Storms of 1959

1959 A | Cindy | Gracie | Hannah

When first tropical depression that would become the 1st hurricane of 1959 (althrough unnamed at the time) was 560 kilometres west of Miami on July 17 and 18, tornadoes were reported at Miami and near Jupiter. These tornadoes caused an estimated $1,500,00 in damages to the Miami area. There were also many injuries to residents in this area but no deaths were reported.

The tropical cyclone moved across Florida during the night of June 17 through July 18, and brought with it heavy rains and gusty winds. Tides 75 centimetres above normal eroded beaches from Naples to St. Petersburg to the extent of $156,000. After passing off the Florida east coast and into the Atlantic, the storm deepened steadily.

The hurricane struck the Maritime Provinces in the vicinity of the Northumberland Straits. The papers reported that 33 lives were claimed as a result of this unnamed hurricane, most of those killed were lobster fishermen. There was also considerable property damage.

The fourth tropical cyclone of the season was Cindy. The circulation that produced the storm was first observed off the upper east coast of Florida on July 5. On July 6, Cindy developed and intensified and began moving northwestward. It attained hurricane force only slightly before reaching the coastline north of Charleston, South Carolina, on July 8. The storm curved northward through South Carolina on the 9^th and then turned northeastward reaching the southern tip of Chesapeake Bay by late afternoon on the July 10. As the remnants of the circulation moved back into the Atlantic, noticeable re-intensification occurred. Accelerating towards the northeast, Cindy passed over Cape Cod on July 11.

Cindy was credited to one death in South Carolina, when a man was killed as result of his car hitting a fallen tree.

Hurricane Gracie was a major hurricane that was very difficult to forecast. Gracie developed and intensified suddenly to the northeast of the Bahamas. Between September 22 and 27, Gracie’s movement was erratic, and during this time it moved, at one time or another, in every direction of the compass. This made it extremely difficult to forecast in detail. On September 27, however, Gracie began to move steadily toward the west-northwest and passed inland on the South Carolina coast near Beaufort around noon on the 29^th.

Several tornadoes accompanied the dying storm through Virginia and twelve people were killed near Charlottesville. Ten others lost their lives in South Carolina and Georgia, mainly due to storm induced automobile accidents, falling trees and live wires. Damage was estimated at $14,000,000 with about half occurring in Charleston, South Carolina.

Hurricane Hannah, which lasted from September 27 to October 8, spent its entire life over the open ocean and was never a serious threat to any land area. By the 13^th, Hannah reached maximum winds of 200 kilometres per hour (108 knots). The hurricane maintained about the same intensity for the next three days and then it began to lose strength.