1969 Atlantic hurricane season
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| First storm formed: | July 25, 1969 | |
| Last storm dissipated: | Nov. 25, 1969 | |
| Strongest storm: | Camille - 905 mbar (26.72 inHg), 165 knots (190 mph) | |
| Total storms: | 18 | |
| Major storms (Cat. 3+) | 5 | |
| Total damages: | $1.4 billion (1969 USD) |
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| Total fatalites: | 359 | |
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The 1969 Atlantic hurricane season was an ongoing event in the annual cycle of tropical cyclone formation. It officially started June 1, 1969, and lasted until November 30, 1969.
The 1969 season was among the most active on record, with 18 tropical cyclones, 12 of which reached hurricane status. Despite the high activity, most of the storms either stayed at sea or made landfall with minimal strength. The major exception, however, was Hurricane Camille. Camille was, and still is, the second-strongest storm ever to make landfall in the United States, and the 7th strongest in the North Atlantic Basin. Camille made landfall near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi as a Category 5 storm, one of only three storms on record as having done so in the US (Hurricane Andrew and the 1935 Labor Day Hurricane were the other two). Official estimates place the death toll due to Camille at 256, with $1.4 billion ($9.2 billion in 2005 dollars) in property damage.
Other notable storms include Hurricane Francelia, which caused serious flooding in Belize; Hurricane Inga, which lasted almost 25 days and was the 2nd longest hurricane; and Hurricane Martha, which caused flooding and landslides in Costa Rica and Panama.
The 1969 season once held the record for the most number of hurricanes (12 in all) to form than in any other year in the Atlantic basin. This record was broken in 2005 by Hurricane Beta. Many were dubbed hurricanes after the fact. Meteorologists were just beginning to understand the traits of tropical and subtropical storms. As a result, a large number of the 18 tropical cyclones that formed in 1969 went unnamed.
Storms
Tropical Storm Anna
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| First storm formed: | July 25, 1969 | |
| Last storm dissipated: | Nov. 25, 1969 | |
| Strongest storm: | Camille - 905 mbar (26.72 inHg), 165 knots (190 mph) | |
| Total storms: | 18 | |
| Major storms (Cat. 3+) | 5 | |
| Total damages: | $1.4 billion (1969 USD) |
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| Total fatalites: | 359 | |
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The 1969 Atlantic hurricane season was an ongoing event in the annual cycle of tropical cyclone formation. It officially started June 1, 1969, and lasted until November 30, 1969.
The 1969 season was among the most active on record, with 18 tropical cyclones, 12 of which reached hurricane status. Despite the high activity, most of the storms either stayed at sea or made landfall with minimal strength. The major exception, however, was Hurricane Camille. Camille was, and still is, the second-strongest storm ever to make landfall in the United States, and the 7th strongest in the North Atlantic Basin. Camille made landfall near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi as a Category 5 storm, one of only three storms on record as having done so in the US (Hurricane Andrew and the 1935 Labor Day Hurricane were the other two). Official estimates place the death toll due to Camille at 256, with $1.4 billion ($9.2 billion in 2005 dollars) in property damage.
Other notable storms include Hurricane Francelia, which caused serious flooding in Belize; Hurricane Inga, which lasted almost 25 days and was the 2nd longest hurricane; and Hurricane Martha, which caused flooding and landslides in Costa Rica and Panama.
The 1969 season once held the record for the most number of hurricanes (12 in all) to form than in any other year in the Atlantic basin. This record was broken in 2005 by Hurricane Beta. Many were dubbed hurricanes after the fact. Meteorologists were just beginning to understand the traits of tropical and subtropical storms. As a result, a large number of the 18 tropical cyclones that formed in 1969 went unnamed.
Storms
Tropical Storm Anna
Tropical Storm Anna began from a tropical wave near the Cape Verde islands on July 25. After 2 days it became a tropical storm, and while conditions appeared favorable for Anna to become a hurricane, a large upper-level cyclone stopped Anna from strengthening past its peak of 70 mph. It weakened to a tropical depression on July 31, but on August 3, while moving northeastward out to sea, it re-strengthened to a 65 mph tropical storm with more favorable conditions. Later that day, it reached cooler waters and became extratropical.
Hurricane Blanche
A tropical wave that moved rapidly through the Atlantic organized to a tropical depression on August 11th northeast of the Bahamas. It rapidly organized, becoming a hurricane by nightfall, but as it moved rapidly northeastward, cooler waters on the 12th caused Blanche to become extratropical.
Hurricane Camille
- Main article: Hurricane Camille
Hurricane Camille began its life on August 14th near Grand Cayman. It hit western Cuba as a 115 M.P.H. hurricane, and after weakening to a 100 M.P.H. hurricane it again strengthened rapidly, this time to a 190 M.P.H. category 5 hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico. It hit Bay St. Louis, Mississippi on the 19th, and weakened rapidly over land. The depression brought torrential rain over the Ohio Valley. It moved out to sea, strengthening to a tropical storm before dissipating on the 22nd.
Hurricane Debbie
A westward moving tropical wave became a tropical depression on August 14th, midway between the Lesser Antilles and the Coast of Africa. It reached tropical storm strength the next day, and hurricane strength a day later. Hurricane Debbie passed to the north of the islands, but did manage to become a Category 3 hurricane on the 18th. Over the next 3 days, Silver Iodide was used in a Seeding experiment to weaken the hurricane. While Hurricane Debbie's intensity fluctuated greatly over those days, it is not confirmed whether the rapid weakening is due to the seeding or due to other forces. Regardless, Debbie raced to the north after its peak of 120 M.P.H. It passed southeast of Newfoundland on the 24th, and lost its low level circulation on the 25th near Greenland.
Tropical Storm Eve
A strong, stationary cold front developed convection via convergence between the cool air and the warm waters, from which a tropical depression formed on August 25th 100 miles east of Jacksonville, Florida. The next day, it reached its peak of 60 M.P.H. winds, but the cooler air to the north caused Eva to dissipate on the 27th.
Hurricane Francelia
Huricane Francelia began its life on August 29th from a tropical wave over the southern Lesser Antilles. It moved to the west-northwest over the Caribbean Sea, becoming a tropical storm on the 30th 250 miles south of Haiti. Intensity hovered around 60-70 M.P.H. for the next 2 days, and became a hurricane on the 1st. As it moved into the western Caribbean Sea, building high pressure to the north forced Francelia to the west-southwest. After a peak of 115 M.P.H. Francelia hit Belize on the 3rd as a Category 2 hurricane. It rapidly dissipated over Central America, causing around 100 deaths.
Hurricane Gerda
A westward moving tropical wave organized enough on September 6th over the Bahamas to become a tropical depresison. After 2 days of moving through Florida and moving back offshore, the depression began to strengthen, reaching tropical storm intensity on the 8th. Gerda rapidly intensified as well as moving rapidly northeastward, reaching hurricane strenghth that night and her peak of 130 M.P.H. the following day east of New Jersey. On the 10th it made landfall near Eastport, Maine, but became extratropical over Labrador later that day.
Hurricane Holly
The precursor to Hurricane Holly was a tropical wave that formed on September 14th. It intensified at a good pace, reaching storm strength on the 15th and hurricane strength in the evening of the 15th. While conditions initially seemed favorable with little shear, Holly never had well defined upper-level outflow. An upper tropospheric trough weakened Holly prior to reaching the Windward Islands to a tropical depression. Holly dissipated on the 21st in the eastern Caribbean Sea.
Hurricane Inga
The tropical depression that became Hurricane Inga formed on September 20th, east of the Lesser Antilles. It reached tropical storm strength the next day, but unfavorable conditions weakened Inga to a tropical depression. Those conditions would persist throughout her life. On the 28th, it restrengthened to a tropical storm, and Inga became a hurricane 2 days later. It executed a small loop south of Bermuda, and as it headed northeastward, it reached Category 3 strength. The adverse conditions it found earlier weakened it, and a cold low to the east forced Inga southward. Inga would last until October 15th, wandering aimlessly around the central Atlantic. Inga became the 4th longest-lasting tropical cyclone, lasting for 25 days.
Hurricane Ten
A subtropical depression formed off the coast of North Carolina on September 21st. It reached subtropical storm strength that night, and over the next couple of days, it reached hurricane strength while moving to the northeast. Hurricane Ten dissipated on the 26th, 200 miles south of Newfoundland.
Tropical Storm Eleven
Tropical Storm Eleven developed from a subtropical depression southwest of the Azores on September 24th. After a day of drifting west-southwest, it moved westward where it became a subtropical storm, and later a tropical storm. Eleven reached its 70 M.P.H. peak on the 27th while moving northward. It retained that intensity for 2 days, but on the 29th, it dissipated due to cool air and shear east of Newfoundland.
Subtropical Storm One
A cutoff low in the upper troposphere led to widespread showers and convection over the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea, forming 3 weather systems. The first became a tropical depression, but dissipated without amounting to anything. The 2nd formed a subtropical depression on September 29th, and the 3rd formed Tropical Storm Jenny. The subtropical depression was a Subtropical cyclone, with its winds away from the center and the convection not very well organized. Unfavorable conditions didn't allow it to turn tropical, but it was able to become a 60 M.P.H. Subtropical Storm before cool air and shear weakened it to a depression prior to its Florida Panhandle landfall on the 1st.
Tropical Storm Jenny
Tropical Storm Jenny formed from the same cutoff low that formed Subtropical Storm One. Jenny began as a tropical depression in the northwest Caribbean Sea, and after moving across Cuba, became a tropical storm just before its landfall between Fort Myers and Naples, Florida on October 2nd. Jenny made it to the western Atlantic as a tropical depression, but increased ridging forced the storm over the already soaked Florida peninsula. It was unable to strengthen further, and Jenny dissipated on October 6th south of Louisiana.
Hurricane Kara
A cold core trough of low pressure over the western Atlantic Ocean warmed on the eastern end, becoming a tropical depression on October 7th. The trough brought it northeastward, strengthening it to a tropical storm on the 9th. An upper level low formed to Kara's west, and when the 2 merged on the 11th, their motions became erratic. At this time it wasn't very tropical, but as it moved southward towards warm waters, it became more tropical, and became a hurricane on the 15th. Upper level westerlies forced it northeastward, and after reaching a peak of 100 M.P.H. Kara became extratropical on the 19th.
Hurricane Laurie
A mid level circulation developed near Swan Island on October 15th from a westward moving system, and on the 17th, a tropical depression was able to form in the western Caribbean Sea. The depresion moved northwestward where favorable conditions allowed strengthening, but because the depression was not vertically stacked, it remained a depression. On the 19th after passing the Yucatan Peninsula, the depression was named Tropical Storm Laurie, and the next day, Hurricane Laurie. Hurricane watches were issued for a large portion of the Gulf coast, but when Laurie turned eastward and southeastward, they were dropped. Dry air entrained the system as she looped around, leaving behind a tropical depression on the 24th. Laurie eventually made landfall on Mexico on the 27th as a weak depression, and dissipated that day.
Tropical Storm Sixteen
A subtropical depression formed west-southwest of the Azores on the 28th of October. It moved northwestward, reaching tropical storm strength on the 29th, and after turing sharply east it reached its peak of 70 M.P.H. Sixteen became extratropical on the 31st west of the Azores.
Hurricane Seventeen
A large extratropical storm over the North Atlantic formed a subtropical storm on October 31st south of Newfoundland. It moved southeast, gaining tropical characteristics and strength on the way. It reached hurricane strength on the 4th while approaching the Azores, but weakened prior to passing through the islands. Seventeen lost its tropical characteristics on November 7th.
Hurricane Martha
A cyclonic circulation persisted over the southwest Caribbean Sea in late November. Convection became more organized, and by November 21st, it became a tropical storm. Martha quickly intensified, reaching 90 M.P.H. winds the next day, but the hurricane lost strength as it drifted southward. It reached the coast of Panama as a 70 M.P.H. tropical storm on the 24th, becoming the first tropical storm on record to hit the country. Martha dissipated over Panama on the 25th. The system caused heavy flooding and landslides over San Jose, Costa Rica, where multiple deaths and considerable damage occurred.
Although the 'M' name has been used nearly every year to name storms in the Atlantic since 1990, this marked only the first time since naming began in 1950 that the 'M' name was used, and the only one until Marco in the 1990 season.
1969 storm names
The following names were used for named storms (tropical storms and hurricanes) that formed in the North Atlantic in 1969. The name Camille was later retired.
- Anna
- Blanche
- Camille
- Debbie
- Eve
- Francelia
- Gerda
- Holly
- Inga
- Jenny
- Kara
- Laurie
- Martha
- Netty (unused)
- Orva (unused)
- Peggy (unused)
- Rhoda (unused)
- Sadie (unused)
- Tanya (unused)
- Virgy (unused)
- Wenda (unused)
