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Hurricane Easy (1950)

Hurricane Easy was a Category 3 hurricane at its peak, with 121 mph winds and a lowest pressure of 960 mb, per NOAA's National Hurricane Center. Modeled winds reached tropical-storm force (39 mph) at 11 of the cities we track; the strongest was Ocala, FL, with a modeled peak gust of 121 mph.

Peak strength121 mph winds (1-minute)
Category 3
Cities with tropical-storm-force windsModeled, of the cities we track
11
LandfallsFirst September 3, 1950
4
Lowest pressure
960 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 Hurricane Easy’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, 1950, Category 1 at 81 mph, in Cuba
  2. September 3, 1950, Category 1 at 92 mph, in Cuba
  3. September 5, 1950, Category 3 at 121 mph, about 40 miles from Ocala, FL
  4. September 6, 1950, Category 2 at 104 mph, about 39 miles from Tampa, FL

Modeled winds at cities (11)

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

CityPeak gustSustainedClosest passPeak
Ocala, FL121 mph98 mph32 milesSep 5, 1950, 2:00 PM GMT-4
Gainesville, FL112 mph91 mph36 milesSep 5, 1950, 2:00 PM GMT-4
Tampa, FL102 mph83 mph24 milesSep 6, 1950, 12:00 AM GMT-4
Lakeland, FL86 mph70 mph13 milesSep 6, 1950, 12:00 AM GMT-4
North Port, FL76 mph62 mph60 milesSep 3, 1950, 11:45 PM GMT-4
Cape Coral, FL74 mph60 mph58 milesSep 3, 1950, 9:00 PM GMT-4
Naples, FL73 mph59 mph61 milesSep 3, 1950, 7:30 PM GMT-4
Deltona, FL70 mph57 mph27 milesSep 5, 1950, 2:00 PM GMT-4
Orlando, FL69 mph56 mph25 milesSep 5, 1950, 2:00 PM GMT-4
Jacksonville, FL63 mph52 mph17 milesSep 5, 1950, 2:00 PM GMT-4
Tallahassee, FL56 mph46 mph80 milesSep 5, 1950, 2:00 PM GMT-4

What happened

Easy crossed Cuba and passed the Florida Keys, then looped off Florida's Gulf coast, which put the same side of the storm over Cedar Key twice.1 It made landfall at Cedar Key at 1700 UTC (noon EST) on September 5, 1950, as a Category 3 hurricane with 105-knot (121 mph) winds and a central pressure of 960 mb.2,3 It then moved southeast toward Tampa, came ashore a second time at 0400 UTC on September 6 (11 p.m. EST on September 5) as a Category 2 hurricane with 90-knot (104 mph) winds, and crossed the northern Florida peninsula.1,2

About 150 of Cedar Key's 200 buildings lost their roofs, according to NWS Tampa Bay.4 The tide in Tampa Bay rose 6.5 feet, and the waterworks dam on the Hillsborough River washed out, flooding Sulphur Springs in north Tampa with 2 feet of water.4 Yankeetown had an estimated 38.70 inches of rain in 24 hours.3,4 NWS Tampa Bay lists $3.3 million in damage and three deaths in Florida.4

Sources

  1. 1. NOAA Weather Prediction Center: Hurricane Easy - September 1950
  2. 2. NOAA National Hurricane Center: Atlantic hurricane database (HURDAT2), 1851-2025
  3. 3. Florida Climate Center, Florida State University: Hurricanes
  4. 4. NWS Tampa Bay: Hurricane Easy Dumps on Yankeetown: Fact Sheet

Best track (39 positions)

TimeStatusWindPressurePosition
Sep 1, 06:00 UTCTropical storm46 mph19.7°N, 83.2°W
Sep 1, 12:00 UTCTropical storm52 mph19.9°N, 83.2°W
Sep 1, 18:00 UTCTropical storm58 mph20.1°N, 83.2°W
Sep 2, 00:00 UTCTropical storm58 mph20.3°N, 83.2°W
Sep 2, 06:00 UTCTropical storm63 mph20.5°N, 83.3°W
Sep 2, 12:00 UTCTropical storm63 mph996 mb20.7°N, 83.3°W
Sep 2, 18:00 UTCTropical storm63 mph995 mb20.9°N, 83.2°W
Sep 3, 00:00 UTCCategory 1 hurricane81 mph21.4°N, 82.7°W
Sep 3, 01:00 UTC (landfall)Category 1 hurricane81 mph21.5°N, 82.6°W
Sep 3, 06:00 UTCCategory 1 hurricane92 mph22.4°N, 82.4°W
Sep 3, 07:00 UTC (landfall)Category 1 hurricane92 mph22.7°N, 82.3°W
Sep 3, 12:00 UTCCategory 1 hurricane86 mph980 mb23.8°N, 82.3°W
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