The List of Texas hurricanes from 1900 to 1949 encompasses 47 tropical cyclones that affected the U.S. state of Texas. The season with the most storms to affect the state was the 1933 Atlantic hurricane season, when five storms affected Texas. Major storms during this period include the 1900 and 1915 Galveston hurricanes, the former which killed 8,000 to 12,000 people. Also one to merit mention was the 1943 Surprise Hurricane, when the weather bureau's information was censored.
The first storm of 1931 made landfall in the Galveston area as a tropical storm. [41]
In 1932, the 1932 Freeport hurricane formed August 11 in the southern Gulf of Mexico near the Yucatán Peninsula and slammed into the upper Texas coast near Freeport, Texas as a very compact Category 4 hurricane two days later. As the storm moved over the Gulf of Mexico, it intensified from a Category 1 to a Category 4 with winds estimated at 140 mph and an estimated central pressure of 942 millibars in less than one day. The eye crossed the coast about 10 p.m. on August 13, slashing a 30- to 40-mile wide path of destruction across Brazoria County, Texas. Official warning for the storm came just 4 hours prior to landfall, and many people trying to evacuate inland had to abandon their cars in high winds and heavy rains. The 1932 hurricane retained its strength miles from the coast and killed 40 people. The greatest single toll for any town was 7 in West Columbia, Texas, where sustained winds over 100 mph flattened homes. Two neighborhoods that had been constructed for oil industry workers there were wiped clean. Freeport, Angleton and Galveston suffered extensive wind damage, and the inland towns of Brazoria, West Columbia, Damon and Needville, all in the path of the eye, were also devastated. Damage estimates topped $7 million in 1932 U.S. dollars. [42]
The Texas area was alive with activity in 1933, with the second storm making landfall in Mexico after threatening Texas; the fourth storm making landfall near Matagorda Bay in Texas as a 45 mph (70 km/h) tropical storm on July 23. The fifth storm made landfall near Brownsville, Texas on August 5 as a strong tropical storm. The storm produced strong winds and high tides along the coast of Texas, while heavy rains in south Texas and northern Mexico caused heavy damage. High tides from the storm covered parts of South Padre Island. The tenth storm threatened Texas, causing the issuance of tropical storm warnings for portions of the southern Texas coastline. The eleventh storm made landfall just north of Brownsville early on September 5, killing 179 people and causing $28 million in damage. [43] [44] [45]
In 1934, the third storm was 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. The fifth storm was another Category 1 hurricane that grazed Galveston. [46]
The third storm of the 1936 season caused severe crop damage was reported in San Patricio and Nueces Counties. In all, the hurricane caused $550,000 (1936 USD) in damage, primarily to oil refinery property, though no deaths or injuries were reported. The fourteenth storm of the season made landfall near Brownsville. [47]
The third and fifth storms of 1938 made landfall in the state. [48]
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The following is a list of hurricanes with known deaths in the state.
Name | Year | Number of deaths |
---|---|---|
Galveston | 1900 | ~8,000 |
Galveston | 1915 | 275 |
Unnamed | 1933 | 179 |
Velasco | 1909 | 41 |
Freeport | 1932 | 40 |
Texas | 1916 | 20 |
Surprise | 1943 | 19 |
Unnamed | 1934 | 11 |
Unnamed | 1942 | 8 |
Unnamed | 1912 | 6 |
Unnamed | 1941 | 4 |
Unnamed | 1945 | 3 |
Unnamed | 1949 | 2 |
Unnamed | 1947 | 1 |
Unnamed | 1940 | 1 |
Unnamed | 1913 | 1 |