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1928 Okeechobee hurricane

1928 Okeechobee hurricane was a Category 5 hurricane at its peak, with 161 mph winds and a lowest pressure of 929 mb, per NOAA's National Hurricane Center. Modeled winds reached tropical-storm force (39 mph) at 25 of the cities we track; the strongest was Port St. Lucie, FL, with a modeled peak gust of 151 mph.

Peak strength161 mph winds (1-minute)
Category 5
Cities with tropical-storm-force windsModeled, of the cities we track
25
LandfallsFirst September 17, 1928
2
Lowest pressure
929 mb

Track, wind field and cities

Select a piece of the track or a city for details.

  • Depression or weaker
  • Tropical storm
  • Hurricane, Category 1 or 2
  • Major hurricane, Category 3 to 5
  • Landfall
  • City (larger ring, stronger modeled gust)
  • Modeled wind field, 39 to 111 mph sustained (darker, stronger; orange 111 mph+)
Source: NOAA/NWS National Hurricane Center best track (HURDAT2). City winds and the wind field are modeled.

The shaded areas are where our model puts 1928 Okeechobee hurricane’s sustained winds over open land at 39 mph or more (tropical-storm force), 58, 74 (hurricane force) and 111 mph (major hurricane force) at some point along its track. Modeled, not measured. How we model hurricane winds

Landfalls

  1. September 17, 1928, Category 4 at 144 mph, about 47 miles from Port St. Lucie, FL
  2. September 18, 1928, Category 1 at 86 mph, about 30 miles from Charleston, SC

Modeled winds at cities (25)

Estimated peak winds for open, flat ground at each city’s center. Not measurements. How we model hurricane winds

CityPeak gustSustainedClosest passPeak
Port St. Lucie, FL151 mph123 mph25 milesSep 16, 1928, 8:45 PM GMT-4
Miami, FL128 mph104 mph61 milesSep 16, 1928, 6:00 PM GMT-4
Palm Bay, FL117 mph95 mph58 milesSep 16, 1928, 11:45 PM GMT-4
Lakeland, FL106 mph86 mph7 milesSep 17, 1928, 6:45 AM GMT-4
Tampa, FL93 mph76 mph26 milesSep 17, 1928, 7:45 AM GMT-4
North Port, FL92 mph75 mph48 milesSep 17, 1928, 1:45 AM GMT-4
Cape Coral, FL92 mph75 mph64 milesSep 17, 1928, 1:00 AM GMT-4
Orlando, FL87 mph71 mph50 milesSep 17, 1928, 1:45 AM GMT-4
Naples, FL87 mph71 mph84 milesSep 16, 1928, 10:15 PM GMT-4
Hilton Head Island, SC82 mph67 mph8 milesSep 18, 1928, 2:45 PM GMT-4
Ocala, FL82 mph67 mph6 milesSep 17, 1928, 3:00 PM GMT-4
Charleston, SC80 mph65 mph3 milesSep 18, 1928, 2:15 PM GMT-4
Show all 25

What happened

The 1928 Okeechobee hurricane came ashore in Palm Beach County, between Jupiter and Boca Raton, around 6:15 p.m. on September 16, 1928, as a Category 4 hurricane.1 NHC's best track gives it 125-knot (144 mph) winds and a central pressure of 929 mb at landfall, and Palm Beach measured a pressure of 27.43 inches.2,3 It made a second US landfall on the South Carolina coast on September 18 as a Category 1 hurricane with 75-knot (86 mph) winds.2

A storm surge near 10 feet, with waves likely up to 20 feet, struck the barrier islands including Palm Beach, and coastal damage was worst around Jupiter.1 Inland, the winds pushed Lake Okeechobee over its 4 to 5 foot levee and flooded an area about 6 miles deep and 75 miles long at the south end of the lake.1 Water stood about 7 feet above the ground in Belle Glade and more than 11 feet at Chosen and Torry Island, and the flood lasted several weeks.1 NWS Miami says more than 2,500 people drowned and puts damage at about $25 million.1

Sources

  1. 1. NWS Miami: Memorial Web Page for the 1928 Okeechobee Hurricane
  2. 2. NOAA National Hurricane Center: Atlantic hurricane database (HURDAT2), 1851-2025
  3. 3. NOAA National Hurricane Center: Hurricanes in History

Best track (62 positions)

TimeStatusWindPressurePosition
Sep 6, 00:00 UTCTropical depression35 mph14.2°N, 17.0°W
Sep 6, 06:00 UTCTropical depression35 mph14.1°N, 18.5°W
Sep 6, 12:00 UTCTropical storm40 mph14.0°N, 20.0°W
Sep 6, 18:00 UTCTropical storm46 mph13.8°N, 21.6°W
Sep 7, 00:00 UTCTropical storm52 mph13.7°N, 23.2°W
Sep 7, 06:00 UTCTropical storm58 mph13.6°N, 24.8°W
Sep 7, 12:00 UTCTropical storm63 mph13.5°N, 26.5°W
Sep 7, 18:00 UTCTropical storm69 mph13.5°N, 28.2°W
Sep 8, 00:00 UTCTropical storm69 mph13.5°N, 30.0°W
Sep 8, 06:00 UTCTropical storm69 mph13.6°N, 31.7°W
Sep 8, 12:00 UTCTropical storm69 mph13.7°N, 33.5°W
Sep 8, 18:00 UTCTropical storm69 mph13.8°N, 35.2°W
Show all 62