1929 Bahamas hurricane
| Category 4 major hurricane (SSHWS/NWS) | |
Drawing of the hurricane hitting Andros Island.
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| Formed | September 22, 1929 |
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| Dissipated | October 4, 1929 |
| Highest winds |
1-minute sustained: 155 mph (250 km/h) |
| Lowest pressure | 924 mbar (hPa); 27.29 inHg |
| Fatalities | 51 direct |
| Damage | $676,000 (1929 USD) |
| Areas affected | Bahamas, Florida, Georgia, Carolinas |
| Part of the 1929 Atlantic hurricane season | |
The 1929 Bahamas Hurricane (also known as the Great Andros Island Hurricane) was the second hurricane and the only major hurricane during the very inactive 1929 Atlantic hurricane season. The hurricane was the only hurricane to cause any significant damage, resulting in $676,000 (1929 USD, $7.3 million 2005 USD) in damage. Only a year after the 1928 Okeechobee hurricane, the hurricane caused only three deaths in southern Florida, a low number due to well-executed warnings. The hurricane was much more severe in the Bahamas, where damage was near extreme due to the hurricane stalling over the area for an extended period of time. There, the hurricane caused 48 deaths.
A tropical wave moved off the coast of Africa on September 11. It moved across the Atlantic Ocean and passed the northern Leeward Islands before being detected as a tropical storm on the 22nd. The storm then moved westward and became a Category 1 hurricane on September 23. It continued to intensify, becoming a Category 3 hurricane on September 24 as it passed through the northern Bahamas. Due to higher pressures to the north, the hurricane drifted to the southwest, causing the hurricane to strike near Nassau on the 26th as it reached its peak of 155 mph (250 km/h).
While drifting westward through the Bahamas, the hurricane weakened, and struck extreme southern Florida as a Category 3 hurricane on September 28. The hurricane turned to the northwest, and continued to weaken until making landfall in the Florida Panhandle as a tropical storm on the September 30. The storm turned to the northeast, and became extratropical over South Carolina on October 2. The extratropical storm persisted for two more days, moving through the eastern United States before losing its identity over eastern New Brunswick.
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Wikipedia