast of Colombia with strong winds and torrential rainfall, severely hampering the banana crop in the region and disrupting telecommunications. Several towns, particularly those near the coast, sustained significant infrastructural damage. Marked, albeit localized, damage to banana crops was also reported in Jamaica
, where strong winds toppled numerous trees. In open waters, the storm's track brought it across numerous shipping lanes, largely disrupting shipping primarily in the central Caribbean and damaging several ships.

Meteorological history

The track of the 1932 Cuba hurricane, with the track beginning at bottom-center, tracing towards the left and then curving to the upper-right corner of the image.
Map plotting the storm's track and intensity, according to the Saffir–Simpson scale
Map key
Saffir–Simpson scale
  Tropical depression (≤38 mph, ≤62 km/h)
  Tropical storm (39–73 mph, 63–118 km/h)
  Category 1 (74–95 mph, 119–153 km/h)
  Category 2 (96–110 mph, 154–177 km/h)
  Category 3 (111–129 mph, 178–208 km/h)
  Category 4 (130–156 mph, 209–251 km/h)
  Category 5 (≥157 mph, ≥252 km/h)
  Unknown
Storm type
triangle Extratropical cyclone, remnant low, tropical disturbance, or monsoon depression

The 1932 Cuba hurricane can be traced back to a

tropical storm intensity at 18:00 UTC on October 31.[3] Concurrently as the storm was gradually intensifying, the tropical cyclone began to take an unusual course towards the southwest.[4] On November 2, the storm intensified to hurricane status while north of the Netherlands Antilles.[3]

Steadily strengthening, the hurricane reached Category 2 status on November 3.

major hurricane status late on November 4. The next day, the hurricane's intensity was analyzed to have been the equivalent of a modern-day Category 5 hurricane while curving northward.[3] Although the storm was analyzed operationally to have peaked as a minimal Category 4 hurricane, reanalysis of the hurricane indicated that the tropical cyclone was much more intense than initially suggested based on observations by the S.S. Phemius, the crew of which visually estimated winds of around 200 mph (320 km/h) at the maximum of the storm and measured unusually low pressures.[1] Early on November 6, the hurricane peaked with maximum sustained winds estimated at 175 mph (280 km/h).[3] During that time, the S.S. Phemius recorded a minimum barometric pressure of 915 mbar (hPa; 27.02 inHg); this measurement was the lowest documented throughout the storm's existence. As this report did not occur within the hurricane's eye, the storm's true minimum pressure may have been much less.[1]

Pacing northward, the hurricane gradually weakened after maximum intensity on November 6 but held its Category 5 strength for 78 consecutive hours before finally dropping to Category 4 status.

Canadian Maritimes,[1][4] and later weakened to tropical storm strength.[3] The tropical cyclone later became extratropical itself before it was last noted at 18:00 UTC on November 14.[3]

Records

Among Atlantic hurricanes, this storm had the longest duration at Category 5 intensity, the highest category of the Saffir–Simpson scale. It was also the strongest November Atlantic hurricane.

Preparations and impact

A novel based on the Cuba hurricane named In hazard was later written by Richard Hughes.

Caribbean Sea, Jamaica, and northern South America

Sepia-toned image of a ship in open waters with a smokestack at center and two masts on either side of the funnel.
The British vessel S.S. Phemius, which followed the progress of the hurricane from November 5-7 and documented the storm's lowest measured pressure

As the hurricane moved slowly through the eastern and southern Caribbean, the rough seas and strong winds disrupted shipping routes. On November 6, the American

USS Overton (DD-239) and USS Swan (AM-34).[8] On November 8, the S.S. Phemius was found damaged and later towed to shore by a salvage tug. However, during the same period of time both the steamer Tacira and the freighter San Simeon were disabled after encountering the storm, requiring towing to safety.[9] Several other ships in the immediate area were also hampered by the storm.[10]

Some damage was reported in northern South America as the hurricane swept near the coast. In Colombia, rail telecommunications were interrupted near

Curacao, the passing hurricane destroyed the island harbor's fortifications.[14] A seawall near the entrance to Sint Anna harbor suffered partial collapse, while a pontoon bridge linking both sides of the harbor was completely destroyed. In nearby Bonaire, a pier succumbed to the driving rain and rough seas.[17]

With the hurricane threatening Jamaica,

Pan American World Airways cancelled its flights servicing Kingston, Jamaica.[18] In Jamaica, the storm's passage to the west caused intense winds as strong as 71 mph (114 km/h) to sweep across the island,[19] destroying over 2 million trees.[20] Although effects overall were generally minimal, some localized areas on the island experienced as much as a 50% loss of banana trees due to the storm.[4] The cost of damage on Jamaica was US$4 million.[21]

Cayman Islands

The storm devastated the Cayman Islands, especially Cayman Brac which was inundated by the storm surge, which was reported to be as high as 10 m (33 ft). Many homes and buildings were washed out to sea as a result of the storm and many people had to climb trees to escape the floodwaters. 110 people died on the islands; one of them was on Grand Cayman, 69 died on Cayman Brac, and 40 were lost on ships at sea.[22][23] The ship Balboa also sank in the George Town harbor as a result of the storm.[24]

Cuba

Although no warnings were issued initially, the National Observatory of Cuba voiced concerns that the intense tropical cyclone presented a danger to Cuba, particularly Camagüey Province, as early as November 5. However, the observatory indicated that forecasting the future motion of the hurricane was difficult as the storm's intensity and previous motion was not consistent with climatology.[25] On November 8, a hurricane warning was issued for the southeastern extent of Cuba.[26] As a precautionary measure, shipping routes servicing ports in eastern Cuba were suspended.[27]

The town of Santa Cruz del Sur in Camagüey Province was virtually obliterated by a massive storm surge which measured 6.5 m (21.3 ft) in height.[28] Few buildings remained standing in the area. In that coastal town alone, a total of 2,870 people lost their lives. In total, 3,033 people died in Cuba and damage there was estimated at $40 million (1932 USD; $890 million today).[28]


See also

  • List of deadliest Atlantic hurricanes
  • List of Category 5 Atlantic hurricanes
  • 1924 Cuba hurricane – A powerful hurricane that made landfall on Cuba at Category 5 intensity
  • Hurricane Flora (1963) – Stalled over eastern Cuba, causing widespread flooding and numerous deaths
  • Hurricane Ike (2008) – The second costliest tropical cyclone in Cuban history; traversed the length of Cuba and exacerbated impacts from preceding storms earlier in the year
  • Hurricane Paloma (2008) – An intense November hurricane which struck the same areas of Cuba as the 1932 hurricane with lesser, but still significant, effects
  • Hurricane Irma (2017) – The last Category 5 hurricane to make landfall on Cuba, and the costliest hurricane in Cuban and Leeward Islands history
  • Hurricane Eta (2020) – A strong Category 4 hurricane in November 2020 and was the third most intense November hurricane on record
  • Hurricane Iota (2020) – A Category 4 hurricane that occurred 2 weeks after Eta in November 2020 and was the second most intense November hurricane on record

References

General
  • José Carlos Millás; Observatorio Nacional; Secretaria De Agricultura, Comercio Y Trabajo (1933). Memoria Del Huracán De Camagüey De 1932 (PDF) (Report). Havana, Cuba: United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Weather Service. Retrieved September 3, 2014.
Specific
  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Landsea, Chris; et al. (April 2014). "Documentation of Atlantic Tropical Cyclones Changes in HURDAT". National Hurricane Center. Retrieved September 1, 2014.
  2. ^ Millás, p. 1
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Atlantic hurricane best track (HURDAT version 2)" (Database). United States National Hurricane Center. April 5, 2023. Retrieved April 20, 2024. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  4. ^
    doi:10.1175/1520-0493(1932)60<222:TTSOON>2.0.CO;2
    . Retrieved September 1, 2014.
  5. ^
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  14. ^
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  21. Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  22. ^ "About the Cayman Islands". caymankaivacations.com. Retrieved May 17, 2022.
  23. ^ Wells, David (October 2018). "A Brief History of the Cayman Islands" (PDF). Cayman Islands Government Office UK. p. 40. Retrieved May 17, 2022.
  24. ^ "The Balboa". Adventure Dives. Retrieved May 17, 2022.
  25. Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  26. Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  27. Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  28. ^ a b Christopher Landsea; et al. (2003). "Hurricane Vulnerability in Latin America and The Caribbean" (PDF). NOAA. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 26, 2007. Retrieved October 15, 2007.

External links

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