The 1943 Atlantic hurricane season marked the first deliberate

reconnaissance aircraft A reconnaissance aircraft (colloquially, a spy plane) is a military aircraft designed or adapted to perform aerial reconnaissance with roles including collection of imagery intelligence (including using photography), signals intelligence, as ...

flights into

tropical cyclone A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depend ...

s. The season officially lasted from June 16 to October 31, which was, at the time, considered the most likely period for tropical cyclone formation in the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

. A total of ten storms from 1943 are listed in the

Atlantic hurricane database The Hurricane Databases (HURDAT), managed by the National Hurricane Center, are two separate databases that contain details on tropical cyclones, that have occurred within the Atlantic Ocean and Eastern Pacific Ocean since 1851 and 1949 respective ...

, and an eleventh system that affected

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

and

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

has been identified as a probable tropical depression. The first system of the year, dubbed the "Surprise hurricane", caused severe damage throughout

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

and

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

in June, partially because information about its approach was censored in the fray of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

; the storm caused 19 deaths and $17 million in damage. A

major hurricane Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

in mid-August produced hurricane-force winds in

Bermuda ) , anthem = "God Save the King" , song_type = National song , song = " Hail to Bermuda" , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , mapsize2 = , map_caption2 = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = , e ...

, and several other tropical cyclones throughout the year resulted in strong winds there. In September, a hurricane impacted the western

Gulf Coast of the United States The Gulf Coast of the United States, also known as the Gulf South, is the coastline along the Southern United States where they meet the Gulf of Mexico. The coastal states that have a shoreline on the Gulf of Mexico are Texas, Louisiana, Mississ ...

, then a tropical storm struck the Mid-Atlantic. The two storms resulted in $419,000 and $20,000 in damage, respectively; one death was attributed to the latter system. In mid-October, a strong hurricane resulted in flooding and damage to crops throughout the

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...

; after becoming post-tropical, it contributed to moderate impacts across Nova Scotia. The season's activity was reflected with an

accumulated cyclone energy Accumulated cyclone energy (ACE) is a metric used by various agencies to express the energy released by a tropical cyclone during its lifetime. It is calculating by summing the square of a tropical cyclone's maximum sustained winds, measured ever ...

(ACE) rating of 94 units, below the 1931–1943 average of 91.2. 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. __TOC__

Timeline

ImageSize = width:800 height:200 PlotArea = top:10 bottom:80 right:20 left:20 Legend = columns:3 left:30 top:58 columnwidth:270 AlignBars = early DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy Period = from:01/06/1943 till:01/11/1943 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal ScaleMinor = grid:black unit:month increment:1 start:01/06/1943 Colors = id:canvas value:gray(0.88) id:GP value:red id:TD value:rgb(0.38,0.73,1) legend:Tropical_Depression_=_≤38_mph_(≤62_km/h) id:TS value:rgb(0,0.98,0.96) legend:Tropical_Storm_=_39–73_mph_(63–117_km/h) id:C1 value:rgb(1,1,0.80) legend:Category_1_=_74–95_mph_(118–153_km/h) id:C2 value:rgb(1,0.91,0.46) legend:Category_2_=_96–110_mph_(154–177_km/h) id:C3 value:rgb(1,0.76,0.25) legend:Category_3_=_111–129_mph_(178–208_km/h) id:C4 value:rgb(1,0.56,0.13) legend:Category_4_=_130–156_mph_(209–251_km/h) id:C5 value:rgb(1,0.38,0.38) legend:Category_5_=_≥157_mph_(≥252_km/h) Backgroundcolors = canvas:canvas BarData = barset:Hurricane bar:Month PlotData= barset:Hurricane width:10 align:left fontsize:S shift:(4,-4) anchor:till from:23/06/1943 till:27/06/1943 color:TD text:"Unnumbered (TD)" from:25/07/1943 till:30/07/1943 color:C2 text:" One (C2)" from:13/08/1943 till:19/08/1943 color:TS text:"Two (TS)" from:19/08/1943 till:25/08/1943 color:C4 text:"Three (C4)" from:01/09/1943 till:09/09/1943 color:C3 text:"Four (C3)" from:13/09/1943 till:15/09/1943 color:TS text:"Five (TS)" from:15/09/1943 till:20/09/1943 color:C2 text:"Six (C2)" barset:break from:28/09/1943 till:01/10/1943 color:TS text:"Seven (TS)" from:01/10/1943 till:03/10/1943 color:TS text:"Eight (TS)" from:11/10/1943 till:17/10/1943 color:C2 text:"Nine (C2)" from:20/10/1943 till:26/10/1943 color:TS text:"Ten (TS)" bar:Month width:5 align:center fontsize:S shift:(0,-20) anchor:middle color:canvas from:01/06/1943 till:01/07/1943 text:June from:01/07/1943 till:01/08/1943 text:July from:01/08/1943 till:01/09/1943 text:August from:01/09/1943 till:01/10/1943 text:September from:01/10/1943 till:31/10/1943 text:October TextData = pos:(570,30) text:"(From the" pos:(617,30) text:" Saffir–Simpson hurricane wind scale)"

Systems

Hurricane One

The Surprise Hurricane of 1943 The 1943 Surprise hurricane was the first hurricane to be entered by a

. An

area of low pressure In meteorology, a low-pressure area, low area or low is a region where the atmospheric pressure is lower than that of surrounding locations. Low-pressure areas are commonly associated with inclement weather (such as cloudy, windy, with possible ...

was first observed over the

Southeastern United States The Southeastern United States, also referred to as the American Southeast or simply the Southeast, is a geographical region of the United States. It is located broadly on the eastern portion of the southern United States and the southern por ...

and eastern

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an oceanic basin, ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of ...

on June 23. It tracked west-northwest and, in conjunction with surface observations along the

coastline, was found to have organized into a tropical storm by 18:00 UTC on July 25 while situated about 110 mi (175 km) southeast of the

Mississippi Delta The Mississippi Delta, also known as the Yazoo–Mississippi Delta, or simply the Delta, is the distinctive northwest section of the U.S. state of Mississippi (and portions of Arkansas and Louisiana) that lies between the Mississippi and Yazoo ...

. The nascent cyclone rapidly intensified thereafter, attaining hurricane intensity by 18:00 UTC on June 26 and reaching its peak as a

Category 2 hurricane Category, plural categories, may refer to: Philosophy and general uses *Categorization, categories in cognitive science, information science and generally *Category of being * ''Categories'' (Aristotle) *Category (Kant) *Categories (Peirce) *C ...

with winds of 105 mph (165 km/h) early the following morning. The compact hurricane moved ashore the coastline of Texas near

Galveston Bay Galveston Bay ( ) is a bay in the western Gulf of Mexico along the upper coast of Texas. It is the seventh-largest estuary in the United States, and the largest of seven major estuaries along the Texas Gulf Coast. It is connected to the Gulf of ...

at 18:00 UTC on July 7, around which time it was intercepted by the first

to intentionally fly into a tropical cyclone. The storm weakened once inland and dissipated about 60 mi (95 km/h) early of the

Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex The Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, officially designated Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, is a conurbated metropolitan statistical area in the U.S. state of Texas encompassing 11 counties and anchore ...

by 00:00 UTC on July 30. In the fray of

, information was censored by the

Federal government of the United States The federal government of the United States (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the national government of the United States, a federal republic located primarily in North America, composed of 50 states, a city within a fede ...

across the country, including reports from ships that the Weather Bureau heavily relied upon for hurricane updates. The cyclone that affected the Texas and Louisiana coastlines, therefore, was dubbed the 1943 "Surprise" hurricane. Documentation of the storm's impacts suggests it was the worst since the

1915 Galveston hurricane The 1915 Galveston hurricane was a tropical cyclone that caused extensive damage in the Galveston area in August 1915. Widespread damage was also documented throughout its path across the Caribbean Sea and the interior United States. Due t ...

. The

Houston, Texas Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

Metropolitan Airport recorded a peak wind gust of 132 mph (212 km/h). Two utility towers over the

Houston Ship Channel The Houston Ship Channel, in Houston, Texas, is part of the Port of Houston, one of the busiest seaports in the world. The channel is the conduit for ocean-going vessels between Houston-area terminals and the Gulf of Mexico, and it serves an incr ...

, built to withstand winds of roughly 120 mph (195 km/h), were toppled. Along the coastline near

Texas City Texas City is a city in Galveston County, Texas, Galveston County in the U.S. state of Texas. Located on the southwest shoreline of Galveston Bay, Texas City is a busy deepwater port on Texas's Gulf Coast, as well as a petroleum-refining and pe ...

storm surge A storm surge, storm flood, tidal surge, or storm tide is a coastal flood or tsunami-like phenomenon of rising water commonly associated with low-pressure weather systems, such as cyclones. It is measured as the rise in water level above the n ...

values were surprisingly light at between 3–6 ft (0.9–1.8 m), but 90% of homes either suffered water damage or were completely destroyed. Rising water from

resulted in flooding throughout the city itself, and a three-story building was collapsed by strong winds. Rainfall across Texas and Louisiana varied, but

Devers, Texas Devers is a city in Liberty County, Texas, United States. The population was 447 at the 2010 census. Geography Devers is located at (30.026379, –94.591642). According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all lan ...

, recorded a maximum storm total of 23 in (584 mm). Widespread freshwater flooding occurred in the

Beaumont Beaumont may refer to: Places Canada * Beaumont, Alberta * Beaumont, Quebec England * Beaumont, Cumbria * Beaumont, Essex **Beaumont Cut, a canal closed in the 1930s * Beaumont Street, Oxford France (communes) * Beaumont, Ardèche * Be ...

and Port Arthur areas. At

Ellington Field Joint Reserve Base Ellington Field Joint Reserve Base is a joint installation shared by various active component and reserve component military units, as well as aircraft flight operations of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) under the aegis ...

, scores of air cadets and soldiers held onto the wings of airplanes to prevent them from going airborne; almost two dozen were injured in the aftermath. Offshore, the

hopper Hopper or hoppers may refer to: Places *Hopper, Illinois * Hopper, West Virginia * Hopper, a mountain and valley in the Hunza–Nagar District of Pakistan * Hopper (crater), a crater on Mercury People with the name * Hopper (surname) * Grace H ...

dredge Dredging is the excavation of material from a water environment. Possible reasons for dredging include improving existing water features; reshaping land and water features to alter drainage, navigability, and commercial use; constructing da ...

''Galveston'' and

tugboat A tugboat or tug is a marine vessel that manoeuvres other vessels by pushing or pulling them, with direct contact or a tow line. These boats typically tug ships in circumstances where they cannot or should not move under their own power, su ...

''Titan'' were capsized, leading to a total of 15 deaths. Overall, damage from the hurricane reached $17 million, 19 deaths were documented, and hundreds of people were injured. As a result of the casualties, the decision to censor information during an approaching storm was never again repeated.

Tropical Storm Two

A minimal tropical storm was first discovered about 80 mi (130 km) east of

Antigua and Barbuda Antigua and Barbuda (, ) is a sovereign country in the West Indies. It lies at the juncture of the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean in the Leeward Islands part of the Lesser Antilles, at 17°N latitude. The country consists of two maj ...

around 12:00 UTC on August 13. It passed just north of the

Caribbean Sea The Caribbean Sea ( es, Mar Caribe; french: Mer des Caraïbes; ht, Lanmè Karayib; jam, Kiaribiyan Sii; nl, Caraïbische Zee; pap, Laman Karibe) is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean in the tropics of the Western Hemisphere. It is bounded by Mexico ...

while on a west-northwest track, reaching peak winds of 60 mph (95 km/h) by early on August 16. It curved northwest the following day before then turning northeast between the

East Coast of the United States The East Coast of the United States, also known as the Eastern Seaboard, the Atlantic Coast, and the Atlantic Seaboard, is the coastline along which the Eastern United States meets the North Atlantic Ocean. The eastern seaboard contains the coa ...

and

. The storm steadily lost intensity and transitioned into an

extratropical cyclone Extratropical cyclones, sometimes called mid-latitude cyclones or wave cyclones, are low-pressure areas which, along with the anticyclones of high-pressure areas, drive the weather over much of the Earth. Extratropical cyclones are capable of ...

by 12:00 UTC on August 19, and it was last documented six hours later. In the wake of the 1943 Surprise hurricane, this was the first tropical cyclone that reconnaissance aircraft flew through and had observations reported back to the Weather Bureau during real-time operations.

Hurricane Three

The third tropical cyclone of the 1943 season was noted about 265 mi (425 km) east of

Barbados Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Islands. It occupies an area of and has a population of about 287,000 (2019 estimate). ...

around 06:00 UTC on August 19. Like its predecessor, the storm steered clear of the Caribbean on its west-northwest course, producing only minor squally weather across the

Leeward Islands french: Îles-Sous-le-Vent , image_name = , image_caption = ''Political'' Leeward Islands. Clockwise: Antigua and Barbuda, Guadeloupe, Saint kitts and Nevis. , image_alt = , locator_map = , location = Caribbean SeaNorth Atlantic Ocean , coor ...

as it intensified. It became a hurricane around 00:00 UTC on August 20, intensified into the season's first

by 18:00 UTC on August 22, and further organized to attain its peak intensity as a Category 4 hurricane with winds of 140 mph (220 km/h) around 06:00 UTC on August 24. It curved northeast after passing within 165 mi (265 km) of Bermuda, where winds peaked at 81 mph (130 km/h), interacting with a high-latitude cyclone to become extratropical by 00:00 UTC on August 26. The

post-tropical cyclone A post-tropical cyclone is a former tropical cyclone that no longer possesses enough tropical qualities to be considered a tropical cyclone. The word may refer to a former tropical cyclone undergoing extratropical transition or a tropical cyclone ...

gradually lost strength and was last noted over the far northern Atlantic.

Hurricane Four

A few days after the dissipation of Hurricane Three, a new tropical storm on the cusp of hurricane intensity was identified about 630 mi (1,015 km) southeast of Bermuda around 06:00 UTC on September 1. The system steadily strengthened as it moved erratically, attaining peak winds of 120 mph (195 km/h) by 06:00 UTC on September 4. After passing within 120 mi (195 km) of Bermuda, delivering a period of tropical storm-force winds to the island, the hurricane was directed north and then northeast by a developing area of high pressure. It brushed

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

before moving ashore the southern coastline of

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...

, ultimately transitioning into an extratropical cyclone by 00:00 UTC on September 10.

Tropical Storm Five

The northern end of a

trough Trough may refer to: In science * Trough (geology), a long depression less steep than a trench * Trough (meteorology), an elongated region of low atmospheric pressure * Trough (physics), the lowest point on a wave * Trough level (medicine), the l ...

developed into a tropical depression just north of the

Berry Islands The Berry Islands are a chain of islands and a district of the Bahamas, covering about of the northwestern part of the Out Islands. The Berry Islands consist of about thirty islands and over one hundred small islands or cays, often referred to ...

in the

Bahamas The Bahamas (), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic. It takes up 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and is home to ...

around 00:00 UTC on September 13. It attained tropical storm intensity six hours later and attained peak winds of 50 mph (85 km/h) by 18:00 UTC as it moved north-northeast. The cyclone lost tropical characteristics by 12:00 UTC on September 15 while positioned about 95 mi (155 km) south-southeast of

Nantucket Nantucket () is an island about south from Cape Cod. Together with the small islands of Tuckernuck and Muskeget, it constitutes the Town and County of Nantucket, a combined county/town government that is part of the U.S. state of Massachuse ...

and subsequently tracked across Nova Scotia and Newfoundland. It was last observed over the northern Atlantic on September 17. Impacts from the storm were relegated to heavy rainfall along the shores of Nantucket, "extraordinarily high tides" northeast from

Cape Cod Cape Cod is a peninsula extending into the Atlantic Ocean from the southeastern corner of mainland Massachusetts, in the northeastern United States. Its historic, maritime character and ample beaches attract heavy tourism during the summer mont ...

, as well as

gale A gale is a strong wind; the word is typically used as a descriptor in nautical contexts. The U.S. National Weather Service defines a gale as sustained surface winds moving at a speed of between 34 and 47 knots (, or ).

Hurricane Six

A circulation aloft was first documented across the western Gulf of Mexico on September 12. It became evident in surface maps three days later, marking the formation of a tropical storm by 18:00 UTC about 270 mi (435 km) southeast of

Matamoros, Tamaulipas Matamoros, officially known as Heroica Matamoros, is a city in the northeastern Mexican state of Tamaulipas, and the municipal seat of the homonymous municipality. It is on the southern bank of the Rio Grande, directly across the border from Br ...

. The nascent cyclone tracked northwest and attained hurricane intensity on September 16 before reaching its peak as a Category 2 hurricane with winds of 100 mph (160 km/h) the following morning. Thereafter, an area of high pressure over the northern

High Plains High Plains refers to one of two distinct land regions: * High Plains (United States), land region of the western Great Plains *High Plains (Australia) The High Plains of south-eastern Australia are a sub-region, or more strictly a string of adja ...

forced the system to complete a counter-clockwise loop. It turned northeast and steadily weakened before reaching the southern coastline of Louisiana as a tropical depression by 12:00 UTC on September 20. As a tropical cyclone, the system produced tropical storm-force winds along a wide stretch of the Texas coastline, peaking at 62 mph (100 km/h) in

Freeport Freeport, a variant of free port, may refer to: Places United States *Freeport, California *Freeport, Florida *Freeport, Illinois *Freeport, Indiana *Freeport, Iowa *Freeport, Kansas *Freeport, Maine, a New England town **Freeport (CDP), Maine, the ...

. A

tide Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravity, gravitational forces exerted by the Moon (and to a much lesser extent, the Sun) and are also caused by the Earth and Moon orbiting one another. Tide t ...

of 4.5 ft (1.4 m) was also recorded there. About five percent of the rice crop in Jefferson County was ruined, while buildings were damaged around

Galveston Galveston ( ) is a coastal resort city and port off the Southeast Texas coast on Galveston Island and Pelican Island in the U.S. state of Texas. The community of , with a population of 47,743 in 2010, is the county seat of surrounding Galvesto ...

. Farther east, much of southern Mississippi and Louisiana received between 5–10 in (127–254 mm) of rainfall, peaking at 19 in (482 mm) in

Morgan City, Louisiana Morgan City is a small city in St. Mary and lower St. Martin parishes in the U.S. State of Louisiana. The population was 12,404 at the 2010 census. Known for being “right in the middle of everywhere”, Morgan City is located 68 miles (109&nb ...

. The combination of heavy precipitation and backwater flooding led to 3–5 ft (0.9–1.5 m) of inundation just south of Raceland. Levees in False Bayou came within inches of overflowing, forcing numerous families to higher grounds. Total damage along the coastline reached $419,000.

Tropical Storm Seven

tropical wave A tropical wave (also called easterly wave, tropical easterly wave, and African easterly wave), in and around the Atlantic Ocean, is a type of atmospheric trough, an elongated area of relatively low air pressure, oriented north to south, which ...

ascended to tropical storm status by 06:00 UTC on September 28 while located about 230 mi (370 km) south of Bermuda. It moved northwest and then west-northwest, steadily organizing to attain peak winds of 65 mph (100 km/h) early on September 30. The storm then moved ashore the central coast of

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

and was last distinguishable near

Williamsport, Pennsylvania Williamsport is a city in, and the county seat of, Lycoming County, Pennsylvania, United States. It recorded a population of 27,754 at the 2020 Census. It is the principal city of the Williamsport Metropolitan Statistical Area, which has a popula ...

, around 00:00 UTC on October 2. Considerable damage to crops, and lesser damage to structures, was inflicted throughout the

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

and

Cape Charles, Virginia Cape Charles is a town / municipal corporation in Northampton County, Virginia, United States. The population was 1,009 as of the 2010 United States Census, 2010 Census. History Cape Charles, located close to the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay, on ...

, areas, with damage estimated at $20,000. Rainfall was generally light, peaking at 4.6 in (117 mm) in Diamond Springs, but did result in some street flooding. A small ship and several small boats were sunk.

Atlantic City, New Jersey Atlantic City, often known by its initials A.C., is a coastal resort city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. The city is known for its casinos, boardwalk, and beaches. In 2020, the city had a population of 38,497.

, reported a maximum gust of 70 mph (113 km/h), and only slightly weaker gusts were recorded throughout Virginia. One death was reported.

Tropical Storm Eight

On the first day of October, a strong tropical storm with winds of 70 mph (110 km/h) was observed about 620 mi (1,000 km) southeast of Bermuda, where winds near gale-force were later observed. No further intensification occurred as the cyclone moved northwest and then curved northeast, and it transitioned into an extratropical cyclone by 06:00 UTC on October 3. The system crossed Nova Scotia and Newfoundland before entering the far northern Atlantic.

Hurricane Nine

Hurricane San Calixto of 1943
A tropical storm was documented passing through the

Windward Islands french: Îles du Vent , image_name = , image_caption = ''Political'' Windward Islands. Clockwise: Dominica, Martinique, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Grenada. , image_alt = , locator_map = , location = Caribbean SeaNorth ...

into the Caribbean Sea early on October 11. It intensified into a hurricane by 12:00 UTC the next morning, whereupon it began a curve toward the north. The cyclone passed through the

Mona Passage The Mona Passage ( es, Canal de la Mona) is a strait that separates the islands of Hispaniola and Puerto Rico. The Mona Passage connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Caribbean Sea and is an important shipping route between the Atlantic and the Panama ...

and attained its peak a Category 2 hurricane with winds of 110 mph (175 km/h) shortly thereafter. Passing within 180 mi (290 km) of Bermuda, it produced winds around tropical storm-force there before it was last documented over the northwestern Atlantic early on October 17. As the cyclone entered the Caribbean Sea, it produced maximum winds of 40–50 mph (64–80 km/h) in

Saint Lucia Saint Lucia ( acf, Sent Lisi, french: Sainte-Lucie) is an island country of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean. The island was previously called Iouanalao and later Hewanorra, names given by the native Arawaks and Caribs, two Amerindian ...

. Puerto Rico recorded winds near 60 mph (97 km/h) which unroofed houses. Heavy rainfall, peaking at 17.6 in (447 mm) in Toro Negro, led to flooding in several communities. The combination of strong winds, heavy rainfall, and high seas resulted in severe damage to the island's coffee crop. As the hurricane passed through the western Atlantic, Bermuda recorded a period of tropical storm-force winds. The USS ''Lee Fox'' encountered the storm on its voyage and was nearly capsized. As a post-tropical cyclone, the system produced winds near 70 mph (110 km/h) across Nova Scotia, cut electricity to

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

and

Annapolis Valley The Annapolis Valley is a valley and region in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. It is located in the western part of the Nova Scotia peninsula, formed by a trough between two parallel mountain ranges along the shore of the Bay of Fundy. St ...

(where the apple crop sustained $300,000 in losses), and disrupted telephone service in Halifax. Heavy surf washed out a 200 ft (60 m) section of railway in Shelburne while some railway lines in

Lockeport Lockeport is a town and port in Shelburne County, Nova Scotia, Canada. It is a traditional Nova Scotian fishing town, situated on a peninsula in Allendale Bay. It is connected to the mainland by the Crescent Beach causeway. The area that sur ...

suffered damage. A barge was severed from a large ship in Halifax and went aground on

Georges Island Georges Island, or George's Island, may refer to: Geography *Georges Island (Massachusetts), offshore from the city of Boston, Massachusetts *Georges Island (Nova Scotia), offshore from the community of Halifax in the Halifax Regional Municipali ...

Tropical Storm Ten

The final tropical cyclone of the season formed about 160 mi (260 km) northeast of the Honduras–Nicaragua border around 12:00 UTC on October 20. The fledgling cyclone intensified into a tropical storm twelve hours later and then attained winds of 45 mph (75 km/h) a while thereafter, marking its peak intensity. The system moved west for several days and passed through the

Belize Barrier Reef The Belize Barrier Reef is a series of coral reefs straddling the coast of Belize, roughly offshore in the north and in the south within the country limits. The Belize Barrier Reef is a long section of the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System, ...

before executing a sharp eastward turn early on October 24, causing only delayed shipping and aviation schedules, as well as peak winds of 35 mph (56 km/h) in the Swan Islands. From there, it maintained its status as a weak storm before transitioning into a post-tropical cyclone about 130 mi (215 km) southwest of the

Cayman Islands The Cayman Islands () is a self-governing British Overseas Territory—the largest by population in the western Caribbean Sea. The territory comprises the three islands of Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac and Little Cayman, which are located to the ...

by 06:00 UTC on October 26.

Other systems

On June 23, a 1,015 mb (hPa; 29.98 inHg) closed low—likely a tropical depression–was documented over the

Little Bahama Banks Little is a synonym for small size and may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Little'' (album), 1990 debut album of Vic Chesnutt * ''Little'' (film), 2019 American comedy film *The Littles, a series of children's novels by American author John P ...

. It drifted slowly northwest, moving ashore near the Florida–Georgia border by early on June 27. Gusty winds were recorded in

Jacksonville Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the List of United States cities by area, largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the co ...

and

Savannah A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the Canopy (forest), canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to rea ...

, but otherwise no impacts of note occurred.

Season effects

This is a table of all the storms that have formed in the 1943 Atlantic hurricane season. It includes their duration, names, landfall(s), denoted in parentheses, damage, and death totals. Deaths in parentheses are additional and indirect (an example of an indirect death would be a traffic accident), but were still related to that storm. Damage and deaths include totals while the storm was extratropical, a wave, or a low, and all the damage figures are in 1943 USD.

Footnotes

References

External links

Monthly Weather Review
{{TC Decades, Year=1940, basin=Atlantic, type=hurricane 1943 meteorology 1943 natural disasters