 Surface weather analysis of the hurricane over Charleston on July 14 | |
| Meteorological history | |
|---|---|
| Formed | July 11, 1916 |
| Dissipated | July 15, 1916 |
| Category 3 major hurricane | |
| 1-minute sustained (SSHWS/NWS) | |
| Highest winds | 115 mph (185 km/h) |
| Lowest pressure | 960 mbar (hPa); 28.35 inHg (Lowest analyzed[nb 1]) |
| Overall effects | |
| Fatalities | ≥84 total |
| Damage | $22 million (1916 USD) |
| Areas affected | |
Part of the 1916 Atlantic hurricane season | |
The 1916 Charleston hurricane was a tropical cyclone that impacted parts of the Southeastern United States in July 1916. Torrential rainfall associated with the storm as it moved inland led to the Great Flood of 1916: a prolific and destructive flood event affecting portions of the southern Blue Ridge Mountains. This flood accounted for most of the damage and fatalities associated with the hurricane; most of these occurred in North Carolina. The hurricane was first detected as a tropical storm 560 mi (900 km) east of Miami, Florida on July 11. It took an unusually straightforward path towards the Carolinas and strengthened into a hurricane on July 12. The storm's peak sustained winds of 115 mph (185 km/h)—equivalent to a modern-day Category 3 hurricane on the Saffir–Simpson scale—were attained on July 13. It made landfall near Charleston, South Carolina, the next morning, and weakened as it continued inland before losing its tropical cyclone status on July 15 over western North Carolina.
The swath of the hurricane's wind impacts in South Carolina was tightly concentrated around the hurricane's center due to its small size at landfall. The damage in Charleston was widespread but not severe, with most of the damage limited to the downed trees, minor roof and water damage to homes, and shipping damage. Crop damage was severe elsewhere along the coast and farther inland, with a 75–90 percent loss of crops reported north of Charleston along the Santee River. Although the hurricane's winds had tapered off by the time the storm reached North Carolina, the combination of orographic lift and saturated soils induced by an earlier hurricane led to copious rainfall and record-breaking river flooding that began in the southern Blue Ridge Mountains and continued downstream on both sides of the Appalachians. The French Broad River nearly doubled its previous stage record at Asheville, North Carolina, where the floods destroyed numerous buildings. Widespread damage was also wrought to crops, railways, and other infrastructure in the region by the flood-widened rivers. The flooding killed at least 80 people and caused approximately $21 million in damage.
- ^ "Atlantic hurricane best track (HURDAT version 2)" (Database). United States National Hurricane Center. April 5, 2023. Retrieved November 16, 2024.
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
Cite error: There are <ref group=nb> tags on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=nb}} template (see the help page).