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 Galveston, Texas
September 8, 1900
A storm without a name caused the deadliest natural disaster in U.S. history.
What happened?
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A hurricane with winds estimated today at 140 miles per hour slammed into the island of Galveston, just off the Texas shore.
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The storm sent 15-foot waves surging over the island—which, at its highest point, rose just nine feet above sea level.
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As houses collapsed, the ruins formed a two-story-high wall of debris that moved across the island, destroying everything in its path.
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More than 8,000 lives were lost—more than any other U.S. natural disaster of any kind. |
 There were no satellites in 1900, no radar, no hurricane naming system. But the Weather Bureau observed the surging waters that September day and issued a warning to seek higher ground.
But there was no higher ground. Storm surge—swelling seawater driven onshore by high winds—completely submerged the narrow island.
Today, and every day, the National Weather Service receives 192,000 observations from surface stations, 2,700 from ships, 18,000 from weather buoys, 115,000 from aircraft, 250,000 from balloons, and 140 million from satellites. Using this data and computer models, meteorologists try to forecast what they think the weather will do next.
Continue to Understanding Hurricanes. >>
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