The Florida Keys Hurricane: On September 10, 1919, a major hurricane made landfall on the Dry Tortugas in the Florida Keys. The massive, slow-moving system was responsible for nearly 800 deaths and is the 7th deadliest hurricane on record for the United States. This storm also sparked the interest of Robert Simpson, who later developed the Saffir-Simpson Scale and became the second director of the National Hurricane Center.
The hurricane made landfall near Perrine, FL on September 18th. The eye passed over Miami, with estimated wind speeds of 150 mph and a storm surge up to 15 ft. The impacts of the hurricane were concentrated around the southeastern Florida coast, and most of the buildings in Dade and Broward counties were either damaged or destroyed. For more information on the storm: Weather.gov
Two years after the Great Miami Hurricane, another hurricane made landfall in South Florida (near West Palm Beach) on September 17th, with winds of 145 mph. The winds caused storm surge to breach the southern side of Lake Okeechobee, flooding hundreds of square miles with up to 20 feet of water. With over 4,000 dead, 2,500 in Florida, it is one of the deadliest hurricanes in the North Atlantic basin. For more information on the storm: Weather.gov
The strongest hurricane to ever hit the United States, with wind speeds estimated up to 250 miles per hour. J.E Duane, an observer for the Weather Bureau (now the National Weather Service), recorded a barometric reading of 26.98 inches [of mercury], which is 913 millibar. The small storm caused significant damage along the Florida Keys and killed hundreds of World War I veterans who had been working on building the railroad and highway into Key West. For more information on the storm: NOAA
Only the second Category 5 hurricane on record to strike Florida, Hurricane Andrew caused catastrophic damage to portions of South Florida. Sustained winds at landfall were 165 mph, with higher gusts and the storm surge reportedly reached almost 17 ft., in parts of Dade County. Areas near Florida City, Homestead, and Kendall suffered substantial damage and the agricultural industry sustained 85% losses to much of its fruit crop in the region. For more information on the storm: NOAA
The hurricane season of 2004 was extremely active, with 15 named storms, nine hurricanes, and six major hurricanes. Florida felt the wrath of four separate hurricanes: Charley (Category 4), Francis (Category 2), Ivan (Category 3), and Jeanne (Category 3). The effects across the storms crisscrossing the state in 30-days left citizens reeling from one storm to the next. For more information on the individual storms during the 2004 hurricane season: NOAA
Florida was still recovering from 2004 season when another four hurricanes made landfall along the Florida coast; Dennis (Category 3), Katrina (Category 1), Rita (Category 2), and Wilma (Category 3). For more information on the individual storms during the 2005 hurricane season: NOAA
This was the strongest storm since Wilma to make landfall in Florida, with winds of 130 mph when it made landfall on Cudjoe Key on September 10th. The storm made a second landfall in Florida, near Marco Island, as a Category 2 hurricane, later the same day. Because of the large wind field, impacts from the storm were felt along most of the Florida Peninsula. For more information on the event, check out our lesson on Hurricane Irma.