It’s been 80 years since a Category Two hurricane made landfall on the Bolivar Peninsula, near Galveston, Texas on July 27, 1943. The hurricane inflicted extensive damage and 19 people lost their lives. The magnitude of the hurricane came as a complete surprise to residents of the affected area because the U.S. Weather Bureau and other government agencies censored most of the information about it. Details of damage and deaths after the hurricane were also kept from the public. Why were critical bits of information and overall details of this hurricane kept hidden? “Hidden Hurricane” is what I call this storm.
Meteorological Timeline – July 1943 Hurricane
For reasons that will be explained later, there is a good deal of missing information about this hurricane. The storm occurred during World War II and the U.S. government was hesitant to share information about what was happening around U.S. coastal waters. So, we’ll have to deal with available information, with a dose of speculation.
On July 25, 1943, a tropical depression formed southeast of the Louisiana coast. This was the first tropical cyclone of the Atlantic Season. The depression developed into a tropical storm and then a hurricane as it proceeded slowly to the west-northwest. The tropical storm grew stronger and became a hurricane on July 27th. Since tropical storms and hurricanes weren’t named in those days it became known as Hurricane #1.
The hurricane was small and slow-moving (probably 5-7 mph) and it made landfall around the Bolivar Peninsula, just above Galveston on the Texas coast, before noon on July 27th. It moved slowly toward Houston during the day and its center reached Houston before midnight, probably as a strong tropical storm. After that, it moved slowly northwestward as it weakened a tropical depression and it fizzled west of Fort Worth, Texas, on July 30th.
The storm was originally classified as a Category 1 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Scale. Beyond that, there are no official records about the storm. Most of the details have been conjectured from media reports (mainly newspapers). A review of wind observations and barometric pressure readings made it clear that this was a Category 2 hurricane or higher according to prominent hurricane consultant Lew Fincher.
There were some extremely strong wind gusts with the hurricane. An airport in the Houston/Galveston area recorded a gust of 132 mph. The Humble Oil refinery also recorded a gust of 132 mph. Texas City reported a gust of 104 mph. A barometric pressure of 967 millibars (28.56 inches) was recorded at landfall. Ellington Field reported a barometric pressure of 975 millibars, Rainfall of 5-7 inches was widely reported around the area and a few locations reported from 10 to 17 inches.
Most of this information was censored by the government, however, and it was never communicated to the general public.
Why Was Critical Information Hidden?
In 1943, there were no satellites to track hurricanes, but there were plenty of ships near the U.S. coast that transmitted weather information and the information was used by the U.S. Weather Bureau (now the National Weather Service) to inform the public about approaching tropical cyclones.
In this case, the public was basically taken by surprise by the magnitude of this hurricane, and they were extremely ill-prepared. This was also true for military personnel who manned tugboats and dredges along the Texas Coast.
In July of 1943, The nation was in the midst of World War II. German U-Boats were common off the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts of the U.S. The War Department didn’t want the enemy to gather information about any storm that could possibly hinder the production of materials that were used in the war effort. This included oil refineries that produced critical fuel products. Liberty Ships were built and launched from shipyards along the coast but some of the ships were sunk by German U-Boats that were wandering in the Gulf of Mexico.
The Weather Bureau used weather station observations from ships and land observations for issuing storm warnings. In this case, information was to be cleared through the Weather Bureau in New Orleans, so any information that did get out was too little and too late. Information was sparse because ships weren’t allowed to use their radios.
According to Lew Fincher and Bill Read (former Director of the National Hurricane Center) Houston Weather Bureau Meteorologist in Charge at the time, C. E. Norquist was quoted as saying when asked about the storm “don’t get the people disturbed by the use of the word hurricane. As matters now stand it is a small tropical disturbance
A day before the storm an article was published in local papers warning of a tropical storm and winds of 30-40 mph along the coast. Later, the Weather Bureau did indicate that there would be a strong tropical storm with winds from 50-70 mph. Finally, they did acknowledge that there would be a minimal hurricane but that information wasn’t sufficiently communicated until the hurricane made landfall and in some cases several hours afterward.
Government censorship of the event wasn’t only confined prior to the event, it continued after the event, as well. Damage from the hurricane was extensive there was a directive that this information was not to be issued. One report indicated that the FBI closed the telegraph office in La Porte, Texas because somebody had sent a telegram out of the state informing someone of the damages from the hurricane.
Photos show flooding damage in Galveston, Texas (left) and Houston, Texas (right) from the July 1943 Hurricane. Credit: Houston Public Library.
Extensive Damage and Loss of Life
With wind gusts exceeding 130 mph in several locations, it stands to reason that there was extensive damage inflicted by the hurricane. Nearly all homes were destroyed on the Bolivar Peninsula. Five planes were destroyed at Ellington, Air Force Base.
Thousands of buildings were damaged in Galveston up to Houston and surrounding areas. Insurance claims from the storm totaled 11 million dollars (1943) but many didn’t have insurance since the nation was just emerging from the Great Depression.
There was extensive damage to oil refineries, especially to Humble Oil (now Exxon) and this severely hampered fuel production for several months. High-grade aviation fuel production was halted. The refinery was so critical that it was protected by anti-aircraft guns, but it became a victim of the hurricane.
A photo showing extensive damage inflicted by the July 1943 Hurricane to the Humble Oil refinery. Credit: Houston Public Library.
Because the hurricane made landfall east of Galveston, the storm surge wasn’t too high there and the seawall was able to protect the city. As mentioned earlier, there was considerable flooding and the city lost most of its drinking water.
According to NOAA history, 90 percent of all the buildings in Texas City had either water damage or structural damage.
Eleven crew members of the Army Corps of Engineers dredge (Galveston) lost their lives in the hurricane. Four members of the tugboat (Titan) also lost their lives. All told the death toll from the hurricane was 19 and the official monetary damage was listed at 17 million (1943) dollars which would b just under 300 million today.
Government censorship wasn’t only confined to before the event, it also continued after the event. As indicated, damage from the hurricane was extensive and this information was not to be issued to the general public. One report indicated that the FBI closed the telegraph of office in La Porte because someone had sent a telegram out of the state informing someone of the damages from the hurricane.
According to Bill Read, residents of the area likely did a good job of remaining quiet about the storm. The old adage, “loose lips sink ships” was sacred to civilians during World War II, according to what my mother used to tell me.
It’s probably safe to say there is probably much more “hidden” information about this hurricane. Some observations and other materials were contained in documents that were marked “classified” by the government and they were sealed and shipped to Washington, D.C.
The details of the hurricane, such as the death toll and the extensive damage were never issued to the public by the government.
After the 1943 hurricane, significant changes were made as to how information would be communicated. Never again was critical weather information kept hidden from the general public.
First Flight Into a Hurricane
Just as a side note, this hurricane was the first one to be flown into and it set the tone for future hurricane reconnaissance flights. Although the public was ill-informed about the hurricane, it was well known to the top officers that were stationed at local military installations. An Army Air Corps flight instructor at Bryan Field, Colonel Joe Duckworth, made a bet with a British RAF of officer that he could successfully fly into the hurricane.
A photo of the AT-6 aircraft and pilot Joe Duckworth, the first aircraft to fly into a hurricane (July 1943). Credit Houston Public Library/ABC 13
Colonel Duckworth, along with a navigator Lt. Colonel Ralph O’Hair, flew into the storm and back without permission from their superiors. According to Lew Fincher, O’Hair compared the weather encountered during the flight to “being tossed about like a stick in a dog’s mouth”.
Upon their return, another meteorologist at Bryan Field wanted to go and Duckworth so he took him for another flight to the hurricane. Crews (they became known as hurricane hunters) flying into hurricanes to gather information became commonplace in the years to come.
