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1935 Labor Day hurricane

1935 Labor Day hurricane was a Category 5 hurricane at its peak, with 184 mph winds and a lowest pressure of 892 mb, per NOAA's National Hurricane Center. Modeled winds reached tropical-storm force (39 mph) at 13 of the cities we track; the strongest was Naples, FL, with a modeled peak gust of 176 mph.

Peak strength184 mph winds (1-minute)
Category 5
Cities with tropical-storm-force windsModeled, of the cities we track
13
LandfallsFirst September 3, 1935
2
Lowest pressure
892 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 1935 Labor Day 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 3, 1935, Category 5 at 184 mph, about 77 miles from Miami, FL
  2. September 4, 1935, Category 2 at 98 mph, about 63 miles from Gainesville, FL

Modeled winds at cities (13)

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

CityPeak gustSustainedClosest passPeak
Naples, FL176 mph143 mph9 milesSep 3, 1935, 10:15 AM GMT-4
Cape Coral, FL161 mph131 mph20 milesSep 3, 1935, 2:15 PM GMT-4
North Port, FL144 mph117 mph28 milesSep 3, 1935, 5:15 PM GMT-4
Tampa, FL112 mph91 mph45 milesSep 4, 1935, 12:45 AM GMT-4
Lakeland, FL78 mph63 mph76 milesSep 4, 1935, 12:00 AM GMT-4
Ocala, FL70 mph57 mph75 milesSep 4, 1935, 1:15 PM GMT-4
Gainesville, FL70 mph57 mph63 milesSep 4, 1935, 8:00 PM GMT-4
Virginia Beach, VA63 mph51 mph16 milesSep 6, 1935, 6:45 AM GMT-4
Tallahassee, FL61 mph49 mph59 milesSep 4, 1935, 8:45 PM GMT-4
Miami, FL59 mph48 mph73 milesSep 2, 1935, 7:45 PM GMT-4
Savannah, GA52 mph43 mph62 milesSep 5, 1935, 10:15 AM GMT-4
Jacksonville, FL52 mph42 mph93 milesSep 4, 1935, 11:15 PM GMT-4
Orlando, FL51 mph41 mph123 milesSep 4, 1935, 3:15 AM GMT-4

What happened

The 1935 Labor Day hurricane hit the middle Florida Keys on September 2, 1935, as a Category 5 hurricane, the most intense on record to strike the United States.1 NHC's best track puts landfall at 0200 UTC on September 3 (9 p.m. EST on September 2) with 160-knot (184 mph) winds and a central pressure of 892 mb, and a barometer at Long Key read 26.35 inches.2,1 It then moved north near Florida's Gulf coast and came ashore again near Cedar Key on September 4 as a Category 2 hurricane with 85-knot (98 mph) winds.1,2

Monthly Weather Review reported that across about 30 miles of the Keys, from Tavernier to the Vaca Keys, buildings, roads, viaducts and bridges were almost entirely destroyed, much of it by the storm tide.3 Railroad tracks were pushed off their roadbed, and an 11-car rescue train sent to Lower Matecumbe Key was washed off the rails.3 NHC lists 408 deaths in the Keys and $6 million in US damage.1 Near the Cedar Key landfall, NWS Tampa Bay lists 3 deaths, and roofs were torn off buildings in Tampa and Sarasota.4

Sources

  1. 1. NOAA National Hurricane Center: Hurricanes in History
  2. 2. NOAA National Hurricane Center: Atlantic hurricane database (HURDAT2), 1851-2025
  3. 3. NOAA AOML Hurricane Research Division: The hurricane of August 31 to September 6, 1935 (Monthly Weather Review excerpts)
  4. 4. NWS Tampa Bay: 1935 Hurricane Sweeps South Florida

Best track (52 positions)

TimeStatusWindPressurePosition
Aug 29, 06:00 UTCTropical depression29 mph23.3°N, 68.8°W
Aug 29, 12:00 UTCTropical depression29 mph23.5°N, 69.3°W
Aug 29, 18:00 UTCTropical depression29 mph23.8°N, 69.8°W
Aug 30, 00:00 UTCTropical depression35 mph24.1°N, 70.4°W
Aug 30, 06:00 UTCTropical depression35 mph24.2°N, 70.9°W
Aug 30, 12:00 UTCTropical depression35 mph24.2°N, 71.4°W
Aug 30, 18:00 UTCTropical depression35 mph24.1°N, 72.1°W
Aug 31, 00:00 UTCTropical storm40 mph24.1°N, 72.9°W
Aug 31, 06:00 UTCTropical storm40 mph24.0°N, 73.7°W
Aug 31, 12:00 UTCTropical storm46 mph23.9°N, 74.5°W
Aug 31, 18:00 UTCTropical storm52 mph23.8°N, 75.2°W
Sep 1, 00:00 UTCTropical storm58 mph23.7°N, 75.9°W
Show all 52