 Radar image of Hurricane Flora | |
| Meteorological history | |
|---|---|
| Formed | September 26, 1963 |
| Extratropical | October 12, 1963 |
| Dissipated | October 13, 1963 |
| Category 4 major hurricane | |
| 1-minute sustained (SSHWS/NWS) | |
| Highest winds | 150 mph (240 km/h) |
| Lowest pressure | 933 mbar (hPa); 27.55 inHg |
| Overall effects | |
| Fatalities | 7,193 (Fifth-deadliest Atlantic hurricane on record) |
| Damage | $773 million (1963 USD) |
| Areas affected | Northern South America, Lesser Antilles, Greater Antilles, Lucayan Archipelago, Bermuda, Eastern Canada |
| IBTrACS | |
Part of the 1963 Atlantic hurricane season | |
Hurricane Flora is among the deadliest Atlantic hurricanes in recorded history, with a death total of at least 7,193. The seventh tropical storm and sixth hurricane of the 1963 Atlantic hurricane season, Flora developed from a disturbance in the Intertropical Convergence Zone on September 26 while located 755 miles (1,215 km) southwest of the Cape Verde islands. After remaining a weak depression for several days, it rapidly organized on September 29 to attain tropical storm status. Flora continued to strengthen, reaching Category 3 hurricane status after moving through the Windward Islands and passing over Tobago, and it reached maximum sustained winds of 145 miles per hour (233 km/h) in the Caribbean.
The storm struck southwestern Haiti near peak intensity, turned to the west, and drifted over Cuba for four days before turning to the northeast. Flora passed over the Bahamas and accelerated northeastward, becoming an extratropical cyclone on October 12. Due to its slow movement across Cuba, Flora is the wettest known tropical cyclone for Cuba, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic.[1] The significant casualties caused by Flora were the most for a tropical cyclone in the Atlantic Basin since the 1900 Galveston Hurricane.[2]
- ^ Roth, David M; Hydrometeorological Prediction Center (2008). Hurricane Flora — September 29 – October 8, 1963. Retrieved June 9, 2012.
- ^ Dunn, Gordon E; Moore, Paul L; Clark Gilbert B; Frank, Neil L; Hill, Elbert C; Kraft, Raymond H; Sugg, Arnold L (1964). "The Hurricane Season of 1963" (PDF). Monthly Weather Review. 92 (3). American Meteorological Society: 136. Bibcode:1964MWRv...92..128D. doi:10.1175/1520-0493-92.3.128 (inactive November 1, 2024). ISSN 0027-0644. Archived (PDF) from the original on February 5, 2012. Retrieved May 13, 2012.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of November 2024 (link)