1934 Atlantic hurricane season
| 1934 Atlantic hurricane season | |
|---|---|
Season summary map
|
|
| Seasonal boundaries | |
| First system formed | June 4, 1934 |
| Last system dissipated | November 30, 1934 |
| Strongest storm | |
| Name | Thirteen |
| • Maximum winds | 115 mph (185 km/h) (1-minute sustained) |
| • Lowest pressure | 955 mbar (hPa; 28.2 inHg) |
| Seasonal statistics | |
| Total storms | 13 |
| Hurricanes | 7 |
| Major hurricanes (Cat. 3+) |
1 |
| Total fatalities | 2,017 |
| Total damage | $4.26 million (1934 USD) |
| Category 2 hurricane (SSHWS) | |
 |
|
| Duration | June 4 – June 18 |
|---|---|
| Peak intensity | 100 mph (155 km/h) (1-min) 966 mbar (hPa) |
| Category 1 hurricane (SSHWS) | |
 |
|
| Duration | July 12 – July 16 |
|---|---|
| Peak intensity | 90 mph (150 km/h) (1-min) 980 mbar (hPa) |
| Category 1 hurricane (SSHWS) | |
 |
|
| Duration | July 22 – July 26 |
|---|---|
| Peak intensity | 85 mph (140 km/h) (1-min) 975 mbar (hPa) |
| Tropical storm (SSHWS) | |
 |
|
| Duration | August 20 – August 23 |
|---|---|
| Peak intensity | 40 mph (65 km/h) (1-min) |
| Category 1 hurricane (SSHWS) | |
 |
|
| Duration | August 26 – September 1 |
|---|---|
| Peak intensity | 80 mph (130 km/h) (1-min) 993 mbar (hPa) |
| Tropical storm (SSHWS) | |
 |
|
| Duration | September 1 – September 4 |
|---|---|
| Peak intensity | 50 mph (85 km/h) (1-min) 1008 mbar (hPa) |
| Category 2 hurricane (SSHWS) | |
  |
|
| Duration | September 5 – September 9 |
|---|---|
| Peak intensity | 105 mph (165 km/h) (1-min) 967 mbar (hPa) |
| Tropical storm (SSHWS) | |
 |
|
| Duration | September 16 – September 23 |
|---|---|
| Peak intensity | 50 mph (85 km/h) (1-min) 1010 mbar (hPa) |
| Tropical storm (SSHWS) | |
 |
|
| Duration | September 18 – September 24 |
|---|---|
| Peak intensity | 60 mph (95 km/h) (1-min) 1000 mbar (hPa) |
The 1934 Atlantic hurricane season ran through the summer and the first half of fall in 1934. The 1934 season was fairly quiet. However, it was a continuation of deadly seasons that had been going on since 1928.
A June hurricane carved an erratic path across Central America and the Gulf of Mexico, causing catastrophic flooding in Central America that killed 1,000-3,000 people.
Elsewhere, a tropical storm formed and existed entirely during the month of May, striking Florida and South Carolina and causing $155,000 in damage. A Category 1 hurricane passed over north Florida as a tropical storm and made landfall in central Texas, causing 11 casualties and $1–2 million in damage. Another Category 1 grazed Galveston. The extratropical remnant of a hurricane moved up the US East Coast, bringing hurricane-force winds.
The first hurricane of the season carved an erratic path through Central America and the Gulf of Mexico, causing catastrophic flooding that killed thousands. It formed in the Gulf of Honduras in early June and slowly moved north and then west into Belize. Over the next four days, it made a slow loop over the same general region of Central America. It went down through Guatemala and El Salvador and then back north into Honduras and the western Caribbean. Still hugging the coast, it strengthened into a hurricane, making landfall north of Majahual, Mexico on the Yucatan Peninsula. It weakened back to a storm as it began to move west across the northern part of the peninsula and into the Bay of Campeche. The storm slowed down further, making a tight (and rare second) counterclockwise loop then turning northward and gaining speed. It regained hurricane status, making landfall in Louisiana at Point au Fer Island on the east end of Atchafalaya Bay. The scale of the destruction in Central America was immense. As many as 3,000 people died in the catastrophic floods. Many places saw in excess of two feet of rain in just 72 hours. Some towns essentially ceased to exist. In Ocotepeque in western Honduras, only the church remained standing after the passage of the storm and the ensuing torrent. The region would not see destruction on this scale until Hurricane Fifi in 1974. Six were killed in Louisiana and over $2.5 million in damages were reported. The storm re-curved inland to the northeast and became extratropical over West Virginia.
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Wikipedia