 Gordon near peak intensity off the coast of North Carolina on November 18 | |
| Meteorological history | |
|---|---|
| Formed | November 8, 1994 |
| Dissipated | November 21, 1994 |
| Category 1 hurricane | |
| 1-minute sustained (SSHWS/NWS) | |
| Highest winds | 85 mph (140 km/h) |
| Lowest pressure | 980 mbar (hPa); 28.94 inHg |
| Overall effects | |
| Fatalities | 1,152 |
| Damage | $594 million (1994 USD) |
| Areas affected | Central America, Cayman Islands, Jamaica, Hispaniola, Cuba, Lucayan Archipelago, Florida, Georgia, Mid-Atlantic states |
| IBTrACS | |
Part of the 1994 Atlantic hurricane season | |
Hurricane Gordon was an erratic, long-lived, and catastrophic late-season hurricane of the 1994 Atlantic hurricane season. The twelfth and final tropical cyclone of the season, Gordon formed as a tropical depression in the southwestern Caribbean on November 8. Without strengthening, the depression made landfall on Nicaragua. Later on November 10, the system began to strengthen as it tracked further from land, and it quickly strengthened into Tropical Storm Gordon, the seventh named storm that season. Gordon also made landfalls in Jamaica and Cuba while a minimal tropical storm. It entered the southwestern Atlantic while resembling a subtropical cyclone. By the time it entered the Gulf of Mexico, the storm was fully tropical again. Tropical Storm Gordon later crossed the Florida Keys, and turning to the northeast it made landfall in Fort Myers, Florida. Gordon strengthened after it re-entered the Atlantic Ocean, becoming a hurricane on November 17. It briefly threatened North Carolina while turning to the northwest, although it turned to the south and weakened. Gordon deteriorated into a tropical depression and struck Florida again at that intensity on November 20. It turned to the north and dissipated the next day over South Carolina.
Gordon first caused flooding in northern Costa Rica that destroyed 700 houses and caused $30 million in damage. There were six deaths in the country and an additional two deaths in neighboring Panama. Upon affecting Jamaica, the storm was responsible $11.8 million in damage and four deaths. Damage was heaviest in Haiti, after a prolonged southwesterly flow dropped 14 in (360 mm) of rainfall in a 24‑hour period. The rains resulted in extensive mudslides and flooding that disrupted transportation and damaged 10,800 houses, with another 3,500 destroyed. There were 1,122 deaths in the country, partially due to deforested hills, and damage was estimated at $50 million. In the neighboring Dominican Republic, there were five additional deaths, as well as flooding near its capital. In Cuba, Gordon caused $100 million in damage, and 5,906 houses were damaged or destroyed. Due to large-scale evacuations, there were only two deaths in the country. In Florida, the storm caused $400 million in damage (1994 USD, equivalent to about $700 million in 2023[1]), much of it agricultural, and there were eleven deaths, eight of them direct. Gordon later affected North Carolina with high waves, causing beach erosion and destroying five houses. Overall damage was $594 million due to Gordon (1994 USD, equivalent to about $900 million in 2023[1]).
International governments and agencies through the United Nations sent relief supplies and monetary assistance to Haiti, following Gordon's devastating impact there. American soldiers were already stationed in the country to restore the ousted Jean-Bertrand Aristide to the presidency. The troops helped in rescues and worked to restore a damaged road between Port-au-Prince and Jacmel. Despite the deaths and damage, the name was not retired following the season.
- ^ a b Johnston, Louis; Williamson, Samuel H. (2023). "What Was the U.S. GDP Then?". MeasuringWorth. Retrieved November 30, 2023. United States Gross Domestic Product deflator figures follow the MeasuringWorth series.