Labor Day Hurricane of 1935

The Great 1935 "Labor Day" Hurricane was an exceptionally compact and intense hurricane that struck Southern Florida in September of 1935. It remains the strongest hurricane on record to have struck the United States, and was, for five decades, the strongest Atlantic hurricane ever recorded. The 1935 hurricane was born as a small tropical disturbance, due east of the central Bahamas in late August. The system strengthened to a Tropical Storm as it drifted west through the Bahamas, reaching hurricane strength in the vicinity of Andros Island. For the next day and a half, the hurricane strengthened rapidly while its track slowed and turned toward the northwest and the Florida Keys. On Labor Day, September 2nd, the storm reached it's peak intensity, as a strong Category Five, just before crossing the Florida Keys between 8 and 10 p.m. The maximum sustained winds at landfall are estimated to have been near 185 mph with gusts in excess of 200 mph. The central pressure was reliably reported at 892 mb (26.35 in) from the town of Craig on Lower Matecumbe Key. This was the lowest pressure ever observed in a hurricane in the Western Hemisphere, until surpassed by Hurricanes Gilbert  (1988) and Wilma (2005). Unconfirmed reports had a minimum pressure as low as 880mb (26.00 in). The hurricane obliterated parts of the Florida Keys, overturning a rescue train sent to evacuate World War I veterans working on the Keys, as well as local residents. More than 400 people were killed. After striking the Keys, the hurricane continued up the west coast of Florida making a second landfall in the Florida panhandle as a Category Two on September 4th. It then passed over Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina and emerged back into the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Virginia. The storm accelerated towards the east-northeast as it became extra-tropical south of Greenland on September 10th. View a PDF from the 1935 seasonal report from the Monthly Weather Review.       

Post-analysis of the Great 1935 "Labor Day" Hurricane continues to this day. This graphic depicts the surface wind field associated with the extremely intense and exceptionally small hurricane at the time it was crossing the middle and upper Florida Keys. Wind speeds are shown in knots and are represented as 10-minute average or "mean" winds.

                         Resources on the 1935 Labor Day Hurricane

1-1935 Labor Day Hurricane Monthly Weather Review Article 

2-Hurricaneville-Remembering the Labor Day Hurricane                

3-Four versions of the 1935 Hurricane Path

4-1935 Labor Day Hurricane Photo Gallery

5-Key West Weather Bureau reports of the 1935 Hurricane

Map from the Miami Daily News, showing the path of the 1935 Hurricane and some vessels run aground by the storm. September 5, 1935.