page_title: Hurricane Hattie
section_title: Impact
hierarchical_section_title: Hurricane Hattie / Impact
caption_attribution_description: English: Title: Atoll research bulletin Identifier: atollresearchbu128148smit (find matches) Year: 1951 (1950s) Authors: Smithsonian Institution. Press; National Research Council (U. S. ). Pacific Science Board; Smithsonian Institution; National Museum of Natural History (U. S. ); United States. Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife Subjects: Coral reefs and islands; Marine biology; Marine sciences Publisher: Washington, D. C.&#160;: (Smithsonian Press) Contributing Library: Smithsonian Libraries Digitizing Sponsor: Biodiversity Heritage Library View Book Page: Book Viewer About This Book: Catalog Entry View All Images: All Images From Book Click here to view book online to see this illustration in context in a browseable online version of this book. Text Appearing Before Image: ' Text Appearing After Image: z o ^E K Q Z 1- U;U1 ?9 i- &lt; u. &lt;* „ &lt; *-!S &lt;^ Ul So Z uj 1 a u X a o o 10 j- I no m &lt; il 2&lt; X X u I! M Ul -I O z &lt; I u 1- z &lt; y u. Ul Or X 1- z &lt; z UJ 1- &lt; 12 :5I 2a i- c ^ LL LU © 4 u p.; (1 H UJ -I CD _J OF INAl TIO a i o LU z LUOlO V'.;1, zao&#160;!.-.;! LL O&lt;0- ivi3 UJ fa O Q UJ Z O M CM Note About Images Please note that these images are extracted from scanned page images that may have been digitally enhanced for readability - coloration and appearance of these illustrations may not perfectly resemble the original work.
context_page_description: Hurricane Hattie was one of the strongest and deadliest tropical cyclones of the 1961 Atlantic hurricane season, reaching a peak intensity as a Category 5 hurricane. The ninth tropical storm and seventh hurricane and major hurricane of the season, Hattie originated from an area of low pressure that strengthened into a tropical storm over the southwestern Caribbean Sea on October 27. Moving generally northward, the storm quickly became a hurricane and later major hurricane the following day. Hattie then turned westward west of Jamaica and strengthened into a Category 5 hurricane, with maximum sustained winds of 165 mph. It weakened to Category 4 before making landfall south of Belize City on October 31. The storm turned southwestward and weakened rapidly over the mountainous terrain of Central America, dissipating on November 1.
  Hattie first affected the southwestern Caribbean, where it produced hurricane-force winds and caused one death on San Andres Island. It was initially forecast to continue north and strike Cuba, prompting evacuations on the island. While turning west, Hattie dropped heavy rainfall of up to 11.5 in on Grand Cayman.
context_section_description: Despite predictions for heavy rainfall in the southwestern Caribbean, the hurricane's movement was more northerly than expected, resulting in less precipitation along the Central American coast than anticipated. In its early developmental stages, Hattie struck San Andrés Island, located offshore eastern Nicaragua, with maximum sustained winds of 80 mph (130 km/h) and gusts of 104 mph (167 km/h). As the hurricane neared the island, the airport was closed due to tropical-storm-force winds. Rough seas and winds damaged private property and two hotels. Many palm tree plantations were devastated. The schooner Admirar, anchored in one of the island's bays, capsized during the storm. Overall, Hattie resulted in one death, fifteen injuries, and $300,000 in damage (1961 USD) in San Andrés. The hurricane was the fourth on record to strike the island, and of the four was the only to approach from the south.
  In the northwestern Caribbean, Hattie passed close to Grand Cayman with heavy rainfall. At least 11.5 inches (292 mm) of rain were reported on the island, including 7.8 inches (198 mm) in six hours. Winds on Grand Cayman were below hurricane force, and only minor damage occurred due to the rain.
  The interaction between Hattie and the ridge of high pressure to its north produced sustained winds of 20 mph (35 km/h) across most of Florida, with a gust of 72 mph (116 km/h) reported at Hillsboro Inlet Light; the winds caused some beach erosion in the state. The U.S. Weather Bureau issued a small craft warning for the west and east Florida coastlines, as well as northward to Brunswick, Georgia.
  Later, Hattie impacted various countries in Central America with flash floods, causing 11 deaths in Guatemala and one fatality in Honduras. The Swan Islands reported wind gusts just below hurricane force, resulting in minor damage and one injury.
caption: Map of British Honduras showing hurricane damage
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