1916 Gulf Coast hurricane

1916 Gulf Coast hurricane

Surface weather analysis of the hurricane nearing landfall on July 5, 1916
Meteorological history
Formed	June 28, 1916 (June 28, 1916)
Dissipated	July 10, 1916 (July 10, 1916)
Category 3 major hurricane
1-minute sustained (SSHWS/NWS)
Highest winds	120 mph (195 km/h)
Lowest pressure	950 mbar (hPa); 28.05 inHg
Overall effects
Fatalities	At least 34
Damage	$12.5 million (1916 USD)
Areas affected	Cuba Gulf Coast of the United States Southeastern United States
IBTrACS
Part of the 1916 Atlantic hurricane season

The 1916 Gulf Coast hurricane was a destructive tropical cyclone that struck the central Gulf Coast of the United States in early July 1916. It generated the highest storm surge on record in Mobile, Alabama, wrought widespread havoc on shipping, and dropped torrential rainfall exceeding 2 ft (0.6 m). The second tropical cyclone, first hurricane, and first major hurricane – Category 3 or stronger on the modern-day Saffir–Simpson scale – of the highly active 1916 Atlantic hurricane season,^{[nb 1]} the system originated in the southwestern Caribbean Sea on June 28 and moved generally toward the north-northwest. Crossing the Yucatán Channel on July 3 as a strengthening hurricane and brushing Cuba with gusty winds, the cyclone reached its peak intensity with maximum sustained winds of 120 mph (195 km/h) prior to making landfall near Pascagoula, Mississippi, at 20:00 UTC on July 5. Over land, the hurricane rapidly weakened to a tropical storm, but then retained much of its remaining strength as it meandered across interior Mississippi and Alabama for several days, its northward progress impeded by a sprawling high-pressure area to the north. The system weakened into a tropical depression on July 9 and dissipated late the next day over southern Tennessee.

The United States Weather Bureau first took notice of the developing storm on July 2, issuing tropical cyclone watches and warnings for much of the central Gulf Coast on July 4 and 5. Upon moving ashore, the cyclone produced sustained Category 3 winds over coastal Mississippi and Alabama, with the worst damage mainly confined to east of the storm's center. In Mobile, an 11.6 ft (3.5 m) storm surge destroyed wharves and severely flooded the business district, while high winds unroofed or otherwise damaged many buildings. Boats of all sizes in Mobile Bay were sunk or blown ashore, and despite efforts to prepare warehouses for the tidal flooding, $500,000 in merchandise was lost.^{[nb 2]} Farther east, Pensacola, Florida, endured several days of gale-force winds after the initial passage of the storm's core; though wind damage to homes, businesses, and trees was extensive, the worst damage resulted from storm tides along the immediate coast. Throughout the region, the hurricane severed telephone and telegraph communications. Numerous ships were lost in the Gulf of Mexico, some with their entire crews.

As the storm slowly proceeded inland, days of downpours caused rivers to rise precipitously from Mississippi to Georgia, overflowing their banks for several miles in each direction; the Chattahoochee River exceeded flood stage by 23.7 ft (7.2 m). In Alabama alone, 350,000 acres (140,000 ha) of farmland was submerged, leading to millions of dollars in crop damage. Railroads were flooded, washed out, or blocked by debris, and many sawmills and other industrial facilities were disrupted. In addition, the hurricane's outer bands spawned multiple tornadoes that each caused severe but localized damage to residential areas. Steady rainfall in western North Carolina primed the French Broad River watershed for a catastrophic flooding event when another hurricane from the Atlantic coast moved over the same area just days later. The resulting disaster, the worst in Asheville, North Carolina's history, killed 80 people. Including property damage, shipping losses, and crop failures, the hurricane cost the Gulf Coast about $12.5 million,^{[nb 3]} and at least 34 people died in the region.^[2]

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