1909 Atlantic hurricane season

In mid-July, the fourth storm of the season hit Freeport, Texas, as a Category 3 hurricane, killing 41 people, and causing $2 million in damage.

In mid-September, the eighth storm of the season made landfall near Grand Isle, Louisiana, as a Category 3 hurricane, killing at least 350 people and causing $10 million in damage.

In mid-October, the eleventh storm of the season developed, and tracked across Cuba, the Florida Keys, and the Bahamas as a Category 3 hurricane.

Lastly, the final storm of the season struck eastern Jamaica and Hispaniola as a hurricane before transitioning into an extratropical cyclone northeast of the Bahamas.

[1] The former, the Grand Isle hurricane, was the most intense tropical cyclone of the season, peaking with maximum sustained winds of 120 mph (195 km/h) and a minimum barometric pressure of 952 mbar (28.1 inHg).

On June 18, it gradually turned towards the west, leading to the storm making landfall near Puerto Cabezas, Nicaragua, the following morning.

[7] Shortly before the hurricane made landfall near Brownsville, Texas, it attained its peak intensity as a modern-day Category 2 cyclone with winds of 100 mph (155 km/h).

[1] Upon making landfall, the hurricane brought a storm surge exceeding 5 ft (1.5 m), inundating low-lying coastal areas such as Padre Island.

[1] In Cuba, the storm brought rough seas, strong winds, and persistently heavy rainfall over a period of two days, inundating the streets of Batabanó with about 3 ft (0.91 m) of water.

Tracking northwestward, the system gradually intensified, attaining tropical storm status near the Cayman Islands later that day.

On August 7, the storm turned towards the west and reached its peak intensity just off the coast of the Yucatán Peninsula with winds of 45 mph (75 km/h) and a pressure of 1004 mbar (hPa; 29.65 inHg).

During the afternoon of August 10, the storm made its final landfall near Tampico, Tamaulipas, before rapidly dissipating over the mountainous terrain of Mexico later that day.

Once back over open water, the storm intensified into a Category 3 hurricane and moved across the northern tip of the Yucatán Peninsula.

Maintaining this intensity, the system made landfall in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas late on August 27 and rapidly dissipated the following afternoon.

Ships and weather maps indicate that a tropical depression developed from the low to the northwest of the western tip of Cuba at 00:00 UTC on August 22.

[2] The cyclone made landfall in northern Tamaulipas near the United States border early the following day, and promptly dissipated.

Early on August 9, the storm is estimated to have peaked with maximum sustained winds of 50 mph (85 km/h),[1] based on a minimum barometric pressure of 1,009 mbar (29.8 inHg) observed by a ship.

Moving inland, the system weakened to a tropical depression early on August 30 while just to the west of Lake Okeechobee, where it began curving northwestward.

The reintensification was short-lived, with the cyclone weakening to a tropical depression and dissipating about 120 mi (190 km) southeast of Charleston, South Carolina.

[1] The Grand Isle Hurricane of 1909 During early September, a tropical disturbance over the western Atlantic began to strengthen as it moved towards the Lesser Antilles.

Moving west-northwestward, the depression attained tropical storm status near Jamaica on September 15 and hurricane intensity the following day.

After briefly weakening due to its interaction with land, the storm re-intensified over the Gulf of Mexico, attaining winds of 120 mph (185 km/h), becoming the third major hurricane of the season.

[29] The states of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama sustained the most severe damage, especially from strong winds which covered a large area.

[25] Observations from a ship and weather maps indicate that a tropical depression developed near the north coast of Isla de la Juventud on September 24.

[31] The depression emerged into the Gulf of Mexico and failed to intensify further before making landfall near Naples, Florida late on September 25.

[1] Key West Hurricane of 1909 The storm was first detected in the Caribbean about 35 mi (55 km) northwest of Cartagena, Colombia, on October 6.

Thereafter, the system weakened quickly while crossing the northwestern Bahamas and the western Atlantic, falling to tropical storm intensity late on October 12.

The cities of Cayuco and La Fe in Pinar del Río Province were completely destroyed, while Guane experienced considerable devastation and every house in Puerto Esperanza suffered damage due to strong winds.

[36] In Miami, a number of structures were deroofed, while the newly built hotel suffered severe damage, but impact otherwise primarily limited to downed trees.

During the afternoon of November 12, the hurricane made landfall in northeastern Haiti with winds of 85 mph (140 km/h) before entering the Atlantic Ocean.