The Texas hurricane was an intense and quick-moving tropical cyclone that caused widespread damage in Jamaica and South Texas in August A Category 4 hurricane upon landfall in Texas, it was the strongest tropical cyclone to strike the United States in three decades.
Weather observations were limited for most of the storm's history, so much of its growth has been inferred from scant data analyzed by the Atlantic hurricane reanalysis project in The precursor disturbance organized into a small tropical storm by August 12, shortly before crossing the Lesser Antilles into the Caribbean Sea. The storm skirted the southern coast of Jamaica as a hurricane on August 15, killing 17 people along the way.
No banana plantation was left unscathed by the hours-long onslaught of strong winds. Coconut and cocoa trees also sustained severe losses. Buildings were razed at many coastal cities, the worst impacts being felt in Corpus Christi and surrounding communities.
Beachfront structures were destroyed by a 9. Strong gusts and heavy rainfall spread farther inland across mainly rural sectors of southern Texas, damaging towns and their outlying agricultural districts alike. Railroads and other public utilities were disrupted across the region, with widespread power outages.
Eight locations set hour rainfall records; among them was Harlingen , which recorded the storm's rainfall maximum with 6 inches mm of precipitation. The deluge wrought havoc on military camps along the MexicoโUnited States border , forcing 30, garrisoned militiamen to evacuate.
