The 1935 Yankee hurricane was the most significant tropical cyclone to strike metropolitan Miami in nine years. It was one of three November Atlantic hurricanes to make landfall in Florida. It was the second hurricane to hit the state in 1935, after a devastating September storm. One of a few strong hurricanes to cross Florida from the northeast, it was the seventh tropical cyclone and fifth hurricane of the annual season. It developed east of Bermuda on October 30, in an area not usually known for hurricane formation. A few days later it strengthened into a hurricane. It initially posed a threat to the Carolinas, but then turned southwest and south, confounding forecasters. It attained its peak intensity of 105 miles per hour (165 kilometres per hour) on November 3. A small storm, shortly afterward it hit the northern Bahamas, causing 14 fatalities and moderate damage—mostly to shipping—in the island chain.
On November 4 it veered westward and weakened somewhat, striking the contiguous United States just north of Miami Beach, Florida, with winds of 100 mph (155 km/h). In Florida the storm killed nine people and injured more than 150 others. It inflicted the heaviest damage to the Miami area since a 1926 hurricane. Wind gusts of up to battered a coastal area in southeastern Florida, razing hundreds of flimsy homes and unroofing well-constructed buildings. Copious rainfall combined with the winds and storm surge to damage waterfront sites, vessels, and crops. Due to its unseasonal and unusual route toward Florida, the storm was nicknamed the Yankee hurricane. After landfall, the storm weakened further, emerged into the eastern Gulf of Mexico, and executed a slow clockwise loop. Losing tropical characteristics, it dissipated just west of peninsular Florida on November 8. __ToC__
Meteorological history
On October 25 a low-pressure area formed along a weather front about 330 miles (530 kilometres) east of Bermuda. The disturbance meandered over warm ocean waters, wedged between a trough to its east and a ridge to its north. Modulated by the Icelandic Low, the ridge–trough interplay drew a polar air mass southward over the warm water, generating easterly trade winds and rising atmospheric instability. The unstable atmosphere, dominated by clashing winds, produced convection, allowing a well-defined circulation to emerge on October 29, followed by a concentrated wind field a day later. At 06:00 UTC on October 30, the seventh tropical storm of the season first appeared in the hurricane databases (HURDAT) about 230 mi (370 km) east of Bermuda. It displayed uniform air temperatures, although its oblong circulation and uneven precipitation pattern more closely resembled a subtropical cyclone. Based on ship observations, it headed just north of due west and intensified for a few days. On November 1 it strengthened into a minimal hurricane, becoming the fifth storm of the season to do so. Reports from weather stations in its path showed a smaller-than-usual storm, marked by a compact radius of hurricane-force winds.
Late on November 1 a high-pressure area over the eastern United States deflected the storm from the Outer Banks, causing it to swerve southwestward with time. Its "hairpin"-shaped trajectory mirrored another storm a few weeks prior, baffling contemporary forecasters, who expected it to curve northward like a typical cyclone. The storm intensified further on November 2, as shown by barometer readings down to aboard a few ships in the eye of the storm, implying sustained winds of based on pressure–wind relationships. During the day the storm bent south toward the northern Bahamas, continuing to intensify. On November 3 the ship Queen of Bermuda entered the calm center for an hour and recorded , the lowest pressure in the storm, which suggested a peak intensity of 105 mph (165 km/h). Overnight the storm slowed and curled southwest, striking the Abaco Islands and East Grand Bahama with the same winds. On November 4 it curved west-southwest and accelerated toward Florida, defying initial forecasts—a shift meteorologists found inexplicable, owing to weak atmospheric currents.
At 18:00 UTC, it struck between present-day Bal Harbour and Sunny Isles in Dade County, Florida. Crossing the coastline and the Miami city limits, the eye was heralded by an hour-long lull. A minimum pressure of in the local Weather Bureau office correlated with winds of 100 mph (155 km/h)—low-end Category 2 status—as deduced by the Atlantic hurricane reanalysis project. Heading swiftly inland, the hurricane transited the Everglades with winds of 75–80 mph (120–130 km/h) and reached the Gulf of Mexico a short distance north of Cape Sable early on November 5. Once over water it failed to restrengthen, degenerating into a tropical storm within 18 hours, likely due to an influx of dry, stable air from the west. A day later ships in the gulf clocked peak winds of and pressures no lower than . Within a few days the storm arced west-northwestward and then eastward, shedding gale-force winds. It became extratropical at 12:00 UTC on November 8, and six hours later ended about 95 mi (155 km) west of the entrance to Tampa Bay.
Preparations On October 31, the United States Weather Bureau advised interests between Boston, Massachusetts, and Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, to prepare for brisk winds or gales. A day later it issued storm warnings from the Delaware Breakwater to Boston. Mariners hastened offshore, including at Newport News, Virginia. On November 2 the Weather Bureau suspended warnings north of the Virginia Capes, instead expanding them to near New Bern, North Carolina, while noting "dangerous conditions" at sea. The agency expanded its warnings later on that day to Charleston, South Carolina, and cautioned interests farther south. At first it only anticipated above-normal tides in Florida, projecting a path offshore. Part 2 P. 2 A day later, nonetheless, the Weather Bureau relayed information about the storm to marine and other concerns in or near Florida.
As the storm closed in on land, Bahamian officials notified islanders, including 1,500 sponge fishermen, P. 2 by air, wireless, and courier networks. People in the capital Nassau barricaded their homes and all shops. On November 4, prompted by changes in the storm path, the Weather Bureau posted hurricane warnings from Stuart, Florida, to Miami, along with storm warnings up to Titusville. It predicted landfall between Miami and West Palm Beach. Hurricane warnings eventually reached Naples on the state's west coast, as well as storm warnings at Fort Myers. P. 2 Later advisories included Tarpon Springs in the warned area. P. 2, Part 1 P. 2, Part 2 P. 2, Part 3 Areas from Key West to St. Augustine closely monitored the storm. Due to its unpredictability, the Weather Bureau was unable to warn of the storm at an early stage. Its abrupt approach took Miami citizens by surprise, many of whom only boarded up their properties during the storm. P. 11, Part 1 P. 11, Part 2 P. 11, Part 3 P. 11, Part 4 P. 11, Part 5 P. 7, Part 1 P. 7, Part 2 P. 7, Part 3
In the United States a brand-new regional hurricane warning service issued alerts via news media and telecommunications. South Floridians secured watercraft, shuttered windows, and closed schools. Locals besieged newspapers with storm-related questions. Seaside residents evacuated. Everglades dwellers sought safer ground, Part 2 while the South Florida Red Cross Safety committee ordered a special train on standby to transport evacuees. P. 3, Part 1 P. 3, Part 2 To avoid a repeat of the September hurricane, which claimed hundreds of lives, the Public Works Administration conveyed its workers from the Florida Keys to Homestead and Miami. In the upper Keys officials relocated more than 200 laborers by truck from the Snake Creek area to the mainland. Furthermore, the Weather Bureau released small craft advisories to caution marine interests.
Thousands of storm refugees jammed hotel lobbies in Miami. Tenders kept drawbridges open to let boaters flee, limiting vehicle access to downtown Miami. P. 8, Part 1 P. 8, Part 2 P. 8, Part 3 P. 8, Part 4 P. 8, Part 5 P. 10, Part 1 P. 10, Part 2 The United States Coast Guard dispatched amphibious aircraft to apprise fishermen in the Keys and along the west coast of the peninsula. Shipping was instructed to avoid hazardous waters. P. 8 P. 8, Part 2 Beachfront communities, such as Palm Beach, erected sandbags to forestall erosion, P. 2 while rerouting vehicles from vulnerable roads and bridges. Pan Am flights to and from affected areas were briefly discontinued. Due to the storm, the China Clipper—just returned from a round trip—diverted to Kingston, Jamaica. P. 2 In Havana, Cuba, the P&O steamship Florida was held at port for a day.
As soon as the storm entered the Gulf of Mexico, the Weather Bureau believed it would turn landward and reenter the state north of Tampa. Accordingly, it issued storm warnings from Carrabelle to Cedar Key, while advising mariners to monitor the weather. P. 3 A few days later, due to a west shift in the projected landfall toward Pensacola, the warned area was enlarged to include the entire Florida panhandle and points westward along the United States Gulf Coast as far as the Mississippi River Delta. Residents in western Florida secured fishing boats and waterside belongings. Road engineers fortified a new bridge over Apalachicola Bay days before its planned opening.
Impact
Though small, the storm spread its effects from North Carolina to the Bahamas, South Florida, and the eastern Gulf of Mexico. It killed 23 people: 14 in the Bahamas and nine in Florida. In its path the storm injured about 150 people. Warnings and building codes limited the overall impact of the storm in Florida, as did its tight wind field. P. 7 Monetary losses from the storm in the Bahamas were unknown. Property damage reached $5 million in Florida. Crop losses statewide were uncertain but significant.
Carolinas to the Bahamas The storm sideswiped North Carolina, producing high surf and gales on the Outer Banks. Winds at Hatteras peaked at . Due to high tides, Albemarle Sound and the ocean overspread nearby barrier islands. Facing poor weather, a pair of United States Navy seaplanes en route from Fernandina, Florida, made forced landings at Beaufort Inlet. In the Bahamas, the storm produced a brief period of hurricane-force winds, one to three hours in duration. The lowest barometer read in Hope Town on Elbow Cay, though the fiercest winds likely missed the area. The storm killed 14 people in the Bahamas, 11 of whom drowned off Great Abaco Island. Among the dead was Abaco commissioner John Eldridge Russell, who, while aiding victims of a previous storm, was pushed overboard by a boom. Damage in the Bahamas was locally severe, notably to the sponge fleet on Great Abaco. Five vessels there were torn apart and three others were severely damaged. Other damage on the island was described as modest. Clipping Grand Bahama, the storm blew at there, but damage, if any, was unknown.
Florida A rare event, the storm was the first of three November hurricanes in Florida, behind 1985's Kate and 2022's Nicole. Of these, it was the only one to hit Greater Miami from the northeast. Alongside 1965's Betsy, it was also the first of two severe hurricanes to hit Florida from that direction. It derived its name from its origin and track, which reminded people of northern visitors.