1924 Cuba hurricane

Hurricane Ten

Category 5 major hurricane (SSHWS/NWS)
Surface weather analysis of the storm on October 19
Formed	October 14, 1924
Dissipated	October 23, 1924
Highest winds	1-minute sustained: 165 mph (270 km/h)
Lowest pressure	910 mbar (hPa); 26.87 inHg
Fatalities	Around 90 total
Areas affected	Central America, Yucatán Peninsula, Cuba, Florida, The Bahamas
Part of the 1924 Atlantic hurricane season

The 1924 Cuba hurricane is the earliest officially classified Category 5 Atlantic hurricane on the Saffir–Simpson scale. It formed on October 14 in the western Caribbean, slowly organizing as it tracked northwestward. By October 16, it attained hurricane status to the east of the Yucatán Peninsula, and subsequently executed a small counterclockwise loop. On October 18, the hurricane began undergoing rapid deepening, and the next day it reached an estimated peak intensity of 165 mph (270 km/h). Shortly thereafter, it struck extreme western Cuba at peak intensity, becoming the strongest hurricane on record to hit the country. Later the hurricane weakened greatly, striking southwestern Florida with winds of 90 mph (150 km/h) in a sparsely populated region. While crossing the state it weakened to tropical storm status, and after accelerating east-northeastward, it was absorbed by a cold front on October 23 south of Bermuda.

Across the western Caribbean Sea, the developing storm produced heavy rainfall and increased winds. Strong winds in western Cuba caused severe damage, with two small towns nearly destroyed. About 90 people were killed in the country, all in Pinar del Río Province. Later, the hurricane brought heavy rainfall to southern Florida, which caused flooding and crop damage. Damage was light in the state, and there were no casualties.

On October 14, a tropical depression was first observed over the western Caribbean Sea, just off the eastern Honduras coast. It was a large and weak tropical cyclone, moving slowly northwestward and gradually intensifying. On October 15, it is estimated the depression attained tropical storm status, and its strengthening became more steady. The next day, the storm reached hurricane status about 130 mi (215 km) southeast of Cozumel, Quintana Roo. Around that time, it began to execute a small counterclockwise loop off the east coast of the Yucatán Peninsula. By October 18 the hurricane completed the loop, during which its winds increased to 115 mph (185 km/h); this is the equivalence of a major hurricane, or a Category 3 on the Saffir–Simpson Hurricane Scale. The estimation of its strength at this point was based on subsequent analysis of peripheral recordings of atmospheric pressure and maximum sustained winds by ships and land stations.