Hurricane Easy (1950) - Preparations and Impact

Preparations and Impact

The hurricane crossed over western Cuba with winds of up to 80 mph (130 km/h); however, damage was minor, and no deaths occurred in the country. In Havana, winds decreased to 15 mph (24 km/h) as the eye of the hurricane crossed over the city.

With an eye ranging from 18 mi (29 km) to 25 mi (40 km) in diameter, the hurricane was well-tracked throughout its lifetime by radars at the University of Florida and by Reconnaissance Aircraft. Despite its unusual track, the Weather Bureau issued hurricane warnings in a timely manner, though warnings were issued for a larger area than those that actually experienced hurricane force winds. In the Florida Keys, winds from Easy reached 72 mph (116 km/h), which downed trees and power lines, littering local streets with debris. Heavy seas moved around a Navy barge, though no damage was reported.

Hurricane Easy produced hurricane force winds across large portions of western Florida, including over 100 mph (160 km/h) winds in Cedar Key for 9 and 1/2 hours. The town, which reported a minimum pressure of 958.3 mbar (28.30 in), experienced the eye of the hurricane for 2 and 1/2 hours while strong waves hit the coast. The tide in Tampa Bay rose 6.5 ft (2.0 m), the highest since 1921. While looping twice along its path, the hurricane dropped heavy amounts of rainfall of 10 in (250 mm) to 20 in (510 mm) in large portions of northwestern Florida. Rainfall totals include 24.5 in (620 mm) in Cedar Key in 3 days and 38.70 in (983 mm) in Yankeetown, Florida, in 24 hours, which easily became the largest 24 hour rainfall total on record for the United States. The record has since been broken by Tropical Storm Claudette in 1979 with 43 in (1,100 mm), though Easy's total remains the largest 24 hour rainfall total on record for the state of Florida.

Hurricane Easy was described as the worst hurricane in the Cedar Key area in 70 years. The hurricane left half of the houses destroyed or unfit for rehabilitation, while 90% of the others were damaged. The strong winds destroyed the roofs of 150 homes and buildings. The rainfall caused severe flooding that resulted in crop damage. Easy was indirectly responsible for two deaths due to electrocutions. In addition, 27 people were injured from the hurricane. The strong waves destroyed the fishing community's entire fishing fleet of 100 boats, which was the town's entire livelihood. The town's main employment center, a broom and brush plant, was severely damaged, and would close two years after the hurricane. The hurricane also produced severe damage in Pinellas and Hillsborough Counties in the Tampa area. Throughout Florida, damages totaled $3.3 million (1950 USD), a lower than expected total due to the sparse population in the area of the worst damage. After the storm's passage throughout central and northern Florida, "blisters" developed on hundreds of cars; the locations affected reported that the blisters formed on the surface of vehicles shortly after Easy retreated. The following day, the blisters disappeared. Researchers later created several theories as to the unusual occurrence, though they concluded that air pockets under the layer of paint expanded as a result of the decreased barometric pressure.