1928 Okeechobee Hurricane - Meteorological History

Meteorological History

The storm was first observed 900 miles (1450 km) to the east of Guadeloupe on September 10 by the S.S. Commack. At the time, this was the most easterly report of a tropical cyclone ever received through ship's radio. A Cape Verde-type hurricane, hurricane analysis in the 1990s determined the storm likely formed four days prior between Cape Verde and the coast of Africa.

As the storm neared the Caribbean, it was already a Category 3 hurricane. On September 12 it passed over Guadeloupe and then south of the other Leeward Islands; Guadeloupe reported a pressure of 27.76 inHg (940 mbar), and a ship just south of St. Croix in the United States Virgin Islands reported it as an even stronger storm with a pressure of 27.50 inHg (931 mbar). On the 13th the storm struck Puerto Rico directly as a Category 5 hurricane, allegedly packing winds of 160 mph (260 km/h); reliable reports from San Juan placed the wind speed at 125 knots (145 mph, 230 km/h), and a report from Guayama placed the pressure at 27.65 inHg (936 mbar). The 160 mph (260 km/h) wind measurement from Puerto Rico was taken by a cup anemometer in San Juan, 30 miles (50 km) north of the storm's center, which measured 160 mph (260 km/h) sustained winds three hours before the peak wind speed was reached; however, the instrument was destroyed soon after and could not be calibrated. This unverified reading was the strongest wind measurement ever reported for an Atlantic hurricane up until that time. Not until Hurricane Dog of 1950 were stronger winds officially measured in an Atlantic storm, although some unmeasured storms like the 1935 Labor Day Hurricane may have been stronger, and in 2009 the 1924 Cuba hurricane was re-assessed as also reaching Category 5.

The hurricane was also extremely large as it crossed Puerto Rico. Hurricane-force winds were measured in Guayama for 18 hours; since the storm is estimated to have been moving at 13 mph (21 km/h), the diameter of the storm's hurricane winds was estimated very roughly to be 234 miles (376 km). After leaving the Caribbean, the hurricane moved across the Bahamas as a strong Category 4 hurricane. It continued to the west-northwest, and made landfall in southern Florida on the evening of September 16 (or early on September 17 Universal Time). Initially, Richard Gray of the U.S. Weather Bureau was optimistic that the storm would spare the south Florida region. Atmospheric pressure at landfall was measured at 929 mbar (hPa), and maximum sustained winds were near 150 mph (240 km/h). The eye passed ashore in Palm Beach County near West Palm Beach, then moved directly over Lake Okeechobee. Peak gusts were estimated near 160 mph (260 km/h) at Canal Point, Florida. The hurricane's path turned northeast as it crossed Florida, taking it across northern Florida, eastern Georgia, and the Carolinas on September 19. It then moved inland and merged with a low-pressure system around Toronto on the 20th.