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The 1969 Atlantic hurricane season officially began on June 1, 1969, and lasted until November 30, 1969. These dates conventionally delimit the period of each year when most tropical cyclones form in the Atlantic basin. The season was among the most active on record, with 18 tropical cyclones, 12 of which reached hurricane status. Despite the high activity, most of the storms either stayed at sea or made landfall with minimal strength.
The most notable storm of the season was Hurricane Camille, the seventh-strongest storm recorded in the Atlantic basin and the second-strongest to make landfall in the United States. Camille made landfall near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi as a Category 5 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale, killing 256 and causing $1.4 billion ($9.2 billion in 2005 dollars) in property damage.
Other notable storms include Hurricane Francelia, which caused serious flooding in Belize that killed 100; Hurricane Inga, which lasted almost 25 days and was at the time the second longest-lasting hurricane; and Hurricane Martha, which caused flooding and landslides in Costa Rica and Panama.
[edit] Records
The 1969 season once held the record for the most hurricanes (12 in all) to form than in any other year in the Atlantic basin. This record was broken in the 2005 season by Hurricane Wilma, with a season total of 15 hurricanes. Meteorologists were just beginning to understand the traits of tropical and subtropical storms; as a result, a large number of the eighteen cyclones that formed in 1969 went unnamed. In addition, many of the storms were dubbed hurricanes after the fact.
[edit] Storms
[edit] Tropical Depression Seven
A tropical depression formed off the Yucatan Peninsula on June 7. The depression moved north reaching western Cuba on June 8.[1]As TD-7 moved towards Florida, small-craft warnings were issued for the southern coast.[2] Tropical Depression Seven made landfall in Florida on June 9. It dissipated the same day. The depression left two to three inches of rain in southern Cuba and Radio Havana warned of a flash flood.[2] Gusts of 40 mph and 15-25 mph sustained winds were also reported in Cuba.[3] Damage was catastrophic in Jamaica with landslides, flooding, broken coummunciation lines, cancellation of its railway service and evacuating scores of adults and children from their homes.[4]
The Jamaica Railway Corporation's trains were disrupted by landslides blocking the tracks from Spanish Town to Port Antonio and floodwaters blocking a bridge in Gregory Park. The Kingston- Montego Bay train was disrupted by the flooded bridge. A diesel tram also couldn't pass the bridge, so both trains were stuck at Richmond.[4] The Montego Bay - Kingston train did not reach Kingston due to landslides.
The Jamaica Telephone Company reported troubles due to waterlogged telephone lines. Schools and colleges in the Corporate Area suspended classes and motorists had troubles going around due to waterlogged, also disrupting the Jamaican Omnibus Service's road schedules. Correspondents from Kingston's newspaper, The Gleaner, reported heavy rains which disrupted roads, washed away livestock and destroyed cultivations. The Jamaican Public Works Department expected clearance of most of the blocked roads by June 11.[4]
On June 9, the Church Welfare Organization of the West Indies Junior Seventh Day Adventists set out food, money and blankets to victims of Tropical Depression Seven.[4]
[edit] Tropical Storm Anna
Tropical Storm Anna began from a tropical wave near the Cape Verde islands on July 25. After 2 days it became a tropical storm, and while conditions appeared favorable for Anna to become a hurricane, a large upper-level cyclone stopped Anna from strengthening past its peak of 70 mph. It weakened to a tropical depression on July 31, but on August 3, while moving northeastward out to sea, it re-strengthened to a 65 mph tropical storm with more favorable conditions. Later that day, it reached cooler waters and became extratropical.
[edit] Hurricane Blanche
A tropical wave that moved rapidly through the Atlantic organized to a tropical depression on August 11 northeast of the Bahamas. It rapidly organized, becoming a hurricane by nightfall, but as it moved rapidly northeastward, cooler waters on the 12th caused Blanche to become extratropical.
[edit] Hurricane Camille
- Main article: Hurricane Camille
Hurricane Camille began its life on August 14 near Grand Cayman. It hit western Cuba as a 115 mph hurricane, and after weakening to a 100 mph hurricane it again strengthened rapidly in the Gulf of Mexico, this time to a 190 mph category 5 hurricane. It hit Bay St. Louis, Mississippi on the 19th, and weakened rapidly over land. The depression brought torrential rain over the Ohio Valley. It moved out to sea, strengthening to a tropical storm before dissipating on the 22nd. Hurricane Camille was one of three category 5 hurricanes to strike the U.S. (the other two being the 1935 Labor Day Hurricane and Hurricane Andrew of 1992).
[edit] Hurricane Debbie
A westward-moving tropical wave became a tropical depression on August 14, midway between the Lesser Antilles and the coast of Africa. It reached tropical storm strength the next day, and hurricane strength a day later. Hurricane Debbie passed to the north of the islands, but did manage to become a Category 3 hurricane on the 18th. Over the next 3 days, silver iodide was used in a seeding experiment to weaken the hurricane. While Hurricane Debbie's intensity fluctuated greatly over those days, it is not confirmed whether the rapid weakening is due to the seeding or due to other forces. Regardless, Debbie raced to the north after its peak of 120 mph. It passed southeast of Newfoundland on the 24th, and lost its low level circulation on the 25th near Greenland.
[edit] Tropical Storm Eve
A strong, stationary cold front developed convection via convergence between the cool air and the warm waters, from which a tropical depression formed on August 25 100 miles east of Jacksonville, Florida. The next day, it reached its peak of 60 mph winds, but the cooler air to the north caused Eve to dissipate on the 27th.
[edit] Hurricane Francelia
- Main article: Hurricane Francelia (1969)
Hurricane Francelia began its life on August 29 from a tropical wave over the southern Lesser Antilles. It moved through the Caribbean, and ultimately hit Belize as a Category 2 hurricane. It rapidly dissipated over Central America, causing around 100 deaths.
[edit] Hurricane Gerda
A westward moving tropical wave organized enough on September 6 over the Bahamas to become a tropical depression. After 2 days of moving through Florida and moving back offshore, the depression began to strengthen, reaching tropical storm intensity on the 8th. Gerda rapidly intensified as well as moving rapidly northeastward, reaching hurricane strenghth that night and her peak of 130 mph the following day east of New Jersey. On the 10th it made landfall near Eastport, Maine, but became extratropical over Labrador later that day.
[edit] Hurricane Holly
The precursor to Hurricane Holly was a tropical wave that formed on September 14. It intensified at a good pace, reaching storm strength on the 15th and hurricane strength in the evening of the 15th. While conditions initially seemed favorable with little shear, Holly never had well-defined upper-level outflow. An upper tropospheric trough weakened Holly to a tropical depression prior to reaching the Windward Islands. Holly dissipated on the 21st in the eastern Caribbean Sea.
[edit] Tropical Depression Twenty-Eight
A low-level center formed off of the western coast of Cuba on September 19. The depression made landfall on June 21 between Panama City, Florida and Port St. Joe. A high-pressure ridge blocked the system's movement, moving it to the east. By September 23, the low pressure system became a low pressure trough. Upper-level wind shear moved the circulation to the east-northeast and moved into the Atlantic Ocean the next day.[1]
Rainfall peaked at 23.4 inches in Havana, Florida, with 1-15 inches throughout the rest of the state. Both Alabama and Georgia reported peak rains of 7 inches. Tennessee, the Carolinas and Virginia all reported peak rains of 1-3 inches.[5]
[edit] Hurricane Inga
The tropical depression that became Hurricane Inga formed on September 20, east of the Lesser Antilles. It reached tropical storm strength the next day, but unfavorable conditions weakened Inga to a tropical depression. Those conditions would persist throughout her life. On the 28th, it restrengthened to a tropical storm, and Inga became a hurricane two days later. It executed a small loop south of Bermuda, and as it headed northeastward, it reached Category 3 strength. The adverse conditions it found earlier weakened it, and a cold low to the east forced Inga southward. Inga would last until October 15, wandering aimlessly around the central Atlantic. Inga lasted for 25 days, making it the 4th longest-lasting tropical cyclone on record.
[edit] Hurricane Ten
A subtropical depression formed off the coast of North Carolina on September 21. It reached subtropical storm strength that night, and over the next couple of days, it reached hurricane strength while moving to the northeast. "Ten" dissipated on the 26th, 200 miles south of Newfoundland.
[edit] Tropical Storm Eleven
Tropical Storm Eleven developed from a subtropical depression southwest of the Azores on September 24. After a day of drifting west-southwest, it moved westward where it became a subtropical storm, and later a tropical storm. "Eleven" reached its 70 mph peak on the 27th while moving northward. It retained that intensity for two days, but on the 29th, it dissipated due to cool air and shear east of Newfoundland.
[edit] Subtropical Storm One
A cutoff low in the upper troposphere led to widespread showers and convection over the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea, forming three weather systems. The first became a tropical depression, but dissipated without amounting to anything. The second formed a subtropical depression on September 29, and the third formed Tropical Storm Jenny. The subtropical depression was a Subtropical cyclone, with its winds away from the center and the convection not very well organized. Unfavorable conditions didn't allow it to turn tropical, but it was able to become a 60 mph subtropical storm before cool air and shear weakened it to a depression prior to its Florida Panhandle landfall on October 1.
[edit] Tropical Storm Jenny
Tropical Storm Jenny formed from the same cutoff low that formed Subtropical Storm One. Jenny began as a tropical depression in the northwest Caribbean Sea, and after moving across Cuba, became a tropical storm just before its landfall between Fort Myers and Naples, Florida on October 2, bringing heavy rains. Jenny made it to the western Atlantic as a tropical depression, but increased ridging forced the storm over the already soaked Florida peninsula. It was unable to strengthen further, and Jenny dissipated on October 6 south of Louisiana.
[edit] Hurricane Kara
A cold core trough of low pressure over the western Atlantic Ocean warmed on the eastern end, becoming a tropical depression on October 7. The trough brought it northeastward, strengthening it to a tropical storm on the 9th. An upper level low formed to Kara's west, and when the two merged on the 11th, their motions became erratic. At this time it wasn't very tropical, but as it moved southward towards warm waters, it became more tropical, and became a hurricane on the 15th. Upper level westerlies forced it northeastward, and after reaching a peak of 100 mph, Kara became extratropical on the 19th.
[edit] Hurricane Laurie
A mid level circulation developed near Swan Island on October 15 from a westward-moving system, and on the 17th, a tropical depression was able to form in the western Caribbean Sea. The depression moved northwestward where favorable conditions allowed strengthening, but because the depression was not vertically stacked, it remained a depression. On the 19th after passing the Yucatán Peninsula, the depression was named Tropical Storm Laurie, and the next day, Hurricane Laurie. Hurricane watches were issued for a large portion of the Gulf coast, but when Laurie turned eastward and southeastward, they were dropped. Dry air entrained the system as the storm looped around, causing it to weaken to a tropical depression on the 24th. Laurie eventually made landfall on Mexico on the 27th as a weak depression, and dissipated that day.
[edit] Tropical Storm Sixteen
A subtropical depression formed west-southwest of the Azores on October 28. It moved northwestward, reaching tropical storm strength on the 29th, and after turing sharply east it reached its peak of 70 mph winds. "Sixteen" became extratropical on the 31st west of the Azores.
[edit] Hurricane Seventeen
A large extratropical storm over the North Atlantic formed a subtropical storm on October 31 south of Newfoundland. It moved southeast, gaining tropical characteristics and strength on the way. It reached hurricane strength on November 4, peaking as a minimal Category 1 storm while approaching the Azores, but weakened prior to passing through the islands. "Seventeen" lost its tropical characteristics on November 7.
[edit] Hurricane Martha
A cyclonic circulation persisted over the southwest Caribbean Sea in late November. Convection became more organized, and by November 21, it became a tropical storm. Martha quickly intensified, reaching 90 mph winds the next day, but the hurricane lost strength as it drifted southward. It reached the coast of Panama as a 70 mph tropical storm on the 24th, becoming the first tropical storm on record to hit the country. Martha dissipated over Panama on the 25th. The system caused heavy flooding and landslides over San José, Costa Rica, where 5 fatalities and $30 million in damage occurred.
Although the 'M' name has been used nearly every year to name storms in the Atlantic since 1990, this marked only the first time since naming began in 1950 that the 'M' name was used, and the only one until Marco in the 1990 season.
[edit] 1969 storm names
The following names were used for named storms that formed in the Atlantic basin in 1969. Names that were not assigned are marked in gray.
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- Holly
- Inga
- Jenny
- Kara
- Laurie
- Martha
- Netty (unused)
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- Orva (unused)
- Peggy (unused)
- Rhoda (unused)
- Sadie (unused)
- Tanya (unused)
- Virgy (unused)
- Wenda (unused)
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[edit] Retirement
- See also: List of retired Atlantic hurricanes
The name Camille was later retired.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ a b Atlantic Tropical Systems of 1969
- ^ a b Tropical Depression Growing
- ^ Tropical Depression Seeks Strength
- ^ a b c d Spawned by a Tropical Depression In the Caribbean...
- ^ Tropical Depression - September 20-25, 1969
[edit] External links
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Tropical cyclones of the 1969 Atlantic hurricane season
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