1906 Pensacola hurricane

1906 Mississippi hurricane

Category 3 major hurricane (SSHWS/NWS)
Shipping damage in Pensacola caused by the hurricane
Formed	September 19, 1906
Dissipated	September 29, 1906
Highest winds	1-minute sustained: 120 mph (195 km/h)
Lowest pressure	953 mbar (hPa); 28.14 inHg
Fatalities	At least 134
Damage	> $19.221 million (1906 USD)
Areas affected	Southeastern United States
Part of the 1906 Atlantic hurricane season

The 1906 Mississippi hurricane was a deadly and destructive hurricane during the 1906 Atlantic hurricane season. The fourth hurricane of the season, the system was originally observed in the western Caribbean on September 22; however, modern research revealed that the system became a tropical depression on September 19. The system slowly intensified, eventually becoming a major hurricane by September 24. The system made landfall near Pascagoula, Mississippi, during the evening of September 27, devastating the cities of Pensacola and Mobile and the state of Mississippi. Damage totaled to at least $19,221,000, and more than 134 people were killed.

The first documented information on the storm places it in the western Caribbean Sea on September 22, although modern reanalysis of this storm as a tropical depression on September 19. The storm drifted north from the Yucatán Channel on September 24, while it was a weak hurricane with winds of 75 mph (120 km/h). The hurricane was south-southwest of Havana by morning, and as it drifted north-northwestward during the evening hours of September 24, the system intensified into a Category 2 hurricane.

The hurricane was documented to have been about 300 miles (480 km) west-northwest of Cuba on September 25. Near this area, the hurricane had intensified further into a Category 3 hurricane, with maximum sustained winds of 115 mph (185 km/h). The system finished its passage into the Gulf of Mexico by September 27. During the afternoon, the hurricane made landfall near Pascagoula, Mississippi, as a Category 2 hurricane. The hurricane moved inland, weakening to a Category 1 hurricane and eventually to a tropical storm. The storm weakened to a tropical depression, and dissipated on September 29 as it transitioned into an extratropical storm.

The city of Pensacola suffered the most severe damage caused by the storm. Several tugboats, vessels, fishing boats, and other watercraft were tossed along the shore of the city. Large numbers of trees were uprooted and the roofs of houses were torn off. At its highest, the storm surge of the hurricane was 8.5 feet (2.6 m) above the normal tide, the highest recorded in the city at the time. The city's waterfront was completely flooded, along with some houses near the waterfront. Muscogee wharf was partially destroyed, broken into two pieces. On either side of the wharf, railroad tracks had been washed away. A total of 39 freight cars carrying coal were also washed away. In addition, the grain elevator of the Louisville and Nashville Railroad was destroyed during the hurricane. A timber boom was demolished during the hurricane, leaving wood and debris on the beach.