Hurricane Isbell
| Category 3 major hurricane (SSHWS/NWS) | |
Surface weather analysis of the hurricane on October 15, 1964
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| Formed | October 8, 1964 |
|---|---|
| Dissipated | October 19, 1964 |
| (Extratropical after October 16) | |
| Highest winds |
1-minute sustained: 125 mph (205 km/h) |
| Lowest pressure | 964 mbar (hPa); 28.47 inHg |
| Fatalities | 7 total |
| Damage | $30 million (1964 USD) |
| Areas affected | |
| Part of the 1964 Atlantic hurricane season | |
Hurricane Isbell was the final hurricane to affect the United States during the 1964 season. The eleventh tropical storm and sixth hurricane of that season, Isbell developed from a dissipating cold front in the southwestern Caribbean Sea on October 8. The depression initially remained disorganized as it track northwestward, but strengthened into Tropical Storm Isbell on October 13. Re-curving northeastward, Isbell quickly strengthened further and reached hurricane status by later that day. Late on October 13, Isbell made landfall in the Pinar del Río Province of Cuba. The storm continued strengthening and peaked as a Category 3 hurricane on the following day. Isbell moved northeastward and made landfall near Everglades, Florida, late on October 14. After reaching the Atlantic on the following day, the storm began to weaken. Isbell turned northward and continued weakening, before transitioning to an extratropical cyclone while located just offshore eastern North Carolina on October 16.
The storm produced strong winds throughout western Cuba. Hundreds of homes were destroyed, as were several tobacco warehouses. There was at least $20 million in damage and four deaths in Cuba, three of them caused by collapsing houses in the Guane area. Several tornadoes in Florida caused significant damage. Throughout the state, 1 house was destroyed, 33 were severely damaged, and 631 suffered minor impact. Additionally, 66 trailers were destroyed and 88 were inflicted with major damage. Three deaths occurred in the state, one due to a heart attack and two from drowning in Florida Keys when their shrimp boat sank. Because the storm weakened considerably, impact in North Carolina was generally minor. The storm also spawned at least six tornadoes in the state, which demolished trailers and unroofed homes and other buildings in several communities. Damage throughout the United States totaled $10 million.
Hurricane Isbell was first identified as a weak tropical disturbance on October 7, 1964 over the western Caribbean Sea. Situated to the south of a diffuse trough, the system remained weak and relatively disorganized as it moved generally northwest near Honduras and Nicaragua. Despite the presence of an upper-level anticyclone, which promotes favorable outflow for tropical cyclones and aids in tropical cyclogenesis, a lack of distinct low-level inflow inhibited intensification. Additionally, an area of warm mid-tropospheric air was present within the cyclone. Though a disheveled system, it is analyzed to have become a tropical depression by 12:00 UTC on October 8. The following day, the depression skirted the eastern coast of Honduras. Operationally, it was not until October 10 that the Weather Bureau initiated advisories on the depression. On that date, a weather reconnaissance mission into the system found a weak low-level circulation with a barometric pressure of 1007.3 mb (hPa; 29.75 inHg) and winds of 20–30 mph (30–45 km/h) in squalls. Throughout October 11 and 12, the depression slowly executed a tight cyclonic loop over the northwestern Caribbean Sea. It finally organized into a tropical storm and was given the name Isbell by 00:00 UTC on October 13 after completing the loop and acquiring a north-northeast trajectory.
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