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1935 Labor Day hurricane

The 1935 Labor Day Hurricane was an extremely powerful and devastating Atlantic hurricane that struck the southeastern United States in early September 1935. For several decades it was: the most intense Atlantic hurricane on record in terms of barometric pressure, until surpassed by Hurricane Gilbert in 1988;[1] the strongest Atlantic hurricane on record in terms of 1-minute sustained winds, until surpassed by Hurricane Allen in 1980; and the strongest at landfall by 1-minute sustained winds, until it was tied by Hurricane Dorian in 2019. The fourth tropical cyclone, third tropical storm, second hurricane, and second major hurricane of the 1935 Atlantic hurricane season, it is one of four Category 5 hurricanes on record to strike the contiguous United States, along with Hurricane Camille (1969), Hurricane Andrew (1992), and Hurricane Michael (2018).

"Labor Day storm" redirects here. For the storm that hit Syracuse, New York, in 1998, see New York State Labor Day derechos. For the Arizona storm in 1970, see Tropical Storm Norma (1970).

Meteorological history

August 29, 1935 (1935-08-29)

September 6, 1935 (1935-09-06)

September 10, 1935 (1935-09-10)

185 mph (295 km/h)

892 mbar (hPa); 26.34 inHg
(Lowest recorded in the United States; third-lowest recorded in the Atlantic)

423

$100 million (1935 USD)

The hurricane intensified rapidly, passing near Long Key on Labor Day evening, September 2. The region was swept by a massive storm surge as the eye passed over the area. The waters quickly receded after carving new channels connecting the bay with the ocean; however, gale-force winds and rough seas persisted into Tuesday, disrupting rescue efforts. The storm continued northwestward along the Florida west coast, weakening before making its second landfall near Cedar Key, Florida, on September 4.


The hurricane caused catastrophic damage in the upper Florida Keys, as a storm surge of approximately 18 to 20 feet (5.5 to 6.1 m) swept over the low-lying islands. The hurricane's strong winds and the surge destroyed nearly all the structures between Tavernier and Marathon. The town of Islamorada was obliterated. Portions of the Key West Extension of the Florida East Coast Railway were severely damaged or destroyed. In addition, many veterans died in work camps created for the construction of the Overseas Highway, in part due to poor working conditions. The hurricane also caused more damage in northwest Florida, Georgia, and the Carolinas.

Preparations[edit]

Northeast storm warnings[13] were ordered displayed from Fort Pierce to Fort Myers in the September 1, 9:30 AM Weather Bureau advisory.[14] Upon receipt of this advisory the U.S. Coast Guard Station, Miami, FL, sent a plane along the coast to advise boaters and campers of the impending danger by dropping message blocks. A second flight was made on Sunday afternoon. After, planes were placed in the hangar and its door closed at 10:00 AM Monday.[15][16] The 3:30 AM advisory, September 2 (Labor Day), predicted the disturbance "will probably pass through the Florida Straits Monday" and cautioned "against high tides and gales Florida Keys and ships in path."[17] The 1:30 PM advisory ordered hurricane warnings[13] for the Key West district[14] which extended north to Key Largo.[18] At around 2:00 PM, Fred Ghent, Assistant Administrator, Florida Emergency Relief Administration, requested a special train to evacuate the veterans work camps located in the upper keys.[19] It departed Miami at 4:25 PM; delayed by a draw bridge opening, obstructions across the track, poor visibility and the necessity to back the locomotive below Homestead (so it could head out on the return trip[20]) the train finally arrived at the Islamorada station on Upper Matecumbe Key at about 8:20 PM. This coincided with an abrupt wind shift from the northeast (Florida Bay) to southeast (Atlantic Ocean) and the arrival on the coast of the storm surge.[2]

47 civilians and 34 veterans cremated

61 civilians and 128 veterans {unknown} cremated

In the 1948 film Key Largo, Lionel Barrymore describes the horrors of the 1935 hurricane to an anxious Edward G. Robinson, as another hurricane bears down on the Florida Keys. Special effects were used on the Warner lot in the film to re-create a powerful hurricane.

Warner Brothers

The 1997 documentary Hurricane '35: The Deadly Deluge, by Miles Associates Productions, includes interviews with survivors of the 1935 hurricane. Download available at

1935 Hurricane Documentary 27 min. video

, by Tower Productions, was a 2006 made-for-TV (History Channel) docudrama of the 1935 Hurricane.

Nature's Fury: Storm of the Century

Aug. 7, 2014.

Neal Dorst talks to WPEC Channel 12 News in West Palm Beach about the 1935 Labor Day hurricane

a point and click adventure video game, features main character Alfie Banks traveling down to the Florida Keys during the 1935 Labor Day hurricane to rescue George E. Merrick during the game's climax.

A Golden Wake

The hurricane appears in the scenario, Waiting for the Hurricane.

Pulp Cthulhu

(1992) – A devastating Category 5 hurricane that took a similar track

Hurricane Andrew

(2017) – A destructive Category 5 hurricane that took a similar track

Hurricane Irma

(2019) – Another Category 5 hurricane of an almost identical intensity that made landfall in the Bahamas on U.S. Labor Day

Hurricane Dorian

(2022) – A devastating and destructive Category 5 Hurricane that is the deadliest hurricane to make landfall in Florida since this hurricane

Hurricane Ian

List of Atlantic hurricane records

List of Category 5 Atlantic hurricanes

Best, Gary (1992). FDR and the Bonus Marchers, 1933–1935. Praeger.  978-0275937157.

ISBN

Dickson and Allen (2006-03-27). The Bonus Army: An American Epic. Walker & Company.  978-0802777386.

ISBN

Douglas, Marjory (1958). . Rinehart. ISBN 978-0891760153. Excerpt:The Florida Keys, 1935

Hurricane

Drye, Willie (2002). . National Geographic Society. ISBN 978-0-7922801-0-1.

Storm of the Century: The Labor Day Hurricane of 1935

Gallagher, Dan (2003). Florida's Great Ocean Railway: Building the Key West Extension. Pineapple Press.  978-1561647095.

ISBN

Knowles, Thomas Neil (2009). . University Press of Florida. ISBN 978-0-8130331-0-5.

Category 5: The 1935 Labor Day Hurricane

Scott, Phil (2006). . McGraw Hill Professional Publishing. ISBN 978-0-0714791-0-3.

Hemingway's Hurricane

Tannehill, Ivan (2013). Hurricanes: Their Nature and History, Particularly Those Of The West Indies And The Southern Coasts Of The United States. Literary Licensing, LLC (first edition: Princeton University Press, 1938).  978-1258796013.

ISBN

Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory

Excerpts from the Labor Day 1935 Hurricane Monthly Weather Review Article

Images of historic Florida Hurricanes (State Archives of Florida)

Keys Historeum, Historical Preservation Society of the Upper Keys

Florida Keys Memorial

Archived 2010-08-23 at the Wayback Machine

1935 Newspaper reports

Horrific Florida Keys Hurricane, Labor Day 1935 Biot Report #631: July 05, 2009