1923 Atlantic hurricane season | |
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![]() Season summary map | |
Seasonal boundaries | |
First system formed | June 19, 1923 |
Last system dissipated | October 26, 1923 |
Strongest storm | |
Name | Five |
• Maximum winds | 120 mph (195 km/h) (1-minute sustained) |
• Lowest pressure | 965 mbar (hPa; 28.5 inHg) |
Seasonal statistics | |
Total depressions | 11 |
Total storms | 9 |
Hurricanes | 4 |
Major hurricanes (Cat. 3+) | 1 |
Total fatalities | 15 |
Total damage | > $1.335 million (1923 USD) |
Related articles | |
The 1923 Atlantic hurricane season featured 11 tropical cyclones, 9 of which intensified into tropical storms, the most since 1916. Four of the tropical storms intensified into hurricanes, one of which reached major hurricane intensity—Category 3 or higher on the modern-day Saffir–Simpson hurricane wind scale.[1] No tropical storms or hurricanes formed in or entered the Caribbean Sea.[2] The first known system, a tropical depression, formed on June 19, while the last known system, a tropical storm, transitioned into an extratropical cyclone on October 26. A total of Additionally, an October tropical depression was previously recognized as a tropical storm until reanalysis in 2009, while the first and third tropical storms were added to the Atlantic hurricane database that year. The sixth, seven, and eight storms as well as the October tropical depression existed simultaneously on October 16.
Four tropical cyclones made landfall in the United States during 1923, with three striking the Gulf Coast of the United States and the other hitting Massachusetts. The first of the four, which struck Louisiana in June, mostly produced excessive rainfall along the Gulf Coast and parts of the East Coast. A storm which formed in the eastern Pacific basin around October 12 struck Louisiana as a Category 1 hurricane on October 16. The system caused some damage to coastal areas, especially between New Orleans, Louisiana, and Pensacola, Florida. Just two days later, a tropical storm also struck Louisiana; it caused less damage, though four people died after a ship capsized in Perdido Bay. On October 19, a cyclone struck Massachusetts, but produced mostly beneficial rainfall in New England. The fifth system and the October tropical depression caused significant impact as extratropical cyclones. The former left at least 9 deaths and about $300,000 (1923 USD) in damage in Atlantic Canada, while the latter was attributed to 2 fatalities and more than $1 million in damage along the East Coast of the United States.
The season's activity was reflected with an accumulated cyclone energy (ACE) rating of 49 units,[1] well below the 1921–1930 average of 76.6.[3] ACE is a metric used to express the energy used by a tropical cyclone during its lifetime. Therefore, a storm with a longer duration will have high values of ACE. It is only calculated at six-hour increments in which specific tropical and subtropical systems are either at or above sustained wind speeds of 39 mph (63 km/h), which is the threshold for tropical storm intensity. Thus, tropical depressions are not included here.[1]