1906 Florida Keys hurricane

1906 Florida Keys hurricane

Category 3 major hurricane (SSHWS/NWS)
The hurricane killed 135 workers on the Florida East Coast Railway.
Formed	October 8, 1906
Dissipated	October 23, 1906
Highest winds	1-minute sustained: 120 mph (195 km/h)
Lowest pressure	953 mbar (hPa); 28.14 inHg
Fatalities	At least 240
Damage	> $4.135 million (1906 USD)
Areas affected	Central America, Cuba, southeastern United States
Part of the 1906 Atlantic hurricane season

The 1906 Florida Keys hurricane was a powerful and deadly hurricane that caused major impacts in Cuba and southern Florida. The fifth hurricane and third major hurricane of the season, the storm formed from a system near Barbados on October 4. By October 8, it had intensified into a tropical storm, and made landfall as a hurricane in Central America. The hurricane traveled towards Cuba, making landfall and wreaking havoc on the island. The storm then made a third landfall in the Florida Keys during the evening of October 18. At least 240 people were killed as a result of the hurricane, and damages totaled at least $4,135,000.

Of the 240 people killed during the storm, 135 were workers on the Florida East Coast Railway. The hurricane eventually led to the end of pineapple production in the Florida Keys for commercial purposes in 1915, although this was amplified by two further hurricanes in the following years. In 1947, Project Cirrus, a collaboration of the United States Air Force, attempted to modify a hurricane; however, the seeded storm made a sudden re-curvature and came ashore near Charleston, South Carolina. As a result, several lawsuits were filed, although they were denied after the path of this storm was revealed to have been similar to the 1906 hurricane.

The hurricane originated from a "cyclonic perturbation" near Barbados on October 4, as reported by local newspapers. On October 5, no closed circulation was evident in the system. In Colón, Panama, a report was sent to the Weather Bureau, reporting sinking barometric pressures on October 6. It was recognized as a tropical storm early on October 8, with winds of 40 mph (65 km/h), while located in the southwestern Caribbean Sea.

As the system continued to move west on October 9, it strengthened into a hurricane, and while it began to curve toward the west-northwest, further strengthening occurred, as it intensified into a Category 2 hurricane. The hurricane made landfall in Nicaragua on October 10 as a Category 3 hurricane. The system quickly weakened to a tropical storm as it traveled west-northwestward on October 11, later passing over the Gulf of Honduras. It later struck Belize on October 13 as a strong Category 1 hurricane on October 13, tracking north-northwestward.