The 23rd Conference on Hurricanes and Tropical Meteorology

P7B.18
A REEVALUATION OF THE GEORGIA AND NORTHEAST FLORIDA TROPICAL CYCLONE OF 2 OCTOBER 1898

Al Sandrik, NOAA/NWS, Jacksonville, FL; and B. Jarvinen

On October 2, 1898, a tropical cyclone impacted the Georgia and Northeast Florida coastlines and inland regions. Current National Hurricane Center archives indicate the center of the tropical cyclone made landfall along the central Georgia coast near Sapelo Island with the intensity of a category two hurricane on the Saffir/Simpson hurricane intensity scale. A detailed search of historical records, including newspaper accounts and personal diaries and letters, as well as National Weather Service records, indicate that the storm made landfall both farther south and with greater intensity than the current records indicate. Because the height of the storm tide is directly correlated to the intensity of the hurricane, an effort was made to measure known high water marks in the region. Utilizing the high water mark information and the existing meteorological data, the National Weather Service's storm surge model, called SLOSH (Sea, Lake and Overland Surges from Hurricanes) and NOAA's astronomical tide model were run in a series of successive iterations until a "best fit" between the model output and the historical storm tide elevations and meteorological observations occurred. The "best fit" hurricane thus obtained would have central pressure of 938 millibars and a radius of maximum winds of 21 statute miles. Pressure/wind relationships would yield a maximum 1-minute wind of approximately 135 miles per hour. The center of the "best fit" hurricane would make landfall on Cumberland Island, which would place the center approximately 30 statute miles south of the current archived track. The data suggests that this storm was a category four hurricane on the Saffir/Simpson hurricane scale and would be similar in intensity and size to hurricane Hugo which impacted the South Carolina coast in September of 1989. A correction to both the archived track and intensity is suggested

The 23rd Conference on Hurricanes and Tropical Meteorology