Hurricane Easy was the fifth tropical storm, hurricane, and major hurricane of the 1950 Atlantic hurricane season. The hurricane developed in the western Caribbean Sea on September 1, and tracked northeastward. After crossing

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

, the hurricane rapidly strengthened in the eastern

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico () is an oceanic basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, mostly surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north, and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States; on the southw ...

to reach peak winds of 120 mph (200 km/h). Easy executed a cyclonic loop, moved northeastward to hit near Cedar Key, Florida, executed a second loop, and hit western Florida again. After rapidly weakening over Florida, the hurricane turned to the northwest, and ultimately dissipated over northeastern

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...

on September 9. From the point when Hurricane Easy entered the Gulf of Mexico until it weakened to a tropical storm, it was observed nearly constantly from radars or

reconnaissance aircraft A reconnaissance aircraft (colloquially, a spy plane) is a military aircraft designed or adapted to perform aerial reconnaissance with roles including collection of imagery intelligence (including using Aerial photography, photography), signals ...

. Easy is the most recent major hurricane to strike the Homosassa, Florida, area. Due to the hurricane remaining near the northwest Florida coast for an extended period of time, Easy produced severe rainfall and strong waves, resulting in heavy damage in the Cedar Key area. Hurricane Easy was one of two major hurricanes to strike Florida during the year; the other was

Hurricane King Hurricane King was the most severe hurricane to strike the city of Miami, Florida, since the 1926 Miami hurricane. It was the eleventh tropical storm and the last of six major hurricanes in the 1950 Atlantic hurricane season. The cyclone formed ...

, which affected

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

Meteorological history

Following the passage of Hurricane Baker through the

Caribbean Sea The Caribbean Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean in the tropics of the Western Hemisphere, located south of the Gulf of Mexico and southwest of the Sargasso Sea. It is bounded by the Greater Antilles to the north from Cuba ...

, a

trough Trough may refer to: In science * Trough (geology), a long depression less steep than a trench * Trough (meteorology), an elongated region of low atmospheric pressure * Trough (physics), the lowest point on a wave * Trough level (medicine), the l ...

of low pressure persisted across the western

. On August 31, convection became more concentrated to the south of the Isle of Youth, and on September 1 the disturbance developed into a tropical storm; it was later given the name "Easy", as part of the

United States Weather Bureau The National Weather Service (NWS) is an Government agency, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government that is tasked with providing weather forecasts, warnings of hazardous weather, and other weathe ...

naming Naming is assigning a name to something. Naming may refer to: * Naming (parliamentary procedure), a procedure in certain parliamentary bodies * Naming ceremony, an event at which an infant is named * Product naming, the discipline of deciding wha ...

tropical cyclones with the

Joint Army/Navy Phonetic Alphabet The Allied military phonetic spelling alphabets prescribed the words that are used to represent each letter of the alphabet, when spelling other words out loud, letter-by-letter, and how the spelling words should be pronounced for use by the All ...

. A developing

anticyclone A high-pressure area, high, or anticyclone, is an area near the surface of a planet where the atmospheric pressure is greater than the pressure in the surrounding regions. Highs are middle-scale meteorological features that result from interpl ...

and moist air over the region provided favorable conditions for intensification, as the storm tracked slowly northeastward. On September 2, Tropical Storm Easy attained hurricane status about 50 miles (85 km) south of the Isle of Youth. After crossing the Isle of Youth, Hurricane Easy strengthened slightly while continuing northeastward, and the storm struck the

Matanzas Province Matanzas () is one of the provinces of Cuba. Major towns in the province include Cárdenas, Colón, Jovellanos and the capital of the same name, Matanzas. The resort town of Varadero is also located in this province. Among Cuban provinces, ...

with winds of . The hurricane quickly crossed the island, passing just east of

Havana Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico () is an oceanic basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, mostly surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north, and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States; on the southw ...

on September 3. After entering the

, Easy turned to the north-northwest, paralleling the Florida coastline a short distance offshore while producing hurricane-force winds onshore. On September 4, the hurricane quickly strengthened to reach peak winds of , an intensity it would retain for 18 hours. That day, a

ridge A ridge is a long, narrow, elevated geomorphologic landform, structural feature, or a combination of both separated from the surrounding terrain by steep sides. The sides of a ridge slope away from a narrow top, the crest or ridgecrest, wi ...

of high pressure strengthened to the north of the storm, leaving weaker steering currents. This caused Hurricane Easy to execute a counter-clockwise loop to the west of

Tampa, Florida Tampa ( ) is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. Tampa's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and t ...

. After executing its first loop, Hurricane Easy moved northeastward at until making landfall near Cedar Key on September 5 with winds of . Steering currents again became weak, causing Easy to execute a second loop in 24 hours towards the southeast. After briefly emerging into the Gulf of Mexico, the hurricane made its final landfall on Homosassa Springs to the north of

Tampa Tampa ( ) is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. Tampa's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and t ...

, and rapidly weakened to a tropical storm over land. Easy turned to the northeast, which was followed by a turn to the northwest as the storm neared the

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for se ...

coast. On September 7, Easy crossed into

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

, and shortly thereafter it weakened to a tropical depression. The depression continued northwestward for two days until dissipating over extreme northeastern

on September 9. The reason for its erratic track, including the two loops, is unknown, although it is potentially due to a Fujiwhara interaction with Hurricane Dog to its east.

Preparations and impact

The hurricane crossed over western

with winds of up to ; however, damage was minor, and no deaths occurred in the country. In

Havana Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center. With an

eye An eye is a sensory organ that allows an organism to perceive visual information. It detects light and converts it into electro-chemical impulses in neurons (neurones). It is part of an organism's visual system. In higher organisms, the ey ...

ranging from to in diameter, the hurricane was well-tracked throughout its lifetime by radars at the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preem ...

and by

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. Despite its unusual track, the Weather Bureau issued hurricane warnings in a timely manner, though warnings were issued for a larger area than those that actually experienced hurricane-force winds. In the

Florida Keys The Florida Keys are a coral island, coral cay archipelago off the southern coast of Florida, forming the southernmost part of the continental United States. They begin at the southeastern coast of the Florida peninsula, about south of Miami a ...

, winds from Easy reached , which downed trees and power lines, littering local streets with debris. Heavy seas moved around a Navy barge, though no damage was reported. Hurricane Easy produced hurricane-force winds across large portions of western Florida, including over winds in Cedar Key for 9 and 1/2 hours. The town, which reported a minimum pressure of 958.3 mbar (28.30 in), experienced the eye of the hurricane for 2 and 1/2 hours while strong waves hit the coast. The tide in

Tampa Bay Tampa Bay is a large natural harbor and shallow estuary connected to the Gulf of Mexico on the west-central coast of Florida, comprising Hillsborough Bay, McKay Bay, Old Tampa Bay, Middle Tampa Bay, and Lower Tampa Bay. The largest freshwater i ...

rose , the highest since 1921. While looping twice along its path, the hurricane dropped heavy amounts of rainfall of to in large portions of northwestern Florida. Rainfall totals include in Cedar Key in 3 days and in Yankeetown, Florida, in 24 hours, which easily became the largest 24‑hour rainfall total on record for the United States. The record has since been broken by Tropical Storm Claudette in 1979 with , though Easy's total remains the largest 24‑hour rainfall total on record for the state of Florida. Hurricane Easy was described as the worst hurricane in the Cedar Key area in 70 years. The hurricane left half of the houses destroyed or unfit for rehabilitation, while 90% of the others were damaged. The strong winds destroyed the roofs of 150 homes and buildings. The rainfall caused severe flooding that resulted in crop damage. Easy was indirectly responsible for two deaths due to electrocutions. In addition, 27 people were injured from the hurricane. The strong waves destroyed the fishing community's entire fishing fleet of 100 boats, which was the town's entire livelihood. The town's main employment center, a broom and brush plant, was severely damaged, and would close two years after the hurricane. The hurricane also produced severe damage in Pinellas and Hillsborough Counties in the

area. Throughout Florida, damages totaled $3.3 million (1950 USD), a lower than expected total due to the sparse population in the area of the worst damage. After the storm's passage throughout central and northern Florida, "blisters" developed on hundreds of cars; the locations affected reported that the blisters formed on the surface of vehicles shortly after Easy retreated. The following day, the blisters disappeared. Researchers later created several theories as to the unusual occurrence, though they concluded that air pockets under the layer of paint expanded as a result of the decreased barometric pressure.Barnes, p. 190 Heavy rainfall from Hurricane Easy continued into Georgia and occurred throughout the state. The precipitation was most intense and destructive along Georgia's coast, damaging crops and vegetation after waterlogging fields. In some areas, 5–9 in (125–225 mm) of rain was recorded in a single day.

References

* Barnes, Jay (2007). ''Florida's Hurricane History'' Chapel Hill Press. .

External links

Hurricane Easy Rainfall Page from HPC
{{DEFAULTSORT:Easy (1950) 1950 Atlantic hurricane season Hurricanes in Florida Category 3 Atlantic hurricanes 1950 natural disasters in the United States Hurricanes in Tennessee Hurricanes in Arkansas

Meteorological history

Preparations and impact

See also

References

External links