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1922 Atlantic hurricane season

The 1922 Atlantic hurricane season ran through the summer and the first half of fall in 1922. The season was a quiet one, with only four tropical cyclones forming during the course of the season. The first was a tropical storm that passed over the Yucatán Peninsula and later made another landfall in rural northeast Mexico. The second was a hurricane, the strongest one of the season. It formed near Cape Verde and curved out into the Atlantic. It grazed the Leeward Islands and battered Bermuda, passing just offshore as a Category 4. The hurricane became extratropical soon after it passed Bermuda. The third was a tropical storm that passed over Cuba and made landfall near Pensacola, Florida. The last storm of the season was a Category 2 hurricane that made landfall near Cancún, Mexico. The hurricane weakened in the Bay of Campeche and dissipated just offshore.

Storms

Tropical Storm One

The first storm of the season formed off Cabo Gracias, Nicaragua on June 12 and moved generally northwestward. The storm strengthened very little before hitting the central Yucatan Peninsula. Once it emerged into the Gulf of Mexico, it began to grow in intensity. The Monthly Weather Review says the storm resembled a developing hurricane. According to the Best Track data, however, winds never exceeded 50 mph. Landfall in mainland Mexico stopped the intensification. It came ashore in a sparsely populated area near the village of La Pesca, about 150 miles south of the mouth of the Rio Grande. The storm brought very heavy rain to the Rio Grande Valley that caused significant flooding, but no fatalities were reported.

Hurricane Two

By far the most powerful storm of the season, this hurricane formed well east of the Windward Islands and moved northwestward steadily strengthening. It grazed the Leeward Islands as a Category 2 hurricane and began to recurve shortly thereafter. During this recurvature, it strengthened into a Category 4 storm, eventually attaining winds of 150 mph. It would maintain Category 4 intensity for the next four days until it became extratropical on September 22. The storm passed almost directly over Bermuda early on September 21, buffeting the island with 120 mph winds and an eight-foot storm surge. As the center of this hurricane passed Bermuda to the southeast, a lull occurred on the island for an hour around 9 am on September 21. The lowest pressure measured was 968 mbar (28.57 inHg). Significant damage occurred there, as winds peaked at 120 mph. It was Bermuda's highest tide since the hurricane of 1899. The hurricane remains the strongest Atlantic tropical cyclone above 30.4°N, since Hurricane Dog of 1950 weakened to below 150 mph (240 km/h) as it reached that latitude.

Tropical Storm Three

Storm Three formed of the northern coast of Honduras on October 12 and turned northwestward. The storm strengthened very little during its lifetime, striking western Cuba with only 45 mph sustained winds. It reached its peak intensity of 50 mph in the Gulf of Mexico. It held this intensity for two days, weakening just before landfall near Orange Beach, Alabama. The storm dissipated quickly inland.

Hurricane Four

Early on October 12, a low pressure area was detected by the S.S. Chalmette in the western Caribbean Sea, and the system is believed to have organized to a minimal tropical storm 260 miles (420 km) southwest of Kingston, Jamaica late on October 13. The cyclone slowly moved northwest, and it gradually intensified on October 15. On the evening of October 16, the tropical storm rapidly intensified, and it strengthened to the equivalent of a minimal hurricane on October 17. Later, it attained peak sustained winds of 100 mph (155 km/h). Early on October 18, a ship reported a minimum pressure of 984 mbar (29.06 inHg) near the center, which was the lowest pressure measured during the life span of the storm. Subsequently, the hurricane weakened, and it made landfall 10 miles (16 km) south of Cancún with winds of 80 mph (130 km/h). It crossed the peninsula and moved south along the coast, weakening to a minimal tropical storm and striking the Tabasco area. The storm caused significant property damage and shipping losses. Several fishing vessels sank and some ocean liners (including the now-infamous Morro Castle) were stranded outside Vera Cruz harbor because violent seas made it too dangerous to enter. There were a few fatalities in the Yucatan, where damage to buildings and crops was severe.