The 1916 Texas hurricane was an intense and quick-moving tropical cyclone that caused widespread damage in Jamaica and South Texas in August 1916. A Category 4 hurricane upon landfall in Texas, it was the strongest tropical cyclone to strike the United States in three decades. Throughout its eight-day trek across the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico, the hurricane caused 37 fatalities and inflicted $11.8 million in damage.
Surface weather analysis of the hurricane nearing landfall upon Texas on August 18
Surface weather analysis of the hurricane approaching Jamaica on August 15
Much of Corpus Christi was affected by power outages.
The waterfront was the city's hardest-hit area.
1916 Atlantic hurricane season
The 1916 Atlantic hurricane season featured eighteen tropical cyclones, of which nine made landfall in the United States, the most in one season until 2020, when eleven struck. The first storm appeared on May 13 south of Cuba, while the final tropical storm became an extratropical cyclone over the southeastern Gulf of Mexico on November 15. Of the 18 tropical cyclones forming that season, 15 intensified into a tropical storm, the second-most at the time, behind only 1887. Ten of the tropical storms intensified into a hurricane, while five of those became a major hurricane. The early 20th century lacked modern forecasting tools such as satellite imagery and documentation, and thus, the hurricane database from these years may be incomplete.
1916 Atlantic hurricane season
1916 Atlantic hurricane season
1916 Atlantic hurricane season
1916 Atlantic hurricane season