The Atlantic Hurricane Database Reanalysis for the Decades of the 1910s, 1920s, and 1930s

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The Atlantic Hurricane Database Reanalysis for
the Decades of the 1910s, 1920s, and 1930s

• Chris Landsea
• NOAA/Hurricane Research Division
• Miami, Florida, USA
• AMS Hurricanes and Tropical Meteorology
  Conference
• May 7th, 2004

Co-Authors John Gamache, Steve Feuer, Joyce
Berkeley, William Bredemeyer, David Glenn, Donna
Thomas and Ryan Ellis Special Thanks Michael
Chenoweth, Cary Mock, Charlie Neumann, and the
NHC Best Track Change Committee Acknowledgements
NOAA/OGP grant (GC02-093)
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NOAA Dork Logo
Uses of HURDAT
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2000 Hurricane Season
Open Atlantic Ocean Differences
1911 Hurricane Season
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Data Sources for the 1910s, 1920s, and 1930s
PRIMARY marine and land station
observations from the Historical Weather
Map series ship observations included in
COADS individual surface station records
(Original Monthly Records) archived ship
reports and logs from NCDC articles and
records published in Monthly Weather
Review SUPPLEMENTARY books with historical
retrospectives technical memoranda
journalistic accounts
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Using Ship Observations to Estimate
the Hurricanes Location
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Estimating Intensity with and without Aircraft
Reconnaissance
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The Beaufort Wind Scale Beaufort Knots
Description Number 0 lt 1 Calm 1
1-3 Light air 2 4-6 Light
breeze 3 7-10 Gentle breeze 4
11-16 Moderate breeze 5 17-21
Fresh breeze 6 22-27 Strong breeze
7 28-33 Near gale 8 34-40
Gale 9 41-47 Strong gale 10
48-55 Storm 11 56-63 Violent storm
12 gt 63 Hurricane
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ATLANTIC PRESSURE-WIND RELATIONSHIPS
1) GLFMEX Vmax(kt)10.627(1013-p)0.5640 n
664 r0.991 2) lt25N Vmax(kt)12.016(1013-p)
0.5337 n 1033 r0.994 3) 25-35N
Vmax(kt)14.172(1013-p)0.4778 n 922
r0.996 4) 35-45N Vmax(kt)16.086(1013-p)0.43
33 n 492 r0.974 5)For Kraft
Vmax(kt)14.000(1013-p)0.5000 n 13 r ??
P(MB) GLFMEX lt25N 25-35N 35-45N
KRAFT P(MB) P(IN)
960 100 100 94 90
102 960 28.35
Estimating the Central Pressure (Pr Pc)/(Pe
Pc) exp(-RMW/R)
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Raw Data (Gales) for 1911 South Carolina Hurricane
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Historical Weather Map Observations for the 1911
South Carolina Hurricane
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Revised Best Track (HURDAT) Data for 1911
South Carolina Hurricane
1911/04 - 2004 REVISION 19930 08/23/1911 M 8
2 SNBR 457 NOT NAMED XING1 SSS2 19930
08/23/1911 M 9 4 SNBR 459 NOT NAMED XING1
SSS2
19935 08/23 0 0 0 0237
668 50 0241 674 50 0245 680 55
0 19935 08/23 0 0 0 0252 655 35
0255 665 40 0258 674 40 0

19940 08/24250 687 65 0254 693
70 0258 700 70 0262 707 75 0 19940
08/24261 683 45 0263 692 50 0265 700
55 0267 707 60 0

19945 08/25265 714 75 0269 721 80
0273 728 85 0279 735 85 0 19945
08/25269 714 65 0272 721 70 0275 728
70 0280 735 75 0

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Metadata File for the 1911 South Carolina
Hurricane
Moderate adjustments to the track are made on the
23rd and 24th to better agree with available ship
observations indicating a position farther north
than originally shown . . . Track extended an
additional day based upon HWM and Cline analyses
. . . For the intensity at landfall (which may
also in this case be the peak intensity of the
system), evidence was available from winds,
pressure, storm surge and damages. Highest
observed winds were 82 kt in Charleston, with an
estimate that the maximum that they reached after
the anemometer was disabled was 92 kt. However,
reducing for the high-bias of the instrument at
the time alters these to 63 kt observed and 70 kt
estimated (Fergusson and Covert 1924). Altering
these to a maximum 1 min wind (Powell et al.
1996) gives 67 kt observed and 74 kt estimated.
. . . A run of the inland pressure deficit decay
model (also in Ho et al.) suggest a central
pressure at the coast of 970 mb from the Atlantic
coast model (South Carolina to New England) and
974 mb from the Florida peninsula model . . . 972
mb central pressure suggests 84 kt from the
subtropical pressure-wind relationship. Ho et
al.'s analysis of 27 nmi RMW has been reconfirmed
and is close to that expected from climatology
for this latitude of landfall and central
pressure (25 nmi - Vickery et al. 2000), so no
large deviation from 84 kt would be expected. A
storm tide of 10.6 feet was reported in
Charleston with moderate wind forced damage.
Given that it is unlikely that Charleston
experienced the exact peak winds of the hurricane
at landfall, a value higher than that observed
(and even estimated with some caution being
taken) would be reasonable. Thus 85 kt maximum 1
min winds are analyzed for this hurricane at
landfall near the Georgia/South Carolina border
near 0930 UTC on the 28th. This is at the low
end of a Category 2, which is what is analyzed
for conditions occurring in South Carolina . . .
After landfall, a run of the Kaplan and DeMaria's
(1995) inland decay model gave 60 kt at 28th/12
UTC, 47 kt at 18 UTC, 36 kt at 29th/00 UTC, and
30 kt at 06 UTC. Highest observed winds within 2
hours of these times were 73, 56, 52, and 37 kt .
. . Winds in HURDAT slightly increased at 18 UTC
on the 28th and reduced on the 29th and 30th,
accordingly. The system is characterized on the
30th as extratropical in its decay over land, due
to being absorbed by frontal system.
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U.S. Landfalling Hurricanes /Date Time
Lat Lon Max SS RMW Cent. Envir.
OCI States


Wind Press.
Press. Affected
3-8/11/1911 2300Z 30.3N 87.5W 70kt 1
---- (985mb) 1013mb 235nmi AFL1,AL1 4-8/28/1911
0930Z 32.2N 80.7W 85kt 2 27nmi 972mb
1014mb 230nmi GA1,SC2 4-9/14/1912 0800Z
30.3N 88.4W 65kt 1 60nmi (988mb) 1007mb
155nmi AL1,AFL1 6-10/16/1912 1800Z 27.1N
97.4W 70kt 1 ---- (985mb) 1012mb 235nmi
ATX1 1-6/28/1913 0100Z 27.1N 97.4W 65kt
1 ---- (988mb) 1009mb 175nmi ATX1 3-9/3/1913
0700Z 34.7N 76.5W 75kt 1 38nmi 976mb
1016mb 200nmi NC1 1914 - None
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Atlantic Hurricane Database Re-Analysis Project
http//www.aoml.noaa.gov/hrd/data_sub/re_anal.html
1911 through 1914 reanalysis submitted to NHC
Remainder of 1910s, 1920s and 1930s being
reanalyzed currently Pre-reconnaissance era
completed by summer 2005
Picture from "Florida's Hurricane History", by
Jay Barnes