The Okeechobee hurricane of 1928, also known as the San Felipe Segundo hurricane and Florida's Forgotten Storm, was one of the deadliest hurricanes in the recorded history of the North Atlantic basin, and the fourth deadliest hurricane in the United States, only behind the 1900 Galveston hurricane, 1899 San Ciriaco hurricane, and Hurricane Maria in 2017.
The hurricane killed an estimated 2,500 people in the United States; most of the fatalities occurred in the state of Florida, particularly around Lake Okeechobee. It was the fourth tropical cyclone, third hurricane, and only major hurricane of the 1928 Atlantic hurricane season, and remains the deadliest disaster in Florida's history to date. It developed off the west coast of Africa on September 6 as a tropical depression, but it strengthened into a tropical storm later that day, shortly before passing south of the Cape Verde islands. Further intensification was slow and halted late on September 7. About 48 hours later, the storm strengthened and became a Category 1 hurricane on the Saffir–Simpson hurricane wind scale. Still moving westward, the system reached Category 4 intensity before striking Guadeloupe on September 12, where it brought great destruction and resulted in 1,200 deaths. The islands of Martinique, Montserrat, and Nevis also reported damage and fatalities, but not nearly as severe as in Guadeloupe.
Around midday on September 13, the storm strengthened into a Category 5 hurricane and peaked with sustained winds of . About six hours later, the system made landfall in Puerto Rico; it remains the only tropical cyclone on record to strike the island at Category 5 intensity. Very strong winds resulted in severe damage in Puerto Rico; 24,728 homes were destroyed and 192,444 were damaged throughout the island, leaving over 500,000 people homeless. Heavy rainfall also led to extreme damage to vegetation and agriculture. On Puerto Rico alone, there were 312 deaths and about US$50 million ($ million today) in damage. While crossing the island and emerging into the Atlantic, the storm weakened slightly, falling to Category 4 intensity. It began crossing through the Bahamas on September 16, where it resulted in 18 fatalities.
The storm made landfall near West Palm Beach, Florida, early on September 17, with winds of . In the city, more than 1,711 homes were destroyed; the effects were most severe around Lake Okeechobee. The storm surge caused water to pour out of the southern edge of the lake, flooding hundreds of square miles to depths as great as . Numerous houses and buildings were swept away in the cities of Belle Glade, Canal Point, Chosen, Pahokee, and South Bay, Florida. At least 2,500 people drowned, while damage was estimated at $25 million ($ million today). The system weakened significantly while crossing Florida, falling to Category 1 intensity late on September 17. It curved north-northeast and briefly emerged into the Atlantic on September 18, but soon made another landfall near Edisto Island, South Carolina, with winds of . Early on the following day, the system weakened to a tropical storm and became an extratropical cyclone over North Carolina hours later. Overall, the hurricane caused $100 million in damage ($ million today) and killed at least 4,114 people.
Meteorological history
On September 6, ships reported a tropical depression developing just off the west coast of Africa near Dakar, Senegal. On the next day, a ship reported winds of , or tropical storm status; on this basis, the Atlantic hurricane reanalysis project estimated that the system attained tropical storm status late on September 6. However, lack of observations for several days prevented the system from being classified in real time as it moved generally westward across the Atlantic Ocean. On September 10, the S.S. Commack first observed the storm about to the east of Guadeloupe, which at the time was the most easterly report of a tropical cyclone ever received through ship's radio. Later that day, two other ships confirmed the intensity of the storm, and the Hurricane Research Division estimated it strengthened into a hurricane at 18:00 UTC on September 10.
As the storm neared the Lesser Antilles, it continued to intensify. Between 17:30 and 18:30 UTC on September 12, the hurricane's eye moved over Guadeloupe with a barometric pressure of , suggesting maximum sustained winds of , or Category 4 intensity on the Saffir–Simpson scale. Continuing to the west-northwest, the hurricane passed about south of Saint Croix before approaching Puerto Rico. On September 13, the eye crossed Puerto Rico in eight hours from the southeast to the northwest, moving ashore near Guayama and exiting between Aguadilla and Isabela. A ship near the southern coast reported a pressure of , and the cup anemometer at San Juan reported sustained winds of before failing. As the wind station was north of the storm's center, winds near the landfall point were unofficially estimated as high as . On this basis, the hurricane is believed to have made landfall in Puerto Rico as a Category 5 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson scale, although there was uncertainty in the peak intensity, due to the large size and slow movement of the storm.
After emerging from Puerto Rico, the hurricane had weakened to winds of about , based on a pressure reading of at Isabela. The storm brushed the northern coast of Hispaniola while moving west-northwestward, gradually restrengthening. On September 15, it passed within of Grand Turk, by which time the winds increased to . The storm continued through the Bahamas as a strong Category 4 hurricane, passing near Nassau at 10:00 UTC on September 16. Initially, Richard Gray of the U.S. Weather Bureau was optimistic that the storm would spare South Florida. However, at 00:00 UTC on September 17, the large hurricane made landfall in southeastern Florida near Palm Beach, with estimated winds of . This was based on a pressure reading of in the city, which at the time was the lowest pressure reading in the mainland United States; this broke the previous record of set during the 1926 Miami hurricane. Peak gusts were estimated near at Canal Point.
The hurricane quickly weakened as it progressed inland and moved over Lake Okeechobee, although its large size enabled it to maintain hurricane status for several more days. Late on September 17, the hurricane recurved to the northeast and passed near Jacksonville early the next day with winds of . At 08:00 UTC on September 18, the storm again reached open waters. Later that day, the hurricane restrengthened slightly over open waters, making a second United States landfall near Edisto Island, South Carolina, at 19:00 UTC with winds of . Accelerating northeastward, the system quickly weakened into a tropical storm over North Carolina. On September 19, the storm transitioned into an extratropical cyclone, although it restrengthened slightly to hurricane strength, due to baroclinic forcing caused by a frontal system. The cyclone turned to the north-northwest, moving quickly through the eastern United States. On September 21, the former hurricane dissipated over Ontario, having merged with another disturbance.
Effects Leeward Islands
The hurricane moved directly over the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean Sea, strengthening as it did so. On the island of Dominica, winds were clocked at . One person perished, while the cyclone also damaged seawalls and ruined crops. In Martinique, further south of the storm's path, there were three deaths. Waves washed away homes along the island's northwest coast, although a report by Walter S. Reineck, U.S. Consul in Martinique, noted that the worst damage occurred to cocoa, lime, and sugarcane crops.
Guadeloupe received a direct hit from the storm, apparently with little warning; the death toll there was 1,200, and damage reports relayed through Paris indicated "great destruction" on the island.
About three-fourths of the island's residents were left homeless. In the community of Saint-François, the only structure to remain standing was the police station, which was built with reinforced concrete. To the east of the town, the merchant ship Albotros sank; it had been carrying 80 casks of rum. The crew and the five men attempting to save the ship drowned. Approximately 85%–95% of banana crops were destroyed, 70%–80% of tree crops suffered severe damage, and 40% of the sugar cane crop was ruined. The people struggled to survive both in the short and longer term after the storm. Storm deaths by regionRegionDeathsLocaleDeathsCaribbean and Bahamas1,601Martinique3Guadeloupe1,200Montserrat42Dominica1Saint Kitts and Nevis22Puerto Rico312Turks and Caicos Islands18Bahamas3United States2,511+Florida2,500+Maryland3New Jersey3Pennsylvania7Total4,114+ Montserrat, just north of the storm's center, was warned in advance of the storm but still suffered £150,000 (1928 UKP) in damages and 42 deaths; Plymouth and Salem were devastated, and crop losses caused near-starvation conditions before relief could arrive. All commercial and government buildings on the island were destroyed, as were more than 600 homes. Saint Kitts and Nevis also suffered heavily. On the island of Saint Kitts, a number of homes built on wooden foundations were demolished. Nine deaths were reported, six of which occurred in a schoolhouse collapse. Thirteen people were killed on the island of Nevis.
The storm destroyed hundreds of homes on Antigua, including a doctor's home and a "poor house". Government offices, hospitals, and school were also damaged. Saint Thomas reported sustained winds of about . The hurricane demolished a new breakwater and several warehouses, ruined a naval yard, and capsized barges. Only minimal damage occurred on the nearby island of Saint John. On Saint Croix, nearly all of the island's 11,000 residents suffered some degree of loss. A total of 143 buildings were destroyed, including a sugar mill. The storm resulted in nine deaths on the island. Throughout the Virgin Islands, as many as 700,000 people were rendered homeless.
Puerto Rico
While the storm was passing near Dominica, the U.S. Weather Bureau located at San Juan, Puerto Rico, warned about the threat of the hurricane which would strike the island within a day or two. The advisory was sent via telegraph to 75 police districts and was broadcast from the naval radio station every two hours; this was the first hurricane warning broadcast by radio. Warnings were also posted for 12 ports along the southern coast, causing ships to avoid the island or remain at port. Effective preparation is credited for the relatively low death toll of 312, and not a single ship was lost at sea in the vicinity of Puerto Rico. By comparison, the weaker 1899 San Ciriaco hurricane killed approximately 3,000 people. According to the San Juan National Weather Service office, the storm was "up to this time the greatest and more intense and destructive hurricane of record in Puerto Rico." Along the storm path, the eye passed over Guayama, Cayey, and Aibonito, resulting in a period of calm lasting 20 minutes. The island of Puerto Rico received the worst of the storm's winds when the hurricane moved directly across the island at Category 5 strength. The hurricane was extremely large as it crossed Puerto Rico. Hurricane-force winds were measured in Guayama for 18 hours, where a low pressure of was reported. Since the storm is estimated to have been moving at , the diameter of the storm's hurricane winds was estimated very roughly to be .