1932 Atlantic hurricane season

1932 Atlantic hurricane season
Season summary map
Seasonal boundaries
First system formedMay 5, 1932
Last system dissipatedNovember 13, 1932
Strongest storm
Name"Cuba"
 • Maximum winds175 mph (280 km/h)
(1-minute sustained)
 • Lowest pressure915 mbar (hPa; 27.02 inHg)
Seasonal statistics
Total storms15
Hurricanes6
Major hurricanes
(Cat. 3+)
4
Total fatalities≥3,472 direct, 1 indirect
Total damage$87.57 million (1932 USD)
Related articles
Atlantic hurricane seasons
1930, 1931, 1932, 1933, 1934

The 1932 Atlantic hurricane season featured several powerful storms, including the Cuba hurricane, which remains the deadliest tropical cyclone in the history of Cuba and among the most intense to strike the island nation. It was a relatively active season, with fifteen known storms, six hurricanes, and four major hurricanes.[nb 1] However, tropical cyclones that did not approach populated areas or shipping lanes, especially if they were relatively weak and of short duration, may have remained undetected. Because technologies such as satellite monitoring were not available until the 1960s, historical data on tropical cyclones from this period are often not reliable. The Atlantic hurricane reanalysis project discovered four new tropical cyclones, all of which were tropical storms, that occurred during the year.[2] Two storms attained Category 5 intensity, the first known occurrence in which multiple Category 5 hurricanes formed in the same year. The season's first cyclone developed on May 5, while the last remaining system transitioned into an extratropical cyclone by November 13.

The strongest storm of the season was the Cuba hurricane, which heavily impacted portions of northern Colombia, the Netherlands Antilles, the Greater Antilles, and the Bahamas in November, leaving at least 3,144 fatalities and $44 million (1932 USD) in damage,[nb 2] the vast majority of which occurred in Cuba. In early September, the Bahamas hurricane devastated portions of the island nation as a Category 5 hurricane, resulting in at least 16 deaths. Another destructive storm was the Freeport hurricane, which caused 40 deaths and about $7.5 million in damage in Texas in August. The San Ciprian hurricane also wreaked havoc on the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, and the Dominican Republic in late September, with damage totaling approximately $35.8 million and the death toll reaching 272. Collectively, the tropical cyclones during the 1932 season caused around $87.57 million in damage and at least 3,473 fatalities.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference ACE was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Metadata was invoked but never defined (see the help page).


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