Landfall of the First Hurricane of the Epic 1926 Season Was 100 Years Ago Today

The first major hurricane to form in the life-changing 1926 season made landfall just south of Daytona Beach, Florida, just after sunrise on July 28, 1926. It's known as the Nassau Hurricane because of the tremendous damage done to the Bahamian capital, but it also strafed the entire East Coast of Florida, finally landing as a Category 2.

The bad weather arrived in Daytona Beach the previous evening and spread up the coast to St. Augustine and Jacksonville. The St. Augustine newspaper published in the afternoon and reported on the impact to the city.

At that time, newspaper reporters apparently didn't understand the distinction between the windy and rainy weather and the center of circulation. So while the center went inland, tracked into South Georgia, and weakened, 50 to 60 mph winds and elevated tides spread north along the coast, which is what the paper focused on.

In South Florida, repairs were underway to coastal roads and buildings that were damaged by the high winds and storm surge that the hurricane threw against the oceanfront over the previous two days. There was great concern for ships that routinely plied the waters between Miami and Nassau and were caught in the hurricane.

The Palm Beaches seemed to get the worst of the storm. Boats sank in Lake Worth, the lagoon between the fancy city of Palm Beach on the ocean and West Palm Beach on the mainland. Buildings were damaged. Communications lines were out all along the Florida coast.

Long-timers in Miami said the July hurricane of 1926 was the worst storm to impact the city since 1910. The center of that Category 2 storm made landfall near Fort Myers and moved up the center of the peninsula. Neither storm came even close to making a direct hit.

And Mother Nature’s hurricane machine kept cranking out storms. Another strong hurricane tracked north well offshore of the U.S. East Coast in early August of 1926. Then yet another powerful storm made landfall southwest of New Orleans in late August. New Orleans got fringe effects, but the wind and high water took a toll. Both of those storms were Category 3s according to modern reckoning.

And the storms kept coming. Yet another major hurricane briefly hit Category 4 strength on September 12. It tracked north well east of the Bahamas.

So four Category 3 or 4 hurricanes had already formed in the Atlantic heading into mid-September. Mother Nature was on a tear, and the worst of the season was still to come.

THE ATLANTIC IN 2026

Hostile atmospheric conditions continue across the tropical Atlantic and the Caribbean.

Even the long-range computer models show no development. But remember, on average the season doesn't crank up until about the third week of August.

FAUSTO CRUISING PAST HAWAII

Now-tropical-storm-strength Fausto will be well north of the Hawaiian Islands this evening Hawaii time. Giant swells on the east-facing beaches are likely to be the biggest impacts. Some flooding of low-lying areas is possible. Larger than normal waves are also likely on the north-facing shorelines.

Otherwise, a few showers will spin over the islands from the edge of Fausto, especially where the winds are blowing onshore against the mountains. But Fausto’s circulation to the north will counteract the trade winds that typically blow east to west across the islands, so the net effect will likely be less rain, and certainly less wind than usual.

The ocean around Hawaii should briefly calm down on Thursday before energy from Hurricane Genevieve arrives at the islands at the end of the week. Genevieve was briefly Category 5, but now it's weakening as it heads into cool water in the open ocean.