List of Texas hurricanes (1900–1943)

The List of Texas hurricanes from 1900 to 1943 encompasses 41 tropical cyclones that affected the U.S. state of Texas. The season with the most storms to affect the state was the 1933 Atlantic hurricane season, when five storms affected Texas. Major storms during this period include the 1900 and 1915 Galveston Hurricanes, the former which killed 8,000 to 12,000 people. Also one to mention merit was the 1943 Surprise Hurricane, when the weather bureau's information was censored and killing 19 people.

1900–1909

September 8, 1900: A long-lived tropical cyclone trekked across the Caribbean and moved over Cuba. On September 4, the Galveston office of the U.S. Weather Bureau began receiving warnings from the Bureau's central office in Washington, D.C., that a tropical storm had moved northward over Cuba. The Weather Bureau forecasters had little way of knowing where the storm exactly was, and referenced climatology, preferring a storm track towards the middle Gulf coast. Conditions in the Gulf of Mexico were ripe for further strengthening of the storm. The Gulf had seen little cloud cover for several weeks, and the seas were as warm as bathwater, according to one report. The hurricane moved west-northwest towards the Texas coast. The last train to reach Galveston left Houston on the morning of the September 8 at 9:45 a.m. It found the tracks washed out, and passengers were forced to transfer to a relief train on parallel tracks to complete their journey. Even then, debris on the track kept the train's progress at a crawl. As the hurricane neared, conditions in Texas detirierated, and residents just thought it was a thunderstorm. When the hurricane made landfall, it was of category four intensity. It destroyed the city of Galveston, and led to the rise of Houston. Although damage was significant across Galveston Island, the human toll was higher. The death toll is estimated to lie between 8,000-12,000. [ [http://www.aoml.noaa.gov/general/lib/lib1/nhclib/mwreviews/1900.pdf 1900 Monthly Weather Review] ] [ [http://www.noaa.gov/galveston1900/ NOAA retrospective on the Galveston Storm of 1900] ]

July 10, 1901 - The second storm of the 1901 season made landfall in Southeast Texas as a minimal tropical storm.cite web|author=United States Weather Bureau|year=1901|title=Monthly Weather Review|accessdate=2007-01-25|url=http://www.aoml.noaa.gov/hrd/hurdat/mwr_pdf/1901.pdf]

June 26, 1902 - The second storm of 1902 made landfall near Corpus Christi, Texas.cite web|author=E.B. Garriott|year=1902|title=1902 Monthly Weather Review|publisher=U.S. Weather Bureau|accessdate=2007-09-23|url=http://www.aoml.noaa.gov/hrd/hurdat/mwr_pdf/1902.pdf]

September 30, 1905 - The third tropical storm entered Texas as a tropical depression.cite web|author=Cleveland Abbe|year=1905|title=1905 Monthly Weather Review|publisher=U.S. Weather Bureau|accessdate=2007-09-25|url=http://www.aoml.noaa.gov/hrd/hurdat/mwr_pdf/1905.pdf]

July 31, 1908 - The fourth tropical storm of the 1908 season formed and made landfall in Texas.

September 18, 1908 - The seventh tropical storm of the 1908 season dissipated right off the Texas coast.cite web|author=E.B. Garriott|year=1907|title=September 1907 Forecasts and Warnings|publisher=U.S. Weather Bureau|accessdate=2007-10-01|url=http://www.aoml.noaa.gov/hrd/hurdat/mwr_pdf/1907.pdf]

June 29, 1909 - The second storm of 1909 hit Texas as a Category 2 hurricane near Bronwsville, while the fourth storm hit near Freeport, Texas on July 21 as a Category 3 hurricane; with a 10-foot (3-meter) storm surge. Damage totals came to $2 million (1909 dollars) and 41 people died.cite web|author=E.B. Garriot|year=1909|title=1909 Monthly Weather Review|publisher=U.S. Weather Bureau|accessdate=2007-10-01|url=http://www.aoml.noaa.gov/hrd/hurdat/mwr_pdf/1909.pdf]

August 24, 1909 - a hurricane slammed into the Mexico and Texas area. Point Isabel, Texas was completely underwater. No one perished though.

1910s

August 30, 1910 - The second storm of the 1910 season made landfall at Padre Island, Texas. Damage was minimal.cite web|author=Edward B. Howie|year=1910|title=1910 Monthly Weather Review|publisher=U.S. Weather Bureau|accessdate=2007-09-28|url=http://www.aoml.noaa.gov/hrd/hurdat/mwr_pdf/1910.pdf]

September 15, 1910 - The first hurricane of the 1910 season slapped Texas as a hurricane.

October 16, 1912 - The sixth storm of 1912 made its second landfall just south of Corpus Christi, Texas as a Category 1. 15 people died and damage came to over $28,000.cite web|author=United States Weather Bureau|year=1912|title=1912 Monthly Weather Review|publisher=U.S. Weather Bureau|accessdate=2007-10-01|url=http://www.aoml.noaa.gov/hrd/hurdat/mwr_pdf/1912.pdf]

June 27, 1913 - The first storm of the 1913 season was Category 2 hurricane that struck Cancún, Mexico and Padre Island, Texas. This storm caused major flooding and killed one person.cite web|author=United States Weather Bureau|year=1913|title=1913 Monthly Weather Review|publisher=U.S. Weather Bureau|accessdate=2007-10-01|url=http://www.aoml.noaa.gov/hrd/hurdat/mwr_pdf/1913.pdf]

September 19, 1914 - The remnants of a system affected Texas near the Louisiana border.cite web|author=United States Weather Bureau|year=1914|title=1914 Monthly Weather Review|publisher=U.S. Weather Bureau|accessdate=2007-10-01|url=http://www.aoml.noaa.gov/hrd/hurdat/mwr_pdf/1914.pdf]

August 17, 1915 - The second storm of the year was first observed in the eastern Tropical Atlantic on August 5. It tracked westward, intensifying into a hurricane on the 9th before crossing the Lesser Antilles on the 10th. As the hurricane continued through the Caribbean Sea, it passed just south of Puerto Rico and Hispaniola before crossing Jamaica on the 13th where it caused heavy damage. While south of Cuba it became a major hurricane, and it brushed the western tip of the country on the 15th. Over the Gulf of Mexico the hurricane continued to strengthen, and reached a peak of 140 mph winds. Just before landfall it weakened, and the hurricane hit Galveston, Texas on the 17th as a 120 mph hurricane. It turned northward, became extratropical on the 18th, and dissipated on the 23rd. Just fifteen years after the 1900 Galveston Hurricane, this hurricane damaged the already hurting Texas economy. Throughout its path, it caused a total of $50 million in damage (1915 USD, $921 million in 2005 USD) and 400 casualties.cite web|author=United States Weather Bureau|year=1915|title=1915 Monthly Weather Review|publisher=U.S. Weather Bureau|accessdate=2007-10-01|url=http://www.aoml.noaa.gov/hrd/hurdat/mwr_pdf/1915.pdf]

August 18, 1916 - The 1916 Texas hurricane struck Texas on August 18 after striking Martinique. The storm caused over $28 million in damage, 1.6 million dollars in damage.cite web|author=United States Weather Bureau|year=1916|title=1916 Monthly Weather Review|publisher=U.S. Weather Bureau|accessdate=2007-10-01|url=http://www.aoml.noaa.gov/hrd/hurdat/mwr_pdf/1916.pdf]

August 6, 1918 - The remnants of the first storm of 1918 affected Texas after making landfall in Louisiana.cite web|author=United States Weather Bureau|year=1918|title=1918 Monthly Weather Review|publisher=U.S. Weather Bureau|accessdate=2007-10-01|url=http://www.aoml.noaa.gov/hrd/hurdat/mwr_pdf/1918.pdf]

September 14, 1919 - The second storm of the 1919 season made landfall just south of Corpus Christi, Texas as a Category 1.cite web|author=United States Weather Bureau|year=1919|title=1919 Monthly Weather Review|publisher=U.S. Weather Bureau|accessdate=2007-10-01|url=http://www.aoml.noaa.gov/hrd/hurdat/mwr_pdf/1919.pdf]

1920s

June 22, 1921 - The first hurricane of the 1921 season made landfall in Texas.cite web|author=United States Weather Bureau|year=1921|title=1921 Monthly Weather Review|publisher=U.S. Weather Bureau|accessdate=2007-10-01|url=http://www.aoml.noaa.gov/hrd/hurdat/mwr_pdf/1921.pdf]

September 6, 1925 - The first storm of the 1925 season formed was a tropical storm that hit near Brownsville, Texas.cite web|author=United States Weather Bureau|year=1925|title=1925 Monthly Weather Review|publisher=U.S. Weather Bureau|accessdate=2007-10-01|url=http://www.aoml.noaa.gov/hrd/hurdat/mwr_pdf/1925.pdf]

August 27, 1926 - The third storm of the season entered Texas after making landfall in Louisiana.cite web|author=United States Weather Bureau|year=1926|title=1926 Monthly Weather Review|publisher=U.S. Weather Bureau|accessdate=2007-10-01|url=http://www.aoml.noaa.gov/hrd/hurdat/mwr_pdf/1926.pdf]

September 22, 1926 - The sixth storm of the 1926 season entered made landfall near the Texas-Louisiana border.

June 29, 1929 - A category 1 hurricane struck near Freeport, Texas in 1929, the only town to suffer much damage from it.cite web|author=United States Weather Bureau|year=1929|title=1929 Monthly Weather Review|publisher=U.S. Weather Bureau|accessdate=2007-10-01|url=http://www.aoml.noaa.gov/hrd/hurdat/mwr_pdf/1929.pdf]

1930s

The first storm of 1931 made landfall in the Galveston area as a tropical storm. [ [http://www.aoml.noaa.gov/general/lib/lib1/nhclib/mwreviews/1931.pdf 1931 Monthly Weather Review] ]

A tropical storm formed August 11th in the southern Gulf of Mexico near the Yucatán Peninsula and slammed into the upper Texas coast near Freeport, Texas as a very compact Category 4 hurricane two days later. As the storm moved over the Gulf of Mexico, it intensified from a Category 1 to a Category 4 with winds estimated at 140 mph and an estimated central pressure of 942 millibars in less than one day. The eye crossed the coast about 10 p.m. on August 13, slashing a 30- to 40-mile wide path of destruction across Brazoria County, Texas. Official warning for the storm came just 4 hours prior to landfall, and many people trying to evacuate inland had to abandon their cars in high winds and heavy rains. The 1932 hurricane retained its strength miles from the coast and killed 40 people. The greatest single toll for any town was 7 in West Columbia, Texas, where sustained winds over 100 mph flattened homes. Two neighborhoods that had been constructed for oil industry workers there were wiped clean. Freeport, Angleton and Galveston suffered extensive wind damage, and the inland towns of Brazoria, West Columbia, Damon and Needville, all in the path of the eye, were also devastated. Damage estimates topped $7 million in 1932 U.S. dollars. [ [http://www.aoml.noaa.gov/general/lib/lib1/nhclib/mwreviews/1932.pdf 1932 Monthly Weather Review] ]

The Texas area was alive with activity in 1933, with the second storm making landfall in Mexico after threatening Texas; the fourth storm making landfall near Matagorda Bay in Texas as a 45 mph (70 km/h) tropical storm on July 23. The fifth storm made landfall near Brownsville, Texas on August 5 as a strong tropical storm. The storm produced strong winds and high tides along the coast of Texas, while heavy rains in south Texas and northern Mexico caused heavy damage. High tides from the storm covered parts of South Padre Island. The tenth storm threatened Texas, causing the issuance of tropical storm warnings for portions of the southern Texas coastline. The eleventh storm made landfall just north of Brownsville early on September 5. 179 people were killed and doing 28 million dollars in damage. [ [http://www.aoml.noaa.gov/general/lib/lib1/nhclib/mwreviews/1933.pdf 1933 Monthly Weather Review] ] , cite web|author=David Roth|year=2000|title=Texas Hurricane History|publisher=NWS|accessdate=2006-08-31|url=http://www.srh.noaa.gov/lch/research/txerly20hur3.php] ,cite web|author=Corpus Christi National Weather Service|year=2000|title=Hurricane #11, 1933|accessdate=2006-08-31|url=http://www.srh.noaa.gov/crp/docs/research/hurrhistory/1933-11.html]

In 1934, the third storm was a Category 1 hurricane passed over north Florida as a tropical storm and made landfall in central Texas, causing 11 casualties and $1-$2 million in damage. The fifth storm was another Category 1 hurricane that grazed Galveston. [ [http://www.aoml.noaa.gov/general/lib/lib1/nhclib/mwreviews/1934.pdf 1934 Monthly Weather Review] ]

The third storm of the 1936 season caused severe crop damage was reported in San Patricio and Nueces Counties. In all, the hurricane caused $550,000 (1936 USD) in damage, primarily to oil refinery property, though no deaths or injuries were reported. The fourteenth storm of the season made landfall near Brownsville. [ [http://www.aoml.noaa.gov/general/lib/lib1/nhclib/mwreviews/1936.pdf 1936 Monthly Weather Review] ]

The third and fifth storms of 1938 made landfall in the state. [ [http://www.aoml.noaa.gov/general/lib/lib1/nhclib/mwreviews/1938.pdf 1938 Monthly Weather Review] ]

1940s

The second storm of 1940 hit near the Texas/Louisiana border, and dissipated three days later over Missouri. One casualty and $1.7 million in damage from flooding has been attributed to this hurricane. [ [http://www.aoml.noaa.gov/general/lib/lib1/nhclib/mwreviews/1940.pdf 1940 Monthly Weather Review] ]

In 1941, the first storm hit the Texas coast between Galveston and Port Arthur. The storm dissipated the next day without causing any damage. The second storm hit Texas near Matagorda just below hurricane strength. It continued northward, and became extratropical later that day. The hurricane caused heavy flooding in Texas, amounting to $7 million in damage (1941 dollars) and 4 deaths. [ [http://www.aoml.noaa.gov/general/lib/lib1/nhclib/mwreviews/1941.pdf 1941 Monthly Weather Review] ]

The first storm of 1942 made landfall on the eastern Texas coast, and dissipated two days later over extreme southern Missouri. The hurricane caused around $600,000 in damage. The second storm hit the central Texas coast. The next day it dissipated over northwestern Texas, after resulting in $26.5 million in damage and eight casualties. [ [http://www.aoml.noaa.gov/general/lib/lib1/nhclib/mwreviews/1942.pdf 1942 Monthly Weather Review] ]

This hurricane was first detected on July 26, 1943. The United States was in the middle of the second World War and there were no satellites or weather radar. Because of the fear of U-boats in the Gulf, all radio traffic from ships was silenced, including storm reports. Newspaper articles mentioned a tropical storm in the Gulf of Mexico, but did not mention its true intensity. The storm struck the Bolivar Peninsula, crossed Galveston Bay, and made landfall a second time near the Houston Ship Channel. Because of war interests, warnings were few, and residents were caught off-guard. Maximum sustained winds were estimated at nearly 100 mph, with higher wind gusts. Damage was significant and primarily wind-related. The storm killed 19 people, and caused $17 million (1943 dollars) in damage to the Houston area. After the loss of life in this storm, weather information has never been censored again. [ [http://www.aoml.noaa.gov/general/lib/lib1/nhclib/mwreviews/1943.pdf 1943 Monthly Weather Review] ]

Listed by month

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Deadly storms

The following is a list of hurricanes with known deaths in the state.

References