page_title: 1933 Florida–Mexico hurricane
section_title: Florida
hierarchical_section_title: 1933 Florida–Mexico hurricane / Impact / Florida
caption_attribution_description: English: Rainfall from the 1933 Florida–Mexico hurricane over Florida.
context_page_description: The 1933 Florida–Mexico hurricane was the first of two Atlantic hurricanes to strike the Treasure Coast region of Florida in the very active 1933 Atlantic hurricane season. It was one of two storms that year to inflict hurricane-force winds over South Texas, causing significant damage there; the other occurred in early September. The fifth tropical cyclone of the year, it formed east of the Lesser Antilles on July 24, rapidly strengthening as it moved west-northwest. As it passed over the islands, it attained hurricane status on July 26, producing heavy rains and killing at least six people. Over the next three days, it moved north of the Caribbean, paralleling the Turks and Caicos Islands and the Bahamas. The storm produced extensive damage and at least one drowning as it crossed the Bahamas. On July 29, the cyclone came under the influence of changing steering currents in the atmosphere, which forced the storm into Florida near Hobe Sound a day later. A minimal hurricane at landfall, it caused negligible wind damage as it crossed Florida, but generated heavy rains along its path, causing locally severe flooding.
context_section_description: Wind damage was generally minimal as the small hurricane crossed Florida, except to citrus crops and snapped vegetation in some areas. According to a survey by local fire officials, the calm eye was observed from Hobe Sound to the edge of Stuart, during which passage "hardly a needle in pine trees along the side of the road could be seen moving." Peak winds estimated or registered at 60 to 70 mph (97 to 113 km/h) affected the coast between Stuart and Fort Pierce. The winds downed several telegraph poles and destroyed a structure at Stuart, but otherwise little damage resulted. Initial reports from Fort Pierce signaled no uprooted trees. Farther south, apart from a snapped coconut palm, the town of Palm Beach evinced little damage to foliage. In Fort Pierce, heavier losses to grapefruit were accounted at about 25%, especially in exposed groves, and some trees suffered total loss of fruit. Shrubs and roofs in the city were damaged as well, but power and water services were quickly revived as the worst of the storm passed. Final losses to citrus in the Indian River region were tallied at 10–20%, with much greater tolls locally. Avocado and mango trees also sustained significant damage. A minimum pressure of 1,004 mb (29.66 inHg) occurred in Stuart, the same as in Jupiter—both unusually high for a hurricane, though likely related to the storm's small size. In fact, contemporary meteorologists concluded that the storm had only hit Florida at tropical storm strength, with top winds of 70 mph (113 km/h) in Stuart.
  Despite the relatively modest winds, prolific rains attended the cyclone. A rain gauge at the Palm Beach Post office in West Palm Beach counted 12.01 inches (305 mm) on July 30–31, setting a 24-hour record at that location—3.19 in (81 mm) above the daily maximum for the week of the 1928 Okeechobee hurricane. This established a monthly record as well, the total being 23.28 in (591 mm) for July. Ultimately, totals exceeding 15.25 in (387 mm) fell over a two-day span, with a storm total of 15.7 in (399 mm). Other rain gauges, such as one that blew over in Fort Pierce, failed to measure the true totals, which were likely underestimated. The deluge turned lawns into "small lakes," overflowed curbs on Royal Palm Way for two blocks, and left up to 1 foot (0.30 m) of water in the streets of Royal Park, a neighborhood in Palm Beach. Floodwaters submerged all but the highest land on a nearby golf course, which was navigable only by boat. The copious rains submerged roads and rural countryside in Palm Beach, Martin, and St. Lucie counties, but did not render highways impassible for traffic. However, roads in the Jupiter area could only be traversed "with great difficulty," and water stood 2.5 ft (0.76 m) deep on parts of Dixie Highway. Floodwaters shut down a bridge in town, and aside from a West Palm Beach commuter, bus drivers were the only motorists on flooded roads. The Post described the predicament of Matt Platt, the commuter from West Palm Beach, as he entered Jupiter:
  Trains were getting through but travel by car in any direction was almost taboo. [...] Water ... at times was up to the lights on his car, [and he] was the only person to drive into the town Monday [July 31]...
       –Palm Beach Post, August 1, 1933
  Reports from Jupiter detailed a town almost "cut off" by floodwaters. A washout affected a 70-foot (21 m) section of track bed on the Florida East Coast Railway in Port Salerno, halting three passenger trains for a combined 7.5 hours. Nearby, floodwaters stranded two Florida Motor Lines buses as water rose to cover the floors. Relief vehicles later transported passengers on their way. African-American communities in Stuart reported severe flooding as well, and torrential rains formed potholes in streets in West Palm Beach. The rains demonstrated that local communities could be stranded, causing funds to be expedited toward bridge repairs on the Loxahatchee River near Jupiter. As late as August 2, floodwaters remained 1.5 to 2 ft (0.46 to 0.61 m) deep along Military Trail near West Palm Beach. Flooding in some are
caption: Rainfall map for the hurricane over Florida
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