The 1947 Cape Sable hurricane, sometimes known informally as Hurricane King, was a moderate
hurricane
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 ...
that caused catastrophic flooding in
South Florida
South Florida is the southernmost region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is one of Florida's three most commonly referred to directional regions; the other two are Central Florida and North Florida. South Florida is the southernmost part of th ...
and the
Everglades
The Everglades is a natural region of tropical climate, tropical wetlands in the southern portion of the U.S. state of Florida, comprising the southern half of a large drainage basin within the Neotropical realm. The system begins near Orland ...
in mid-October 1947. The eighth tropical storm and fourth hurricane of the 1947 Atlantic hurricane season, it first developed on October 9 in the southern
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 ...
and hence moved
north by west
The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each se ...
until a few days later it struck western Cuba. The cyclone then turned sharply to the northeast, accelerated, and strengthened to a hurricane, within 30 hours crossing the southern Florida peninsula. Across South Florida, the storm produced widespread rainfall up to and severe
flood
A flood is an overflow of water ( or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are an area of study of the discipline hydrol ...
ing, among the worst ever recorded in the area, that led to efforts by the
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...
to improve drainage in the region.
Once over 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 ...
on October 13, the storm made history when it was the first to be targeted for modification by government and private agencies; dry ice was spread by airplanes throughout the storm in an unsuccessful effort to weaken the hurricane, though changes in the track were initially blamed upon the experiment. On the same day as that of the seeding, the cyclone slowed dramatically and turned westward, making
landfall
Landfall is the event of a storm moving over land after being over water. More broadly, and in relation to human travel, it refers to 'the first land that is reached or seen at the end of a journey across the sea or through the air, or the fact ...
on the morning of October 15 south of
Savannah, Georgia
Savannah ( ) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and is the county seat of Chatham County, Georgia, Chatham County. Established in 1733 on the Savannah River, the city of Savannah became the Kingdom of Great Br ...
. Across the
U.S. state
In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...
s of Georgia and South Carolina, the small hurricane produced tides up to and significant damage to 1,500 structures, but the death toll was limited to one person. The system dissipated the next day over
Alabama
(We dare defend our rights)
, anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama"
, image_map = Alabama in United States.svg
, seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery
, LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville
, LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...
, having caused $3.26 million in losses along its path.
Meteorological history
In early October 1947, the origins of Hurricane Nine were detected north of
Panama
Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Cos ...
in the
Intertropical Convergence Zone
The Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ ), known by sailors as the doldrums or the calms because of its monotonous windless weather, is the area where the northeast and the southeast trade winds converge. It encircles Earth near the thermal e ...
.
On October 9 at 0600
UTC, a minimal tropical storm was estimated to have formed with
maximum sustained wind
The maximum sustained wind associated with a tropical cyclone is a common
indicator of the intensity of the storm. Within a mature tropical cyclone, it is found within the eyewall at a distance defined as the radius of maximum wind, or RMW. Unl ...
s near ; thereafter it moved north by west. By October 10, the storm accelerated and began strengthening steadily, reaching a peak intensity of before striking land just before 0600 UTC on October 11 south of
Pinar del RÃo
Pinar del RÃo is the capital city of Pinar del RÃo Province, Cuba. With a population of 139,336 (2004) in a municipality of 190,332, it is the List of cities in Cuba, 10th-largest city in Cuba. Inhabitants of the area are called ''Pinareños'' ...
in
Pinar del RÃo Province
Pinar del RÃo is one of the provinces of Cuba. It is at the western end of the island of Cuba.
Geography
The Pinar del RÃo province is Cuba's westernmost province and contains one of Cuba's three main mountain ranges, the Cordillera de Guanig ...
, Cuba.
[ The center of the storm then began turning to the northeast before passing near ]Batista Field
Batista is a Spanish or Portuguese surname. Notable persons with the name include:
* Batista (footballer, born 1955), Brazilian football player
* Dave Bautista, American actor and professional wrestler, also known as Batista
* Edina Alves Batista, ...
, which recorded wind gusts of up to . Six hours after leaving northern Cuba, the storm rapidly became a hurricane, equivalent to Category 1 on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale.[ Just after 00 UTC on October 12, the hurricane struck Florida just north of ]Cape Sable
Cape Sable is the southernmost point of the United States mainland and mainland Florida. It is located in southwestern Florida, in Monroe County, and is part of the Everglades National Park.
The cape is a peninsula issuing from the southeastern ...
, and just before 1200 UTC it left the Miami metropolitan area near Pompano Beach
Pompano Beach ( ) is a city in Broward County, Florida, United States. It is located along the coast of the Atlantic Ocean, just north of Fort Lauderdale. The nearby Hillsboro Inlet forms part of the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway. As of the 2020 ...
[Barnes, pp. 174‑80]—the same area that had been hit by the 1947 Fort Lauderdale hurricane one month previous—with winds of . Unusually, the hurricane strengthened over land as it passed over South Florida, a phenomenon also observed in Tropical Storm Fay (2008)
Tropical Storm Fay was a strong and unusual tropical storm that moved erratically across the state of Florida and the Caribbean Sea. The sixth named storm of the 2008 Atlantic hurricane season, Fay formed from a vigorous tropical wave on August& ...
, which struck the same region.[
After leaving South Florida, the hurricane passed north of the Bahamas while maintaining its intensity, although a lack of weather observations near its ]eye
Eyes are organs of the visual system. They provide living organisms with vision, the ability to receive and process visual detail, as well as enabling several photo response functions that are independent of vision. Eyes detect light and conv ...
prevented forecasters from appraising its exact location and movement. Early on October 13, the hurricane slowed substantially and began turning to the north; by afternoon, the cyclone had shifted course and turned westward, toward 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 ...
.[ Early on October 14, a ]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 ...
penetrated the storm but only reported winds of up to . As the storm continued moving west, another mission that entered the center around 00 UTC on October 15 reported hurricane-force winds. At 12 UTC that day, the storm struck south of Savannah, Georgia, with winds of .[ At the time, the coverage of hurricane-force winds was small, extending about in all directions from the eye.] The storm weakened slowly as it crossed inland areas of Georgia, but by 00 UTC on October 16 it weakened to a tropical storm, dissipating 18 hours later over Alabama.[
]
Preparations
By October 12, the U.S. Weather Bureau issued hurricane warnings from the Miami metropolitan area to Vero Beach
Vero Beach is a city in and the seat of Indian River County, Florida, United States. Vero Beach is the second most populous city in Indian River County. Abundant in beaches and wildlife, Vero Beach is located on Florida's Treasure Coast. It is thi ...
.
Impact
Florida
Upon striking southernmost Florida, the cyclone produced insignificant wind damage of $75,000 (1947 USD), largely due to its having struck an area hit by the more powerful 1947 Fort Lauderdale hurricane in September. Peak winds in Florida were estimated to have reached around Cape Sable, the area where the storm made landfall
Landfall is the event of a storm moving over land after being over water. More broadly, and in relation to human travel, it refers to 'the first land that is reached or seen at the end of a journey across the sea or through the air, or the fact ...
, though these were not officially accepted as the maximum sustained winds. At the Dry Tortugas
Dry Tortugas National Park is a national park located about west of Key West in the Gulf of Mexico. The park preserves Fort Jefferson and the seven Dry Tortugas islands, the westernmost and most isolated of the Florida Keys. The archipelago's c ...
, wind instruments reported readings up to before failing due to "friction from lack of oil"; higher winds were believed to have occurred thereafter. Elsewhere in South Florida, the U.S. Weather Bureau Air Station at Miami International Airport
Miami International Airport , also known as MIA and historically as Wilcox Field, is the primary airport serving the greater Miami metropolitan area with over 1,000 daily flights to 167 domestic and international destinations, including most co ...
reported sustained winds of , while the Weather Bureau Office in downtown Miami recorded peak winds of . Between the two stations, each apart, the difference in atmospheric pressure was 3 mb (0.09 inHg), but the lowest pressure was not below 995.3 mb (29.39 inHg). As the storm center passed just north of Fort Lauderdale, the city at 0700 UTC on October 12 reported a pressure of 982.1 mb (29 inHg) that was "still falling" at the time. The eye of the storm by 0830 UTC passed over the Hillsboro Inlet Lighthouse
Hillsboro Inlet Lighthouse is a lighthouse located on the north side of Hillsboro Inlet, midway between Fort Lauderdale and Boca Raton, in Hillsboro Beach, Florida. The light marks the northern limit of the Florida Reef, an underwater coral for ...
, which reported calm winds for an hour—the second time in less than a month in which the eye of a hurricane passed over or near the lighthouse, the other having occurred on September 17.
Region-wide, the hurricane produced significant rain
Rain is water droplets that have condensed from atmospheric water vapor and then fall under gravity. Rain is a major component of the water cycle and is responsible for depositing most of the fresh water on the Earth. It provides water f ...
fall totals of to —and, in the interior, locally as high as [Kleinberg, p. 220]—causing severe flooding. The highest measured rainfall total in 24 hours in South Florida was in northeastern Broward County
Broward County ( , ) is a county in the southeastern part of Florida, located in the Miami metropolitan area. It is Florida's second-most populous county after Miami-Dade County and the 17th-most populous in the United States, with over 1.94 ...
. At a weather observation site in Hialeah
Hialeah ( ; ) is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. With a population of 223,109 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, Hialeah is the sixth-largest city in Florida. It is the second largest city by population in the Mi ...
, of rain fell in as little as 10 minutes. In all, as much as fell in just 1¼ hour in the city; due to saturated ground preceding the arrival of the storm, much of the area flooded easily, leaving parts of the city submerged under of water. Similarly, "waist deep" depths were reported in nearby Miami Springs
Miami Springs is a city located in Miami-Dade County, Florida. The city was founded by Glenn Hammond Curtiss, "The Father of Naval Aviation", and James Bright, during the famous "land boom" of the 1920s and was originally named Country Club Estate ...
, Opa-locka
Opa-locka is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 16,463, up from 15,219 in 2010. The city was developed by Glenn Curtiss. Developed based on a ''One Thousand and One Nights'' theme, Op ...
, rural western sections of Pompano Beach
Pompano Beach ( ) is a city in Broward County, Florida, United States. It is located along the coast of the Atlantic Ocean, just north of Fort Lauderdale. The nearby Hillsboro Inlet forms part of the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway. As of the 2020 ...
, and many other cities of the Miami metropolitan area
The Miami metropolitan area (also known as Greater Miami, the Tri-County Area, South Florida, or the Gold Coast) is the ninth largest metropolitan statistical area in the United States and the 34th largest metropolitan area in the world with a ...
. In Boca Raton
Boca Raton ( ; es, Boca Ratón, link=no, ) is a city in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. It was first incorporated on August 2, 1924, as "Bocaratone," and then incorporated as "Boca Raton" in 1925. The population was 97,422 in the ...
, homes in the historic Old Floresta district that housed Army Air Field soldiers were flooded in up to of water.[Ling, p. 180] In the wake of the flooding in his city, Hialeah City Mayor Henry Milander blocked access from surrounding cities. In the Miami area, the Little River
Little River may refer to several places:
Australia Streams New South Wales
*Little River (Dubbo), source in the Dubbo region, a tributary of the Macquarie River
*Little River (Oberon), source in the Oberon Shire, a tributary of Coxs River (Hawk ...
and the Seybold Canal overflowed, as did the New River once again in Fort Lauderdale
A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...
, which had previously done so during the September hurricane.[McIver, pp. 135–7] During the storm, up to of rain in three hours were reported to have fallen on the city of Fort Lauderdale, and sections of Broward County were under of water. On the Tamiami Trail
The Tamiami Trail () is the southernmost of U.S. Highway 41 (US 41) from State Road 60 (SR 60) in Tampa to US 1 in Miami. A portion of the road also has the hidden designation of State Road 90 (SR 90).
The north†...
, floodwaters extended all the way across the state from the Miami area to as far west as Everglades City in Collier County
Collier County is a county in the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 census, the population was 375,752; an increase of 16.9% since the 2010 United States Census. Its county seat is East Naples, where the county offices were moved from E ...
. Due to the floods, septic tanks overflowed, leaving canal banks and patches of ground isolated by floodwaters; reportedly, U.S. Route 1
U.S. Route 1 or U.S. Highway 1 (US 1) is a major north–south United States Numbered Highway that serves the East Coast of the United States. It runs from Key West, Florida, north to Fort Kent, Maine, at the Canadian border, making i ...
, locally called Federal Highway and built largely upon the Atlantic coastal ridge—the highest elevation in South Florida—was flooded out between Miami and Fort Lauderdale. Having been isolated by the floods, deer, rattlesnakes, and other wildlife, along with horses and cattle, sought shelter upon the remaining exposed ground, particularly levee banks.
The flooding that resulted from the storm and the earlier September hurricane was among the worst ever recorded in South Florida and became known as the "Flood of 1947" or, as the ''South Florida Sun-Sentinel'' newspaper in 1990 called it, "the Great South Florida Flood." The rains from the storms followed an abnormally wet rainy season
The rainy season is the time of year when most of a region's average annual rainfall occurs.
Rainy Season may also refer to:
* ''Rainy Season'' (short story), a 1989 short horror story by Stephen King
* "Rainy Season", a 2018 song by Monni
* ''T ...
in the spring of 1947 that raised the water table to dangerous levels and by July forced several emergency meetings by the Everglades Drainage District (EDD) to address widespread flooding. Despite the measures, which resulted in the opening of floodgates to relieve flooded farmlands by diverting water through back-pumping to Lake Okeechobee
Lake Okeechobee (), also known as Florida's Inland Sea, is the largest freshwater lake in the U.S. state of Florida. It is the tenth largest natural freshwater lake among the 50 states of the United States and the second-largest natural freshwat ...
, lack of funding hampered efforts by EDD Chief Engineer Lamar Johnson to address the situation. After the October hurricane struck Florida, eleven counties extending south from Osceola County, Florida
Osceola County (, ) is a county located in the central portion of the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 census, the population was 388,656. Its county seat is Kissimmee. Osceola County is included in the Orlando–Kissimmee– Sanford, Fl ...
, were at least 50% flooded—roughly 90% of the land mass from Orlando
Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures rele ...
to the Florida Keys
The Florida Keys are a coral cay archipelago located off the southern coast of Florida, forming the southernmost part of the continental United States. They begin at the southeastern coast of the Florida peninsula, about south of Miami, and e ...
. South of Lake Okeechobee, a sheet of standing water covering to across and ranging from to deep inundated much of the region, including the Everglades
The Everglades is a natural region of tropical climate, tropical wetlands in the southern portion of the U.S. state of Florida, comprising the southern half of a large drainage basin within the Neotropical realm. The system begins near Orland ...
. In the region, of land were flooded as abnormally high coastal tides prevented water from being released through canals to 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 ...
. The flooding divided many communities: near Fort Lauderdale, a temporary dam that had been erected by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
, colors =
, anniversaries = 16 June (Organization Day)
, battles =
, battles_label = Wars
, website =
, commander1 = ...
to protect Davie
Davie is a surname and a form of the masculine given name David.
It can refer to:
Surname
* Alan Davie (1920-2014), Scottish painter and musician
* Alexander Edmund Batson Davie (1847-1889), Canadian politician and eighth Premier of British Col ...
—a town in which 90% of the homes by the end of October were at least partially submerged—lowered waters in some areas but merely diverted them to others, flooding a neighborhood and leading to angry complaints by residents; the situation worsened after the October hurricane produced even more rain over flooded South Florida.
Georgia and South Carolina
Upon making landfall, the storm produced high tides of up to at Parris Island, South Carolina
Parris Island is a district of the city of Port Royal, South Carolina on an island of the same name. It became part of the city with the annexation of the Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island on October 11, 2002. For statistical purposes, the ...
, and at Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston is the largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina, the county seat of Charleston County, and the principal city in the Charleston–North Charleston metropolitan area. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint o ...
. Up to 1,500 or more buildings were significantly damaged due to wind gusts that reached at Savannah, Georgia. One person died due to high tides preceding the storm. Total property losses in Georgia and South Carolina reached $2,185,000 (1947 USD).
Aftermath
In South Florida, the flooding from the September and October hurricanes led to the creation in 1949 of what is now the South Florida Water Management District
The South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) is a regional governmental district that oversees water resources from Orlando to the Florida Keys. The mission of the SFWMD is to manage and protect water resources by balancing and improving w ...
, which under a Congressional plan was entrusted with the task of preventing a recurrence of significant flooding by forming an improved flood-control system to modulate the water table and by providing suitable water levels with which to water crops, prevent saltwater intrusion
Saltwater intrusion is the movement of saline water into freshwater aquifers, which can lead to groundwater quality degradation, including drinking water sources, and other consequences. Saltwater intrusion can naturally occur in coastal aquifers ...
, and support recreational opportunities as well as the growing South Florida communities. Large pumping systems were constructed, along with numerous new levees and canals, to mitigate the risk of large-scale flooding, yet population growth since the late 1940s is believed to have reduced the extent of vacant lands needed for effective drainage, thereby increasing the risk of damage during a flood similar to that of 1947. In his 1974 book ''Beyond the Fourth Generation,'' former EDD Chief Engineer Lamar Johnson voiced his concerns about large-scale development near the levees, which separate the Everglades water conservation areas from the Miami metropolitan area. Johnson wrote, "It is my opinion...that anytime that area gets a foot or more of rainfall overnight, the shades of 1947's flood will be with them again."
The cyclone was historically significant in that it was the first tropical cyclone to be modified as part of a multi-year operation called Project Cirrus. In July 1946, General Electric (GE) scientists concluded after experimentation that dry ice
Dry ice is the solid form of carbon dioxide. It is commonly used for temporary refrigeration as CO2 does not have a liquid state at normal atmospheric pressure and sublimates directly from the solid state to the gas state. It is used primarily a ...
seeding could induce heavy rainfall and thus ultimately weaken storms by cooling temperatures in the eye. To undertake Project Cirrus, GE, the United States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...
, the Office of Naval Research
The Office of Naval Research (ONR) is an organization within the United States Department of the Navy responsible for the science and technology programs of the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps. Established by Congress in 1946, its mission is to plan ...
, and the U.S. Weather Bureau functioned jointly on research and planning. Early on October 13, 1947, of dry ice were dropped throughout the storm, then located about east of Jacksonville, Florida
Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the seat of Duval County, with which the ...
. While the appearance of the clouds changed, the initial results of the seeding were inconclusive. Shortly after the seeding took place, the hurricane turned sharply toward the Southeastern United States. While the move the leading GE scientist later blamed upon the seeding, subsequent examination of the environment surrounding the storm determined that a large upper-level ridge
A ridge or a mountain ridge is a geographical feature consisting of a chain of mountains or hills that form a continuous elevated crest for an extended distance. The sides of the ridge slope away from the narrow top on either side. The line ...
was in fact responsible for the abrupt turn.
Following the phonetic alphabet from 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 U.S. Weather Bureau office in Miami, Florida
Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...
, which then worked in conjunction with the military, named the storm King, though such names were apparently informal and did not appear in public advisories until 1950
Events January
* January 1 – The International Police Association (IPA) – the largest police organization in the world – is formed.
* January 5 – 1950 Sverdlovsk plane crash, Sverdlovsk plane crash: ''Aeroflot'' Lisunov Li-2 cr ...
, when the first Atlantic storm to be so designated was Hurricane Fox.
See also
* List of Florida hurricanes (1900–1949)
Notes
References
Bibliography
*Barnes, Jay (1998).
Florida's Hurricane History
'' Chapel Hill Press. .
*Bush, David M., et al. (2004). ''Living With Florida's Atlantic Beaches.'' Duke University Press. .
*Churl, Donald W., and John P. Johnson (1990). ''Boca Raton: A Pictorial History.'' The Downing Company Publishers. .
*Grazulis, Thomas P. (1993). ''Significant Tornadoes, 1680-1991: A Chronology and Analysis of Events.'' Environmental Films. .
*Kleinberg, Eliot (2003). ''Black Cloud: The Deadly Hurricane of 1928.'' Carroll and Graf Publishing. .
*Ling, Sally J. (2005). ''Small Town, Big Secrets: Inside the Boca Raton Army Air Field During World War II.'' History Press. .
*McIver, Stuart (1983). ''Fort Lauderdale and Broward County: An Illustrated History.'' Fort Lauderdale Historical Society. .
*Norcross, Bryan (2007). ''Hurricane Almanac: The Essential Guide to Storms Past, Present, and Future.'' St. Martin's Griffin. .
External links
* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20120705084825/http://weather.unisys.com/hurricane/atlantic/1947/index.html UNISYS tracks for 1947 storms
Pictures from Lake Okeechobee area after the storm
{{DEFAULTSORT:1947 Cape Sable hurricane
C
C (1947)
Cape Sable hurricane, 1947
Cape Sable hurricane, 1947
1947 natural disasters in the United States
Category 2 Atlantic hurricanes