Hurricane Donna

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Hurricane Donna in the 1960 Atlantic hurricane season was a Category 5 Cape Verde-type hurricane that interfered with the Leeward Islands, Puerto Rico, Hispanola, Cuba, The Bahamas, and every single state on the East Coast of the United States. It caused billions of US dollars in damages and killed an estimated 364 people.

Storm history

Donna holds the record for retaining "major hurricane" status (category 3 or greater on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale) in the Atlantic Basin for the longest period of time on record. For nine days, September 2 to September 11, Donna consistently had sustained winds of at least 115 mph. From the moment it became a tropical depression to when it dissipated after becoming an extratropical storm, Donna roamed the Atlantic from August 29 to September 14, a total of 17 days. While crossing the Atlantic Donna briefly achieved Category 5 strength.

After its voyage across the Atlantic Ocean, Donna moved north of Puerto Rico and Hispaniola before crossing the Bahamas.

Most intense landfalling U.S. hurricanes Intensity is measured solely by central pressure
Rank	Hurricane	Season	Landfall pressure
1	"Labor Day"	1935	892 mbar (hPa)
2	Camille	1969	909 mbar (hPa)
3	Katrina	2005	920 mbar (hPa)
4	Andrew	1992	922 mbar (hPa)
5	"Indianola"	1886	925 mbar (hPa)
6	"Florida Keys"	1919	927 mbar (hPa)
7	"Okeechobee"	1928	929 mbar (hPa)
8	Donna	1960	930 mbar (hPa)
9	New Orleans"	1915	931 mbar (hPa)
10	Carla	1961	931 mbar (hPa)
Source: [U.S. National Hurricane Center]

The storm first made landfall in the community of Marathon, centered on Key Vaca in the middle Florida Keys. At this first landfall, wind gusts ranging from 175 to 200 mph were reported along with a minimum central pressure of 27.46 inHg (930 mbar) and a 13 foot storm surge.

The storm crossed into the Gulf of Mexico and its course shifted northward. Donna paralleled the southwest coast of Florida until it made landfall again on Florida between Naples and Fort Myers as a Category 4 hurricane.

After crossing the Florida peninsula, it continued and moved back out into the Atlantic Ocean near Daytona Beach. Donna headed up the East Coast, and made another landfall at Topsail Beach, North Carolina. It then finished its trip by heading into New England, with a final landfall across Long Island, New York.

Highest ACE hurricanes
Rank	Name	Season	ACE
1	"San Ciriaco"	1899	73.57
2	Ivan	2004	70.38
3	"Four"	1926	67.59
4	Donna	1960	64.55
5	"Charleston"	1893	63.53
Main article: Accumulated Cyclone Energy
Source:

Donna, unlike Hurricane Charley which followed a similar track in 2004, was a slow-moving storm. Donna dumped 10 to 12 inches of rain in the southern half of Florida, along with about seven inches in the northern half. The three weeks prior to Donna's landfall produced a 6-7 inch surplus in rain before the hurricane hit, exacerbating the problem.

Impact

Storm deaths by region
(incomplete)

Region	Deaths
Saint Martin	7[link]
Puerto Rico	107[link]
Bahamas	?[link]
United States	50[link]
Total	364

Hurricane Donna was a very destructive storm giving that it affected the most land areas in history, a record held until Hurricane Wilma in 2005. About 364 people were killed by the hurricane, 148 direct and 216 indirect; of the 148 directly killed by the storm, fifty of them were Americans.

Leeward Islands

A weather station in St. Maarten reported wind gusts up to 110 mph and a 952 pressure reading while St. Thomas reported a 66 mph (52 knot) gust as the center of Donna passed 35 miles north of the island. In Puerto Rico, Donna produced storm tides between four to six feet. [Monthly Weather Review]

Donna killed seven people and caused minimal damage when it passed though the Virgin Islands, in Puerto Rico, although the center of the storm was 85 miles offshore, the outer rain bands brought heavy rains that caused serious flashflooding which killed 107 people (85 of them in Humacao). [Monthly Weather Review]

Bahamas

Turks Island escaped the brunt of the hurricane, receiving only 50-60 mph winds and 12 inches of rain which fell in a twelve hour period. However the rest of the Bahamas were not as lucky as the hurricane tore away the anemometer in Ragged Island and forced several people to seek shelter at a missile base. Despite the damage there were no deaths and damage estimates are not available. [Monthly Weather Review]

Eastern United States

Florida suffered profound losses from Donna, more than any other state. Damage in the Keys at the original point of landfall was most severe, where Donna's winds and storm surge destroyed many buildings and vessels. 35% of the state's grapefruit crop was lost, 10% of the orange and tangerine crop was lost, and the avocado crop was almost completely wiped out. The day after the storm hit, President Dwight D. Eisenhower declared a disaster area from the Keys up to Central Florida.

Although weaker, it considerable and widespread damage in North Carolina and New York. Donna was one of the few hurricanes to affect every state along the East Coast; it is also the only storm to produce hurricane-force winds in nearly every state of the east coast from Florida to Maine^{[[Citing sources citation needed]]}. 50 people were reported dead in the United States, with damages totalling to $3.04 billion (2004 USD) [link].

Retirement

The name Donna was retired and will never be used for an Atlantic hurricane again; the name was replaced by Dora in 1964.

See also

1. redirect

• List of notable Atlantic hurricanes
• List of Category 5 Atlantic hurricanes

External links

• [Historic Images of Florida Hurricanes (Florida State Archives)]
• [NOAA Hurricane Research Division Donna page]

Notes

 

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