Hurricanes in the Bahama Archipelago explained

The Bahama Archipelago, also known as the Lucayan Archipelago, is an island group comprising the Commonwealth of The Bahamas and the British Overseas Territory of the Turks and Caicos Islands. The archipelago is in the western North Atlantic Ocean, north of Cuba along with the other Antilles, and east and southeast of Florida. The archipelago has experienced the effects of at least 22 Atlantic hurricanes, or storms that were once tropical or subtropical cyclones, including 17 since 2000. The storms collectively killed 101 people.

Hurricane Dorian in 2019 was the strongest hurricane on record to strike the Bahamas, with one-minute maximum sustained winds of 185mph, causing $2.5 billion in damage and at least 74 deaths. Dorian was one of four Category 5 hurricanes to strike the Bahamas, the others being the 1932 Bahamas hurricane, the 1933 Cuba–Brownsville hurricane, and Hurricane Andrew in 1992. The most recent hurricane to strike the archipelago was Hurricane Nicole in 2022.

Pre-1900s

• September 26, 1852 − The Great Mobile hurricane hits the southernmost portion of the archipelago as a minimal hurricane. Damage is unknown.
• October 1853 − Hurricane Eight passes north of the Bahaman archipelago, killing 12 people in the islands.
• August 15, 1871 − A major hurricane strikes the northernmost part of the archipelago, killing 23 people.

1900s

• September 15–16, 1928 − The 1928 Okeechobee hurricane causes 21 fatalities in the archipelago.
• September 5, 1932 - The 1932 Bahamas Hurricane strikes Great Abaco Island as a Category 5. Damage in Nassau, despite being just 65 miles from the hurricane, is minimal. However, on Great Abaco Island, winds of up to 160mph battered the island. At nearby Hope Town, a pressure of 921mbar was recorded, and 83 homes were destroyed while another 63 were severely damaged. At Green Turtle Cay, a large storm surge inundated the entire island, flooding homes, churches, and businesses. At Green Turtle Cay alone, six people died while another 25 were injured. Multiple vessels to the north of Abaco Island also reported low pressure, one even reporting 936mbar while another vessel recorded 934mbar.^[1]
• August 29, 1933 - The 1933 Cuba–Brownsville hurricane moves over the southeastern Bahamas and Turks and Caicos Islands as a brief Category 5, with winds of 160 mph. The radius of hurricane-strength winds was small, as Grand Turk Island reported winds of only 56 mph. A ship near Mayaguana recorded a pressure of 930mbar, however, the ship was not in the eye of the hurricane.
• September 6–8, 1965 - Hurricane Betsy smashes the northern Bahamian islands as a high-end Category 4 hurricane, with one station in Green Turtle Cay recording winds clocked at 151mph. Another station in Hope Town recorded a gust of 178mph. Two luxury yachts were destroyed, while dozens of smaller boats were damaged. A man was killed in Nassau after his ship capsized at Nassau Harbor. In the Bay Street shopping district, 10feet of water flooded the street. Many power lines and trees were blown down as a result of the strong winds, and many homes and businesses were damaged or destroyed. As a result of the strong winds, rain, and storm surge, $14 million (1965 USD) of damage was estimated, most of it being crop damage.^{[2] [3]}
• October 2–5, 1966 -Hurricane Inez stalls in The Bahamas, bringing with it heavy rainfall. In Nassau alone, 14.31inches of rain is dropped while in Green Turtle Cay, Abaco, 9.82inches of rain is dropped. A tornado also formed in Nassau, killing a 15-month-old child, and injuring two others. It was rated an EF1, with winds of over 100mph being reported from an anemoter near the tornado. However, the strongest winds in the Bahamas directly linked to the hurricane was in West End, Grand Bahama where winds got to 90mph. Overall, five people died and around $15.5 million (1966 USD) of damage was caused.^[4]
• May 29, 1969 - Tropical Depression 5 tracks over the Abaco Islands. No impact is reported.
• October 20–22, 1973 - Tropical Storm Gilda stalls south of the Abaco Islands, bringing heavy rainfall and winds to the islands forcing businesses and schools to close. Peak wind gusts were about 75mph on Golden Cay. There was some reported crop damage, but the overall losses are minor and nobody was killed.
• September 2, 1979 - Hurricane David rolls through the Bahamas as a category 1–2, as it had brought strong winds of 70- to places such as Andros Island. It also brought heavy rainfall to The Bahamas peaking at 8inches. Even with the rainfall and winds, the overall damage in The Bahamas is minor.
• September 26, 1984 - Tropical Storm Isidore moves through the Bahamas before striking Florida, bring gusty conditions and heavy rainfall to the islands. In Nassau, floods and gales close businesses, schools and banks across the island. Even with the floods and gusty winds overall damage is minor and nobody is killed.

1990—1999

• August 24, 1992 - Hurricane Andrew strikes Eleuthera with 160 mph winds (260 km/h) and early the next day passes through the southern Berry Islands with 150 mph winds (240 km/h). The storm causes $250 million worth of damage (1992 USD, $461 million in 2019 USD), with the most damage on Eleuthera and Cat Cays. 4 people were also killed in The Bahamas, with one of them being an indirect death.
• September 23—24, 1998 - Hurricane Georges passed to the south of the archipelago, though forecasts from National Hurricane Center showed the storm making landfall in the archipelago while the storm was farther away. Georges brought 70mph winds to Turks and Caicos Islands and South Andros, as well as precipitation in the storm's outer bands. Though damage was minimal, one person died in the country.^[5]
• August 28, 1999 - Hurricane Dennis strikes the Abaco Islands as a category 1 hurricane, causing winds of 40mph to strike Grand Bahama Island, with other areas recording winds of 70-. The strong winds caused widespread power outages as storm surge was pushed in, flooding roads and buildings. Trees were also downed or severely damaged as the storms center moved across the Abaco Islands. There were no deaths or injuries and the damage total is unknown.
• September 1, 1999 - Hurricane Floyd lashed the Bahamas with winds of 155mph and waves up to 50feet in height. A 20abbr=onNaNabbr=on storm surge inundated many islands with over five ft (1.5 m) of water throughout.^[6] The wind and waves toppled power and communication lines, severely disrupting electricity and telephone services for days. Damage was greatest at Abaco Island, Cat Island, San Salvador Island, and Eleuthera Island, where Floyd uprooted trees and destroyed a significant number of houses.^[7] Numerous restaurants, hotels, shops, and homes were devastated, severely limiting in the recovery period tourism on which many rely for economic well-being.^[8] Damaged water systems left tens of thousands across the archipelago without water, electricity, or food. Despite the damage, few deaths and injuries were reported, as only one person drowned in Freeport.^[6]

2000s

2000—2009

• November 5, 2001 - Hurricane Michelle weakened before hitting the Bahamas, bringing high winds and flooding. At its peak, almost 200,000 customers were without power as many trees fell down from strong winds. In Nassau, almost 12.64 inches of rainfall fell down, and, in New Providence Island, 5–8 feet of storm surge was pushed in. Overall, Michelle caused an estimated $300 million in damage (2001 USD), but there were no reported deaths.
• August 7, 2002 - Tropical Storm Cristobal brought showers and gusty winds to the northern islands of The Bahamas. Two ships recorded tropical storm force winds in association with the storm; one of them, a vessel with the call sign WUQL, reported sustained winds of 47mph from the west-southwest on August 7, while located about 160miles northeast of Great Abaco.^[9]
• August 13, 2003 - Hurricane Erika's precursor disturbance dropped heavy, yet needed rainfall to northwestern islands of The Bahamas.^[10]
• September 7, 2003 - Tropical Storm Henri's outer rainbands dropped around 1inches of rain. Winds in the archipelago gusted to 32mph.^[11]
• September 15—18, 2003 - Hurricane Isabel caused strong swells that lashed the Bahamas. During most hurricanes, the location of the Bahamas prevents powerful swells of Atlantic hurricanes from striking southeast Florida. However, the combination of the location, forward speed, and strength of Isabel produced strong swells through the Providence Channel. Wave heights peaked at 14feet.^[12]
• October 11, 2003 - Tropical Storm Mindy passed over the Turks and Caicos Islands on October 11, causing some rain and squally weather. Mindy had weakened to a tropical depression, as winds reached only 31mph at Grand Turk Island.^[13]
• September 2, 2004 - Hurricane Frances roars through the Bahamas as a category 3, being the first storm since 1866 to impact the entire Bahama Archipelago. At its peak, around 75% of people living in the Bahamas lost power. On San Salvador Island in the Bahamas, between 13 and 17 percent of Australian Pine was lost, most because of snapping. Almost several feet of water was reported in the Freeport International Airport and many crops, including the banana and cool-season vegetables were destroyed.
• November 1, 2007 - Hurricane Noel moves through as a tropical storm, dropping heavy rainfall and bringing gusty winds. At one station in the Bahamas, almost 15inches of rain was recorded while there were sustained winds up to 40 mph through central and northwestern parts of the Bahamas. The worst damage was reported in Long Island with floods up to 5 feet high. There was one death on Exuma when a man abandoned his truck and was then swept away.

2010—2019

• July 17, 2011 - Tropical Storm Bret passes around 100 miles north of Grand Bahama Island, prompting tropical storm warnings for the northwestern Bahamas. On Abaco Island, a weather station recorded a tropical storm force gust up to 48mph. 3 inches of rain was recorded from July 16–17. Impacts were relatively minor, and a drought plaguing the island was relieved by the rainfall.^[14]
• August 25, 2011 - Hurricane Irene struck the southeastern Bahamas along with the Turks and Caicos Islands. In the Turks and Caicos, the storm hit as a Category 1 hurricane, downing power lines and ripping off roofs. In the Bahamas, the storm made landfall as a Category 3, with the eye passing over several Bahamian Islands. The peak wind gust was clocked at nearly 140 mph and the heaviest rain was about 13inches. Winds damaged dozens of buildings, while in Lovely Bay almost 90 percent of all buildings were wiped out. The worst of the damage was reported to be in Cat Cay. The overall damage was around $40 million (2011 USD, $46 million 2020 USD), though there were no fatalities or injuries reported.
• October 1, 2015 - Hurricane Joaquin struck the southeastern Bahamas as a Category 4 hurricane. It was one of the strongest known hurricanes to impact the Bahamas,^[15] with effects comparable to Hurricane Andrew in 1992.^[16] Joaquin directly affected about 7,000 people in the archipelago,^[17] with 836 houses destroyed; this included 413 on Long Island, 227 on San Salvador, 123 on Acklins, 50 on Crooked Island, and 23 on Rum Cay.^[18] One man died during the storm on Long Island, his death was unrelated to the hurricane.^[19] Joaquin left about $200 million in damage across the Bahamian archipelago.^{[20] [21]}
• October 7, 2016 - Hurricane Matthew passed through the Bahamas, making a direct landfall on Grand Bahama. Strong winds took down trees and an estimated 95% percent of houses were severely damaged in Eight Mile Rock and Holmes Rock. On the backside of the hurricane, heavy rainfall flooded the Bahamas, damaging roads. Total damage is about $580 million in damage (2016 USD), but no deaths or injuries were reported.^{[22] [23] [24]}
• September 7, 2017 - Hurricane Irma passed south of the Turks and Caicos Islands before hitting The Bahamas. Winds took out power over the Turks and Caicos, with communication infrastructure destroyed. On South Caicos, over 75% of buildings had lost their roofs, while the hospital in the capital of Cockburn Town was heavily damaged. In the Bahamas, the eye passed over Duncan Town, Inagua and South Acklin. Most damages were confined to Great Inagua and Mayaguana with power lines knocked down. On Crooked Island, Bahamas there was widespread roof damage, and outer rain bands caused tornadoes on Grand Bahama. Overall, damage was $635 million in damage (2017 USD).
• July 22, 2019 - Tropical Depression Three moved across Andros Island shortly after its formation. The depression dropped locally heavy rainfall, reaching 1.53inches in Freeport.^[25]

• September 1, 2019 - Hurricane Dorian struck Elbow Cay on Great Abaco as a Category 5 hurricane, with one-minute sustained winds of, wind gusts over 220abbr=onNaNabbr=on, and a central barometric pressure of 910mbar. This made Dorian the first Category 5 hurricane to strike the Bahamas since 1992, and the strongest hurricane on record to strike the country. After nearly stalling over the country, Dorian struck Grand Bahama Island near South Riding on September 2 with winds of . Dorian's storm surge flooded areas 20feet deep while also dropping heavy rainfall. Precipitation reached 22.84inches at Hope Town. Dorian killed at least 74 people, with another 245 missing as of April 2020.^{[26] [27]} Property damage accounted for $2.5 billion; the nation suffered $717 million in economic losses; and $221 million was required for debris removal and cleaning a large oil spill.^[28]
• September 14, 2019 - Tropical Storm Humberto passed just northeast of the Bahamas while moving northwestward, just two weeks after Dorian. Grand Bahama International Airport reported ten-minute sustained winds of just 29mi/h as the storm passed to the east, and rainfall totals were light.^[29] Humberto's proximity to the disaster area caused small airfields being used in the distribution of emergency supplies to be closed briefly.^[30]

2020—present

• May 16, 2020 - Tropical Storm Arthur formed just north of Grand Bahama Island. Gusty winds damaged tents and other temporary shelters across the island, and heavy rainfall caused some minimal flooding.^{[31] [32]}
• August 1, 2020 - Hurricane Isaias made landfall in Northern Andros Island at wind speeds of 80mph.^[33] The storm caused moderate damage to property, namely storm surge and wind damage to trees and roofs. A few tents and temporary shelters were destroyed.
• September 11, 2020 - Tropical Storm Sally forms as a tropical depression over Andros Island, bringing strong wind gusts and heavy rain along
• November 9-10, 2022: Hurricane Nicole makes landfall on Abaco Island as a strong tropical storm. Hours later, it makes landfall on Grand Bahama as a minimal hurricane with wind speeds of 75mph.

Deadly storms

The following is a list of Atlantic tropical storms that caused fatalities in the Bahama Archipelago.

Name	Year	Number of deaths	Source
	1866	387+
	1899	~334
	1926	258–68+
	1929	142
	1926	~123
	1883	109
	1908	99
	1919	≥94–5
	2019	74 (245 missing)
	1908	58+	^[34]

See also

• Effects of Hurricane Dorian in The Bahamas
• List of Cuba hurricanes
• List of Cayman Islands hurricanes
• List of Jamaica hurricanes
• List of Hispaniola hurricanes
• List of Florida hurricanes

Sources

• Charles L. . Mitchell . The West Indian Hurricane of September 10–20, 1928 . . 56 . 9 . September 1928 . 347–350 . 10.1175/1520-0493(1928)56<347:TWIHOS>2.0.CO;2 . April 29, 2010 . 1928MWRv...56..347M . https://web.archive.org/web/20140326015331/http://www.aoml.noaa.gov/general/lib/lib1/nhclib/mwreviews/1928.pdf . March 26, 2014 . live . free .
• Book: Neely, Wayne. 2009. The Great Bahamian Hurricanes of 1926: the Story of Three of the Greatest Hurricanes to Ever Affect the Bahamas. New York City. iUniverse. limited. 978-1-4401-5174-3. Google Books.
• Book: Neely, Wayne. The Great Okeechobee Hurricane of 1928. iUniverse. Bloomington, Indiana. 978-1-4917-5446-7. 2014. limited. May 7, 2015. Google Books.
• Book: Neely, Wayne. 2019. The Greatest and Deadliest Hurricanes to Impact the Bahamas. Cheyenne, Wyoming. UrLink. 978-1-64753-121-8.
• Partagás . José Fernández . Díaz . H. F. . 1995 . Year 1853 . A Reconstruction of Historical Tropical Cyclone Frequency in the Atlantic from Documentary and other Historical Sources, Part I: 1851-1870 . https://www.aoml.noaa.gov/hrd/Landsea/Partagas/part1.htm . . . 25–6 . 6 October 2022 .

Notes and References

1. News: September 9, 1932. 10 Killed, 30 Injured By Storm In Bahamas; Hurricane Destroys 200 Houses on Abaco Island - Bermuda Escapes Worst of Blow . . April 16, 2022.
2. News: September 7, 1965 . Betsy Clobbering Bahamas Islands . . April 17, 2022.
3. News: Hurricane Betsy . hurricanecity . April 17, 2022.
4. News: Sugg . Arnold L . March 1, 1967 . The hurricane season of 1966 . United States Environmental Science Services Administration . April 18, 2022.
5. Preliminary Report Hurricane Georges 15 September – 01 October 1998 (updated September 2014). John L.. Guiney. National Hurricane Center. NOAA. January 5, 1999. August 18, 2016.
6. Web site: Graef, Rick. The Abacos' Hurricane Floyd Information Pages Relief and Rebuilding Reports and Updates. Go-Abacos.Com. October 4, 2008. https://web.archive.org/web/20010512140201/http://www.go-abacos.com/storm/. dead. May 12, 2001.
7. Web site: Wahlstrom, Margareta. 1999. Bahamas: Hurricane Floyd — Preliminary appeal #23/99. International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. October 4, 2008.
8. Web site: Agence France-Presse. 1999. Battered Bahamas start difficult clean-up in Floyd's wake . ReliefWeb . October 4, 2008 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20070927190126/http://wwwnotes.reliefweb.int/w/rwb.nsf/480fa8736b88bbc3c12564f6004c8ad5/e33c7aea8a47adb6c12567ef00512bfb . September 27, 2007.
9. Web site: James Franklin. 2002. [{{NHC TCR url|id=AL032002_Cristobal}} Tropical Storm Cristobal Tropical Cyclone Report]. National Hurricane Center. 2015-05-26.
10. Web site: Stormcarib.com. 2003. Unofficial Bahamas Reports. 2006-09-25.
11. Web site: Stormcarib.com. 2003. Unofficial Reports from the Bahamas. 2006-06-12.
12. Richard J. David. Charles H. Paxton. 2005. How the Swells of Hurricane Isabel Impacted Southeast Florida. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society. 1065–1068. 10.1175/BAMS-86-8-1065. 86. 8. 2005BAMS...86.1065D . free.
13. Web site: World Meteorological Organization. 2004. Final Report of the 2003 Hurricane Season . 2006-10-09 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20051029215601/http://www.wmo.ch/web/www/TCP/Reports/HC26-English.pdf . October 29, 2005.
14. Web site: Weather system dumps rain over parts of Bahamas. Robards, Chester. The Nassau Guardian. 2011-07-19. 2011-07-19.
15. News: Ian Livingston. Hurricane Joaquin among the strongest storms on record in the Bahamas. October 2, 2015. The Washington Post. October 4, 2015. Capital Weather Gang.
16. News: The Tribune. October 3, 2015. October 3, 2015. Updated: Storm Compared To Hurricane Andrew.
17. Web site: International Federation of Red Cross And Red Crescent Societies. Bahamas Red Cross Responds to Hurricane Joaquin. ReliefWeb. October 21, 2015. October 27, 2015.
18. News: Krishna Virgil. Hurricane Wiped Out 836 Homes. October 22, 2015. The Tribune. October 24, 2015.
19. News: No Deaths In Long Island From Storm, Says Police Chief. October 5, 2015. The Tribune. October 5, 2015.
20. Web site: Government of the Bahamas. PM Christie: Hurricanes Matthew and Joaquin Losses Estimated in Hundreds of Millions. October 20, 2016. Relief Web. October 29, 2016.
21. Web site: Government of the Bahamas. Review of the Past Hurricane Season. April 5, 2016. The Tribune. April 6, 2016.
22. News: Rashad Rolle. Tribune 242. October 7, 2016. October 7, 2016. Grand Bahama Suffers Significant Damage As Matthew Roars Through.
23. News: Neil Hartnell. The Tribune 242. April 3, 2018. April 10, 2018. Bahamas Facing 'Hard Choices' On $710m Storm Woe.
24. News: Neil Hartnell. The Tribune. January 19, 2018. January 30, 2018. Bahamas Facing $500m Storm Bill Over Next Decade.
25. David A. Zelinsky. Tropical Cyclone Report: Tropical Depression Three. National Hurricane Center. August 19, 2019. August 22, 2019. Miami, Florida.
26. Lixion Avila, Stacy Stewart, Robbie Berg, and Andrew Hagen. National Hurricane Center. Tropical Cyclone Report. April 20, 2020. April 29, 2020. Hurricane Dorian (AL052019).
27. News: Digital Writers. Catastrophic Hurricane Dorian could come dangerously close to Florida . 2 September 2019 . . 2 September 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190902140057/https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/world/catastrophic-hurricane-dorian-could-come-dangerously-close-to-florida/ar-AAGGwi8 . September 2, 2019 . live.
28. Web site: Associated Press. The Weather Channel. November 15, 2019. December 9, 2019. Hurricane Dorian Responsible for $3.4 Billion in Losses on Bahamas, Report Says.
29. Stacy R. Stewart. Tropical Cyclone Report: Hurricane Humberto. National Hurricane Center. February 19, 2020. February 25, 2020.
30. News: Associated Press. Cleanup Resumes In Bahamas As Humberto Swirls Away. September 15, 2019. The Tribune. February 28, 2020.
31. Web site: Tropical Depression One Discussion Number 1. Cangialosi. John. National Hurricane Center. May 17, 2020.
32. Web site: Tropical weather conditions expected to hit Grand Bahama. www.tribune242.com. en. 2020-05-18.
33. Stewart. Stacy. Hurricane Isaias Advisory Number 18...Corrected. August 1, 2020. National Hurricane Center. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 6 October 2022.
34. Rappaport . Edward N. . Fernández-Partagás . José . Edward Rappaport . The Deadliest Atlantic Tropical Cyclones, 1492–1996 . NWS NHC 47 . National Weather Service, National Hurricane Center . 22 April 1997 . 28 May 1995 . Appendix 1. Cyclones with 25+ Deaths . https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/pastdeadlyapp1.shtml? . 19 February 2022 .