Hurricanes - Part 3

🌪️ Science Minute with Mary – The Galveston Storm of 1900

🏝️ Once Upon a Time in Galveston…

Galveston, Texas was a thriving port city by the Gulf of Mexico in 1900. On September 8, a powerful Category 4 hurricane made landfall, sending a 15–16 foot storm surge crashing into the island.

About 6,000–8,000 people lost their lives—a tragedy that remains the deadliest in U.S. history. Almost every home was damaged, and more than 3,600 were completely destroyed and the city was forever changed.

🌀 How the Storm Traveled

• The storm began over the tropical Atlantic around August 27.

• It crossed over Cuba as a tropical storm, then intensified as it entered the Gulf of Mexico.

• On hitting Galveston, it brought strong winds over 130 mph and flooded the low-lying city

  
  

🛠️ After the Disaster

• Galveston built a 10-mile seawall 17 feet high and raised the level of the island to help protect against future storms.

  
  

✅ What We Learned

Forecasting tools were very limited in 1900—Cuban meteorologists accurately predicted the hurricane, but their warnings were not taken seriously by U.S. scientists

• The disaster led to improved weather communication, the start of modern forecasting, and long-term infrastructure changes to protect coastal cities.

  
  

Even decades later, before radar and satellite images were available to the public, families along the coast would listen to radio reports for the latest storm coordinates and plot them on printed hurricane tracking charts. It was a hands-on way to watch the storm’s progress — and to decide when it was time to prepare.

📚 For Parents

If you want a deeply researched and gripping true story of this storm, try Isaac’s Storm by Erik Larson. It focuses on Isaac Cline, a U.S. Weather Bureau scientist who predicted safety for Galveston—before the storm hit. It’s vivid and powerful, so it’s better suited for older teens or adults

🔍 Visit MaryParkerScienceAdventures.com to explore more stories and weather science adventures!

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