1932 Cuba hurricane

Meteorological history

The 1932 Cuba hurricane can be traced back to a tropical depression, first identified at 06:00 UTC on October 30 by ship observations roughly 200 mi east of Guadeloupe. Tracking generally westward, the depression crossed the Lesser Antilles the next day between Dominica and Martinique. Barometric pressures decreasing to as much as 1008 mbar (hPa; 29.77 inHg) in St. Lucia confirmed the presence of a developing tropical cyclone. Shortly after traversing the islands, the disturbance strengthened to tropical storm intensity at 18:00 UTC on October 31. Concurrently as the storm was gradually intensifying, the tropical cyclone began to take an unusual course towards the southwest. On November 2, the storm intensified to hurricane status while north of the Netherlands Antilles.

Steadily strengthening, the hurricane reached Category 2 status on November 3. During the day, the storm passed approximately 50 mi north of Punta Gallinas in Colombia, the northernmost extent of South America. However, at the same time the hurricane curved towards the west, causing the storm to move away from Colombia and Venezuela. During the next few days, the hurricane rapidly intensified, reaching 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. 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 at the maximum of the storm and measured unusually low pressures. Early on November 6, the hurricane peaked with maximum sustained winds estimated at 175 mph (280 km/h). 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 lower.

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. Due to a gradual curve towards the northeast, the hurricane tracked near Cayman Brac on November 9; a minimum barometric pressure of 939 mbar (hPa; 27.73 inHg) was documented on the island. Only slight weakening occurred before the hurricane made landfall on the Caribbean coast of Cuba's Camagüey Province at 14:00 UTC that day. At the time of landfall, the tropical cyclone was estimated to have had a minimum pressure of 918 mbar (hPa; 27.11 inHg) and maximum sustained winds of 150 mph (240 km/h), with these winds extending as far as 40 mi (65 km) from the center of the hurricane. The storm traversed Cuba in six hours before emerging into the Atlantic Ocean late on November 9, after which it began to cross the central Bahamian archipelago. At 07:00 UTC on November 10, the hurricane made a second landfall on Long Island, Bahamas with an intensity equivalent to that of a modern-day Category 3. Continuing to track northeast, the storm moved east of Bermuda two days later. On November 13, the hurricane began to interact with an extratropical cyclone centered over the Canadian Maritimes, and later weakened to tropical storm strength. The tropical cyclone later became extratropical itself before it was last noted at 18:00 UTC on November 14.

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

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 schooner Abundance encountered the storm east of Jamaica, resulting in a destroyed rudder and a beaching on Jamaica's Morant Point. However, the ship's six crew were extracted from the disabled vessel and were transported to the United States. This was followed by a search operation undertaken by the USS Overton (DD-239) and USS Swan (AM-34). 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. Several other ships in the immediate area were also hampered by the storm.

A novel based on the ordeal of the Phemius and her crew, In Hazard, was later written by Richard Hughes and published in 1938.

Some damage was reported in northern South America as the hurricane swept near the coast. In Colombia, rail telecommunications were interrupted near Santa Marta, and banana plantations in the area were believed to have suffered to some extent due to the storm's winds and rain. In Santa Marta itself, several homes were inundated and automotive traffic was hampered by the storm's effects. Docks on Santa Marta's port were also damaged. Heavy rains also washed out some railways and bridges, further disrupting the distribution of banana shipments. Elsewhere along the coast, many of Colombia's seaports were damaged by the storm's effects, while inland farms suffered extensive flood damage. Due to sparse reports from the remainder of Colombia, the extent of damage in Barranquilla remains unspecified, with other nearby towns reporting "heavy" damage. The village of Sevilla in the municipality of Zona Bananera, Magdalena was almost entirely destroyed. Providencia Island just off of Colombia sustained significant agricultural damage and the loss of 36 homes. To the northeast in Curacao, the passing hurricane destroyed the island harbor's fortifications. 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.

With the hurricane threatening Jamaica, Pan American World Airways cancelled its flights servicing Kingston, Jamaica. 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, destroying over 2 million trees. 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.

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. 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. The ship Balboa also sank in the George Town harbor as a result of the storm.

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. On November 8, a hurricane warning was issued for the southeastern extent of Cuba. As a precautionary measure, shipping routes servicing ports in eastern Cuba were suspended.

The town of Santa Cruz del Sur in Camagüey Province was virtually obliterated by a massive storm surge which measured 6.5 m in height. 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; $ million today).

Records

While the storm was listed initially in the HURDAT as a marginal Category 4 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson hurricane scale with no pressure listed, according to the Hurricane Reanalysis Project the hurricane reached Category 5 intensity with 175 mph (280 km/h) southwest of Cuba. After the reanalysis, this hurricane was confirmed as the latest Category 5 hurricane ever recorded in the Atlantic basin, surpassing Hurricane Hattie of the 1961 season by six days. It was also, by a significant margin, the strongest storm (and only Category 5 hurricane) ever recorded in the month of November, much more than Hurricane Lenny's 933 mbar pressure on November 18, 1999. In addition, such an upgrade made the 1932 season (along with the 1933 season which was also discovered to have such in reanalysis) the first of six seasons with multiple Category 5 hurricanes, along with the 1933, 1960, 1961, 2005 and 2007 seasons. Finally, the 1932 hurricane was assessed to have remained at Category 5 for 78 consecutive hours, a record period of time for the Atlantic basin (although the record may be suspect due to the lack of aircraft or satellite observations at the time).--

References

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References

1. or the '''1932 Camagüey hurricane''',Millás, p. 1
2. (November 1932). "The Tropical Storm Of October 30–November 13, 1932". American Meteorological Society.
3. Landsea, Chris. (April 2014). "Documentation of Atlantic Tropical Cyclones Changes in HURDAT". National Hurricane Center.
4. (November 7, 1932). "Ships Suffer As Caribbean Gale Strikes". The San Bernardino County Daily Sun.
5. (November 8, 1932). "3 Ships Adrift in Caribbean As Hurricane Force Grows". Brooklyn Daily Eagle.
6. (November 8, 1932). "U.S. Warships Sent To British Ship's Aid". The Reading Times.
7. (November 8, 1932). "Help Reaches Liner In Disabled Storm". Bluefield Daily Telegraph.
8. (November 8, 1932). "Storm Ravages Caribbean Area". Indiana Evening Gazette.
9. (November 7, 1932). "Damage Heavy". Montana Butte Standard.
10. (November 7, 1932). "American Schooner Wrecked By Storm". The Lincoln Evening Journal.
11. (November 8, 1932). "Second Ship Is In Distress With Rudder Disabled". Montana Butte Standard.
12. (November 7, 1932). "Central America Is Devastated By Hurricane". The Daily Courier.
13. (November 8, 1932). "West Cuba And Yucatan In Peril By Fierce Storm". The Helena Independent.
14. Ryan, James A.. (November 7, 1932). "Coastline of Colombia Hit By Hurricane". Belvidere Daily Republican.
15. (November 2, 1932). "Sea Wall Collapses". The Brownsville Herald.
16. (November 9, 1932). "Flights Canceled". The Kingsport Times.
17. (November 9, 1932). "Jamaica Hit By Hurricane". Florence Morning News.
18. (November 7, 1932). "Hurricane on Caribbean Sea Hits Freighter". The Coshocton Tribune.
19. (November 10, 1932). "$4,000,000 Loss In Kingston". Alton Evening Telegraph.
20. "About the Cayman Islands".
21. (October 2018). "A Brief History of the Cayman Islands".
22. "The Balboa".
23. (November 7, 1932). "Cuba In Danger". Montana Butte Standard.
24. (November 8, 1932). "Hurricane Warning Issued at Havana". Ames Daily Tribune-Times.
25. (November 9, 1932). "Twelve Die As Hurricane Hits Eastern Cuba". Warren Times-Mirror.
26. Christopher Landsea. (2003). "Hurricane Vulnerability in Latin America and The Caribbean". NOAA.