1932 Freeport hurricane
| Category 4 major hurricane (SSHWS/NWS) | |
Surface weather analysis of the storm on August 13
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| Formed | August 12, 1932 |
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| Dissipated | August 15, 1932 |
| Highest winds |
1-minute sustained: 150 mph (240 km/h) |
| Lowest pressure | 935 mbar (hPa); 27.61 inHg |
| Fatalities | 40 |
| Damage | $7.5 million (1932 USD) |
| Areas affected | South-Central United States |
| Part of the 1932 Atlantic hurricane season | |
The 1932 Freeport hurricane was an intense tropical cyclone that primarily affected areas of the Texas coast in August of the 1932 Atlantic hurricane season. It was the second storm and first hurricane of the season, developing just off the Yucatán Peninsula on August 12. While moving to the northwest, the storm began to quickly intensify the next day. It rapidly intensified from a category 1 hurricane to a category 4 with winds estimated at 150 mph (240 km/h) and an estimated central pressure of 935 mbar (27.6 inHg) shortly before making landfall near Freeport, Texas, early on August 14. After landfall, the hurricane began to quickly weaken before dissipating over the Texas Panhandle.
The storm caused heavy rainfall inland, peaking at 9.93 in (252 mm) in Angleton. Record rainfall rates were also reported in some areas. Power outages were reported in Galveston and San Antonio. The storm caused $7.5 million in damages, mostly to crops, and 40 deaths.
The Freeport hurricane was first noted by ships on August 12 as a tropical disturbance in the Gulf of Mexico. However, it was suggested in later research that the disturbance may have originated from a low-pressure area between Belize and Honduras on August 11. Steadily moving to the northwest, the storm began to intensify, reaching hurricane strength on August 13, and soon after reaching major hurricane strength later that day. A report remarked that the storm was "phenomenal" due to the fact that previously the storm had "seemed to be of only moderate intensity" while near land before rapidly intensifying.
The storm eventually reached winds of 145 mph (233 km/h), making it a Category 4 hurricane on the Saffir–Simpson scale. The hurricane proceeded to make landfall early on August 14 just east of Freeport with winds of 150 mph (240 km/h). A ship just offshore of the coast reported a minimum pressure of 942 mbar (27.8 inHg), but the official estimate for the hurricane's landfall intensity was set to 935 mbar (27.6 inHg) given the fact that the system was still rapidly intensifying at the time. Due to the storm's small size, it quickly weakened to tropical storm strength later that day. The storm finally weakened into a tropical depression before dissipating the next day over the Texas Panhandle.
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Wikipedia