1930 Atlantic hurricane season

1930 Atlantic hurricane season
Season summary map
Seasonal boundaries
First system formedAugust 21, 1930
Last system dissipatedOctober 21, 1930
Strongest storm
Name"Dominican Republic"
 • Maximum winds155 mph (250 km/h)
(1-minute sustained)
 • Lowest pressure933 mbar (hPa; 27.55 inHg)
Seasonal statistics
Total storms3
Hurricanes2
Major hurricanes
(Cat. 3+)
2
Total fatalities2,000 – 8,000 total
Total damage$50 million (1930 USD)
Related articles
Atlantic hurricane seasons
1928, 1929, 1930, 1931, 1932

The 1930 Atlantic hurricane season was the second least active Atlantic hurricane season on record in terms of tropical storms formed, only behind 1914, with only three systems reaching tropical storm intensity. Of those three, two reached hurricane status, both of which also became major hurricanes, Category 3 or higher storms on the Saffir–Simpson hurricane wind scale.[1] The first system developed in the central Atlantic Ocean on August 21. Later that month, a second storm, the Dominican Republic hurricane, formed on August 29. It peaked as a Category 4 hurricane with winds of 155 mph (250 km/h). The third and final storm dissipated on October 21.

Due to the lack of systems that developed, only one tropical cyclone, the second hurricane, managed to make landfall during the season.[2] It severely impacted areas of the Greater Antilles, particularly the Dominican Republic, where an estimated 2,000 to 8,000 people died, before making subsequent landfalls on Cuba and the U.S. states of Florida and North Carolina, with less severe effects.

The season's activity was reflected with an accumulated cyclone energy (ACE) rating of 50,[1] 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]

  1. ^ a b c Atlantic basin Comparison of Original and Revised HURDAT. Hurricane Research Division; Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory (Report). Miami, Florida: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. June 2019. Retrieved August 23, 2021.
  2. ^ "Atlantic hurricane best track (HURDAT version 2)" (Database). United States National Hurricane Center. April 5, 2023. Retrieved July 22, 2024. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  3. ^ Christopher W. Landsea; et al. (February 1, 2012). "A Reanalysis of the 1921–30 Atlantic Hurricane Database" (PDF). Journal of Climate. 25 (3). Miami, Florida: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration: 869. Bibcode:2012JCli...25..865L. doi:10.1175/JCLI-D-11-00026.1. Retrieved September 6, 2021.