Season Summary
The 1933 season was the most active of its time, surpassing the previous record-holder of 19 storms in 1887. Fifteen of the season's storms made landfall as tropical cyclones, and another struck land as an extratropical storm. Eight tropical storms, including six hurricanes, hit the United States during the season, including the Chesapeake Potomac Hurricane, which the U.S. Weather Bureau describes as one of the most severe in history along the Mid-Atlantic States. Seven tropical storms, including four hurricanes, hit Mexico, two of which caused severe damage in the Tampico area.
The season was continuously active, with six storms forming during the month of August alone. At the time, many storms received the distinction of being the earliest nth storm to form, such as the earliest fifth tropical storm to form in a season. Most of the records were broken in later years. During the season, the U.S. Weather Bureau issued storm and hurricane warnings for eight storms, including coastal portions of Texas, as well as from Florida to Massachusetts, forcing the evacuations of thousands of people. The deadliest storm of the season was a hurricane that struck Tampico, Mexico, killing over 184 residents. The costliest hurricane was the Chesapeake Potomac Hurricane, which caused US$27 million ($485 million 2012 USD) from North Carolina to New Jersey. The hurricane produced rainfall that resulted in severe crop damage in Maryland.
In addition to the 20 tropical storms, there were several tropical depressions of lesser intensity. The first developed on June 1 in the northwest Caribbean and dissipated a few days later. Another depression developed on July 11 over Panama and also quickly dissipated. A tropical depression developed on July 17 in the northeastern Atlantic west of the Azores, and one ship reported hurricane-force winds; however, there was little evidence that the tropical system was organized, so it was not classified as a tropical storm. Originally, there was a tropical storm in the database in the Caribbean in the middle of August, but it was downgraded to a tropical depression due to lack of any reports of gale-force winds. Similarly, there was a tropical storm in the database in late September, but it was also downgraded to a tropical depression due to lack of gale-force winds.
The season produced the highest Accumulated Cyclone Energy (ACE) on record with a total of 259. The measurement is a method to compare tropical cyclone activity between seasons. Originally, 1933 had an ACE of 213, which was surpassed by 1950 and 2005. However, the Atlantic hurricane reanalysis project found that the storms in 1933 were stronger than initially reported.
Read more about this topic: 1933 Atlantic Hurricane Season
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