In the summer of 1943, Galveston was booming. The city was packed with military and civilian workers engaged in the war effort.

With the city having been raked by hurricanes the last three consecutive years, most Galveston residents (even the newcomers) were aware that summertime meant the start of hurricane season. So, it was no surprise when a public alert appeared on the morning of July 26 announcing a storm in the Gulf.

Details on the storm where sketchy. With German U-Boats still stalking offshore waters, ship to shore communications were discouraged and information on weather at sea was limited. However, when a late-night report indicated that only gale force winds were likely, many residents went to bed convinced that the storm would be a minor inconvenience.

This optimistic attitude still prevailed on the morning of July 27. With a modest breeze and partly cloudy skies, most residents went to work totally unprepared for anything other than a little wind and rain. When weather conditions rapidly began deteriorating after 9 a.m., complacency turned to shock. By noon, sustained winds had increased to 68-mph before the wind gauge blew away and sheets of rain rapidly flooded city streets.


Daily News 1943 photo of The Strand

By afternoon, stunned residents huddled in their homes and work places, as the winds howled outside and sheets of rain pelted rattling windows. They were caught in the midst of a full-fledged hurricane. Winds were estimated at 90-mph in Galveston and Texas City recorded a gust of 104-mph. Plate glass shattered in downtown businesses, roofs were ripped apart, tree limbs and signs flew across intersections and an unending downpour flooded cars and buses stranded on streets that had turned into rivers.

Damage was considerable and widespread. The Galveston Daily News called it the worst blow since the 1915 Hurricane. A score of buildings and houses where damaged or demolished and the city resembled more scenes from the war zones in Europe than a location on the relatively protected U.S. mainland.

By the time the storm abated, early on the morning of July 28, 19 persons were dead along the upper-Texas coast and damage was in the millions.


Daily News 1943 photo of Market Street

In addition to being such a surprise, the 1943 Hurricane was most unusual in many respects. First, it became the first hurricane to be investigated by aircraft, when Col.Joseph Duckworth and Lt. Ralph O'Hair flew a single engine plane twice into the storm (thereby setting the precedence for the post war aircraft reconnaissance flights).

Second, the storm was odd in that winds and rains on the usually drier, weaker southwest side of the storm were so intense. Although the storm crossed the Bolivar Peninsula northeast of the city, it seemed to make little difference on the Island where hurricane force winds and an incredible 13.16" of rain inundated low-lying areas.

Third, reconstruction efforts were greatly hampered by war-time rationing of building materials. It took a special act by the War Production Board to get needed supplies flowing into the city after the storm. And, finally, the Office of Price Administration had to take special steps to replace ration books lost in the storm and to give grocers permission to sell existing food supplies at reduced prices to storm survivors.

In all, the 1943 Hurricane remains one of the most interesting storms ever to strike the upper-Texas coast.

Below is a link to a report on the 1943 Hurricane authored by Hurricane Consultant, Lew Fincher and Bill Read, now head of the National Hurricane Center.

The 1943 'Surprise' Hurricane
by Lew Fincher and Bill Read

Daily News Special Report: The 1943 Storm