1934 Atlantic hurricane season

1934 Atlantic hurricane season
Season summary map
Seasonal boundaries
First system formed	June 4, 1934
Last system dissipated	November 30, 1934
Strongest storm
Name	Thirteen
• Maximum winds	115 mph (185 km/h) (1-minute sustained)
• Lowest pressure	955 mbar (hPa; 28.2 inHg)
Seasonal statistics
Total storms	13
Hurricanes	7
Major hurricanes (Cat. 3+)	1
Total fatalities	1,027+
Total damage	$8.77 million (1934 USD)
Related articles
1934 Pacific hurricane season 1920-1937 Pacific typhoon seasons 1930s North Indian Ocean cyclone seasons
Atlantic hurricane seasons 1932, 1933, 1934, 1935, 1936

The 1934 Atlantic hurricane season produced thirteen tropical storms, of which seven further organized into hurricanes. Of those seven hurricanes, only one intensified into a major hurricane, which is a Category 3 or stronger system on the modern-day Saffir–Simpson scale. The first system developed on June 4 while the last storm dissipated on November 30. In 2012, as part of the Atlantic hurricane reanalysis project, meteorologists identified two previously unknown September tropical storms and fine-tuned the meteorological histories of many others. However, given scant observations from ships and weather stations, significant uncertainty of tropical cyclone tracks, intensity, and duration remains, particularly for those storms that stayed at sea.^[1]

In the United States, the 1934 hurricane season was significantly less destructive than the preceding year. Forecasters credited this feat to the Weather Bureau's advanced warning to persons in the path of advancing hurricanes.^[2] In Central America, however, the season's first hurricane wrought catastrophic rainfall resulting in an enormous loss of life, estimated somewhere between 1,000 and 3,000 people. The storm continued into the United States, killing 10 people and causing about $4.4 million^{[nb 1]} in damage. In July, a hurricane struck Texas, spawning tornadoes and generating storm surge, killing 19 people; damage was estimated around $4.5 million. In late August and early September, another hurricane meandered offshore Texas while a weak tropical storm struck North Carolina, each causing minor damage. Shortly thereafter, a hurricane curved up the U.S. East Coast, resulting in 8 fatalities and widespread impacts. A weak tropical storm affected the U.S. Gulf Coast in early October, and the season's only major hurricane meandered across the southwestern Atlantic at the end of November.

The season's total activity was reflected with an accumulated cyclone energy (ACE) rating of 48,^[3] well below the 1931–1943 average of 91.2.^[4] ACE is a metric used to express the energy used by a tropical cyclone during its lifetime. Therefore, a storm with a longer duration will have high values of ACE. It is only calculated at six-hour increments in which specific tropical and subtropical systems are either at or above sustained wind speeds of 39 mph (63 km/h), which is the threshold for tropical storm intensity. Thus, tropical depressions are not included here.^[3]

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