Hurricane Carmen

Hurricane Carmen

Category 4 major hurricane (SSHWS/NWS)
Hurricane Carmen as a Category 4 storm on September 1
Formed	August 29, 1974
Dissipated	September 10, 1974
Highest winds	1-minute sustained: 150 mph (240 km/h)
Lowest pressure	928 mbar (hPa); 27.4 inHg
Fatalities	8 total
Damage	$162 million (1974 USD)
Areas affected	Lesser Antilles, Puerto Rico, Hispaniola, Jamaica, Yucatán Peninsula, Belize, Louisiana, Texas
Part of the 1974 Atlantic hurricane season

Hurricane Carmen was the most intense tropical cyclone of the 1974 Atlantic hurricane season. A destructive and widespread storm, Carmen originated as a tropical disturbance that emerged from Africa toward the end of August. The disturbance traveled westward, spawning a tropical depression east of the Lesser Antilles on August 29. The storm moved through the Caribbean Sea, and in an environment conducive to intensification, it quickly strengthened to its initial peak intensity as a Category 4 hurricane on the Saffir–Simpson Hurricane Scale. Carmen moved ashore on the Yucatán Peninsula, where, despite striking a sparsely populated region, it caused significant crop damage and killed several people. Before the storm's arrival, officials had set up several evacuation centers, and many residents had moved to higher ground.

Upon entering the Gulf of Mexico, Carmen turned northward and re-intensified as it approached the United States. Initially threatening the major city of New Orleans, it veered westward and made landfall on the marshland of southern Louisiana, eventually dissipating over eastern Texas on September 10. Tropical cyclone watches and warnings had been issued for the storm, and approximately 100,000 residents left their homes and sought shelter. Damage was lighter than first feared, but the sugar industry suffered substantial losses. Throughout its course, the hurricane killed 8 people and caused $162 million in damage. Due to the severity of the storm, the name Carmen was retired from the list of Atlantic tropical cyclone names.

The origins of Hurricane Carmen can be traced to a weather disturbance over Africa during the middle of August 1974. The disturbance moved slowly westward with little convective activity initially, although upon entering the Atlantic Ocean, it spawned a tropical wave within the Intertropical Convergence Zone. The wave had intensified and broadened by August 25, and it eventually split into two components, the northernmost of which consolidated into an organized storm system. Moving westward, the system developed into a tropical depression on August 29, more than 200 mi (320 km) east of Guadeloupe. Due to favorable outflow from an anticyclone nearby, the depression gradually strengthened as it moved through the Lesser Antilles. It attained tropical storm status on August 30, south of Puerto Rico, and was named Carmen by the National Hurricane Center. At first, the storm's proximity to Hispaniola prevented further strengthening, but by August 31, it had managed to intensify into a Category 1 hurricane on the Saffir–Simpson Hurricane Scale. As Carmen passed south of Jamaica, an eye feature briefly appeared.