Hurricane Janet was the most powerful tropical cyclone of the 1955 Atlantic hurricane season and one of the strongest Atlantic hurricanes on record. Janet was also the first named storm to cause 1,000 deaths and the first Category 5 storm name to be retired. The eleventh tropical storm, ninth hurricane, and fourth major hurricane of the year, Janet formed from a tropical wave east of the Lesser Antilles on September 21. Moving westward across the Caribbean Sea, Janet fluctuated in intensity, but generally strengthened before reaching its peak intensity as a Category 5 hurricane with winds of . The intense hurricane later made landfall at that intensity near Chetumal, Mexico on September 28. After weakening over the Yucatán Peninsula, it moved into the Bay of Campeche, where it slightly strengthened before making its final landfall near Veracruz on September 29. Janet quickly weakened over Mexico's mountainous terrain before dissipating on September 30.
In its developmental stages, Janet caused $7.8 million in damage to the Lesser Antilles and 189 deaths in the Grenadines and Barbados. While Janet was in the central Caribbean Sea, a reconnaissance aircraft flew into the storm and was lost with all hands. This remains the only such loss which has occurred in association with an Atlantic hurricane. A Category 5 upon landfall on the Yucatán Peninsula, Janet caused severe devastation in areas of Quintana Roo and British Honduras. Only five buildings in Chetumal, Mexico remained intact after the storm, and an estimated 500 deaths occurred in the Mexican state of Quintana Roo. At Janet's second landfall near Veracruz, significant river flooding ensued, worsening effects caused by Hurricanes Gladys and Hilda earlier in the month. The floods left thousands of people stranded and killed at least 326 people in the Tampico area, leading to the largest Mexican relief operation ever executed by the United States.
Janet's minimum barometric pressure, recorded in Chetumal, was at the time the second-lowest-recorded pressure on land associated with a tropical cyclone in the Atlantic, behind the 1935 Labor Day hurricane. At least 1,023 deaths were attributed to Hurricane Janet, as well as $65.8 million in damages. It also caused the extinction of the Little Swan Island hutia.
Meteorological history
A weak tropical disturbance was first reported by the Air France and Iberia airlines east of the Lesser Antilles early on September 21. Although it was speculated that the disturbance originated from a tropical wave near Cape Verde, the Weather Bureau considered the system too weak to be detected due to a lack of reports from the islands. See pp. 321–323. At 1800 UTC on September 21, while it was located east-southeast of Martinique, the disturbance became sufficiently organized for the Weather Bureau to classify it as Tropical Storm Janet, the tenth named storm of the season. Upon classification, Janet quickly intensified as it moved to the west. On September 22, Janet attained hurricane strength, and proceeded to intensify rapidly as it moved westward across the Windward Islands. By 1200 UTC that day, Janet already attained Category 3 hurricane strength with maximum sustained winds of , before stalling in intensification.
Shortly after 1700 UTC on September 22, the eye of Janet passed south of Barbados as a Category 1 Hurricane. A reconnaissance flight into the hurricane discovered that the Hurricane Janet's eye measured only in diameter, with gale-force winds extending away from the center of circulation. The flight also reported a minimum barometric pressure of . After passing between the islands of Grenada and Carriacou in the morning hours of September 23, Janet entered an area of unfavorable conditions in the eastern Caribbean Sea. As a result, the hurricane became disorganized, with winds weakening to by 1200 UTC on September 23. A U.S. Navy reconnaissance plane entered the hurricane early on September 24, reporting a lack of organization, and noting an indiscernible center of circulation with weak rainbands. However, the hurricane began to reintensify in favorable conditions, regaining major hurricane strength by 1200 UTC on September 24 and subsequently Category 4 hurricane intensity by the next day.
While trekking across the central Caribbean Sea, Janet was only slightly larger than while it was moving over the Windward Islands, with gale-force winds extending out from the center by September 25. Remaining a Category 4 hurricane as it moved erratically westward across the Caribbean, a reconnaissance flight mission during the night of September 25–26 indicated strong rainbands with frequent lightning strikes and a well-defined eye, evidence that the storm was once again rapidly intensifying. As it neared the Yucatán Peninsula on September 26, Janet began accelerating in forward speed. After the reconnaissance flight Snowcloud Five was lost while making a penetration into the hurricane's eye, another flight early on September 27 reported a minimum pressure of , with winds in excess of "by a large and incalculable amount." The hurricane was estimated to have intensified to Category 5 hurricane intensity—the highest rating on the modern-day Saffir–Simpson hurricane scale—at 1700 UTC on September 27, shortly before passing over the Swan Islands. Janet continued to intensify afterwards, eventually reaching its peak intensity with maximum sustained winds of , with gale-force winds having expanded to at least away from the center of the hurricane. Janet maintained peak intensity as it made landfall in extreme southern Quintana Roo, Mexico, just east of Chetumal, Mexico. In that city, an anemometer at the airport reported winds of before being blown away, and a barometer indicated a minimum barometric pressure of in the eye of Janet. At the time, this was the second-lowest pressure ever recorded on land in a landfalling Atlantic hurricane, behind the 1935 Labor Day hurricane, though Janet was later surpassed by hurricanes Dean and Gilbert, which also made landfall on the Yucatán Peninsula as Category 5 hurricanes.
Once over land, Janet considerably weakened to a Category 2 hurricane with winds of . After crossing the Yucatán Peninsula with a forward speed of , the hurricane emerged into the Bay of Campeche by 1600 UTC on September 28. The weakened hurricane marginally intensified as it crossed the Bay of Campeche to a secondary peak intensity of with a minimum central pressure of . Janet eventually made its final landfall north of the city of Veracruz by 2200 UTC on September 29 as a Category 2 hurricane. After moving inland, the hurricane became quickly disorganized due to the highly mountainous terrain of Mexico, and as a result the Weather Bureau issued its last advisory on Janet. The weakening system degenerated to tropical storm strength by September 30, and later dissipated over central Mexico by 0600 UTC that day. Janet's remnant circulation contributed to the development of a disturbed area of weather off the western coast of Mexico that would subsequently develop into a tropical storm on October 1.
Preparations
Caribbean Islands Upon Janet's formation east of the Windward Islands, the Weather Bureau office in San Juan, Puerto Rico advised small craft to remain in port and vessels in the path of the developing storm to exercise caution. After a reconnaissance flight reported much stronger winds than initially suggested, hurricane warnings were issued at 1600 UTC on September 22 for the entirety of the Lesser Antilles from Saint Lucia to Grenada, including Barbados. Storm warnings were issued for all islands in the Windward Islands from Saint Lucia south to Tobago, excluding St. Vincent and the Grenadines. All warnings in the Windward Antilles remained in effect until 1000 UTC on September 22. Shortly after warnings were lowered in the Windward Islands, storm warnings were issued for the ABC islands and the Paraguaná Peninsula of Venezuela at 0200 UTC on September 23. After Janet passed north of the islands, all storm warnings were lifted on the morning of September 25. The Weather Bureau later warned interests in Jamaica, but did not issue any hurricane-related warnings for the island.
Yucatán Peninsula and Mexico The Weather Bureau first began cautioning areas of Central America at 1600 UTC on September 26, advising people in areas of northeast Nicaragua and Honduras to take precautionary measures, along with all vessels and small craft in the Gulf of Honduras south to Cabo Gracias a Dios. After Janet began accelerating towards the west-northwest, advisories warned areas in British Honduras and Quintana Roo of hurricane-related impacts. Though no official warnings were issued for areas of Central America, advisories published by the Weather Bureau cautioned interests in the hurricane's path up until landfall. Evacuations took place in several coastal towns in Quintana Roo upon notification of the oncoming storm. People were evacuated to inland hillside shelters. After the hurricane moved through the Yucatán Peninsula and entered the Bay of Campeche, the Weather Bureau alerted areas in the storm's path on the western side of Mexico's Gulf Coast. At the time, Janet was expected to make landfall between Veracruz and Tuxpan. Areas were warned of the storm's potential flooding and coastal impacts. The Weather Bureau advised all small craft south of Port O'Connor, Texas to remain in port. Notifications of Janet to potentially affected areas were stopped after the hurricane made landfall.
Impact +Deaths and damage by region Region Totaldeaths Damage(USD) Source(s) Barbados 38 British Honduras 16 Grenadines 122 Hurricane Hunters 11 Quintana Roo 500 Sonora 0 Tamaulipas 326 Unknown Tobago 10 Unknown Veracruz Unknown Unknown Totals: + Because of differing sources, totals may not match.
During its existence, areas of the Lesser Antilles, ABC islands, and Central America were affected by Janet. At least $65.8 million in damages and 1,023 deaths were caused by the hurricane, mostly in Quintana Roo. The large number of deaths and damage caused by Janet helped make the 1955 Atlantic hurricane season the deadliest and costliest hurricane season documented since comprehensive record of such statistics began in 1942.
Lesser Antilles As a small but rapidly intensifying hurricane, Janet passed just south of Barbados on September 22, becoming the first hurricane to strike the island in 57 years, since the 1898 Windward Islands Hurricane, until Hurricane Elsa struck the island in 2021. Maximum sustained winds on the south side of the island were estimated to be between . The strong winds knocked out communication lines, preventing officials from accurately enumerating casualties on the island, though communications were still maintained by commercial cable companies and amateur radio. Electric power was later restored, allowing newspapers to publish information on the storm. Sugar cane, the island country's main source of revenue, was severely damaged, with losses estimated to be in excess of $1 million. Poorly constructed dwellings were blown apart by the strong winds. An estimated 8,100 homes were damaged by the hurricane. The destroyed buildings and trees blocked highways, and the Seawell Airport was forced to close. Heavy rains peaked at and a storm surge of swept away low-lying houses along the coast. An estimated 2,000 people were left homeless due to the hurricane. Property damage on Barbados was estimated to be $5 million, and at least 57 people were killed.