History of Hurricanes
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A hurricane is the name for a tropical storm that forms in the Atlantic Ocean, the Northeast Pacific Ocean east of the international dateline, or the South Pacific Ocean east of 160 degrees longitude. Depending on the conditions in the areas affected by the storm, hurricanes can produce violent winds, large tidal waves, torrential rains, flooding and mudslides.
Hurricanes have undoubtedly been occurring since the beginning of time, although the first hurricane wasn't reported until Christopher Columbus' second visit to the Americas in 1494. Hurricanes were responsible for the destruction of Spanish and French fleets in the 16th century, the settlement of Bermuda in the 17th century and major devastation to many colonies on the eastern coast of North America. The first hurricane recorded by American historians occurred in 1635 and is known today as the "Great Colonial Hurricane." The storm passed over southern New England causing significant damage in the Massachusetts Bay and Plymouth colonies in Massachusetts.
The Americas witnessed several major hurricanes during the 19th century, including "The Great September Gale" of 1815, which struck New York City and southern New England, and "Racer's Storm" which tore a 2,000 mile long path of destruction from Jamaica to the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico. The 19th century also saw significant advancement in science's understanding of hurricanes. Although scientists, including Benjamin Franklin, had been studying hurricanes since the mid-18th century, the true nature of hurricanes was not discovered until 1819 when Professor John Farrar of Harvard observed that hurricanes were vortexes. This discovery, combined with the later finding of William Redfield that hurricane winds move in a counter-clockwise fashion, led to the ability to track storms and predict their paths. The first networks of weather observers were founded due to the work of William Reid and the Smithsonian Museum. In 1870, the United States founded its own weather service to facilitate the issuing of weather warnings to areas that will be affected by storms of all kinds.
The 20th century would witness some of the most damaging and deadly storms in recorded history. The Galveston Hurricane of 1900, still the deadliest natural disaster in American history (killing between 8,000 and 12,000 people), was one of the first of many hurricanes that would ravage the Americas throughout the 20th century. In 1935, the Labor Day hurricane caused more than 400 deaths in Florida and the Caribbean, followed three years later by the "Long Island Express" which battered Long Island and southern New England, causing more than 600 deaths. Hurricanes even affected the war effort in 1944, disrupting shipping lines after the invasion of Europe. Many devastating storms hit the United States in the 1950s and 1960s, from Carol, Edna and Hazel (1954), Connie and Diane (1955), Audrey (1957), Donna (1960), Betsy (1965) and Camille (1969).
Throughout the 1970s, hurricanes would continue to be responsible for millions of dollars in damage as well as thousands of deaths. In 1971, Hurricane Ginger maintained hurricane force winds for a record 20 days while Hurricane Frederic caused billions of dollars in damage in 1979. However, two of the most destructive storms in history occurred during the 1980s. Hurricane Alicia caused $2 billion in damage to Galveston and Houston, Texas, in 1983. Then, Hurricane Hugo ravaged Charleston, South Carolina, and surrounding areas in 1989, causing about $7 billion in damage.
The last 15 hurricane seasons have brought storms of ever increasing intensity, seen in the destructive force of Hurricane Andrew in 1992 (over $26.5 billion in damages), Hurricane Mitch in 1998 (which killed more than 11,000 people in Central America) and most recently Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Many scientists attribute this increase in intensity to rising water temperatures in the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico. Many theories have tied this increase in water temperature to global warming, although no definitive conclusion has been reached.