Hurricane King was the most severe hurricane to strike Florida since the 1926 Miami hurricane. It was the eleventh tropical storm and the last of a record-setting eight major hurricanes in the 1950 Atlantic hurricane season. The cyclone formed in the western Caribbean Sea on October 13, and initially moved northeastward, slowly strengthening. Hurricane King crossed Cuba on October 17, causing seven deaths and $2 million in damage (1950 USD). It reached its peak intensity of 120 mph (190 km/h) and subsequently made landfall on downtown Miami, Florida. The hurricane damaged 20,861 houses in southern Florida, 580 of them severely, and destroyed a further 248. Further inland, King caused heavy crop damage, particularly to the citrus industry. After weakening to a tropical storm, King moved across Georgia, where it caused isolated power outages and minor damage. Across the United States, the hurricane left four fatalities and $30 million in damage.
Read more about Hurricane King: Meteorological History, Aftermath
Famous quotes containing the words hurricane and/or king:
“Staid middle age loves the hurricane passions of opera.”
—Mason Cooley (b. 1927)
“When the Prince of Wales [later King George IV] and the Duke of York went to visit their brother Prince William [later William IV] at Plymouth, and all three being very loose in their manners, and coarse in their language, Prince William said to his ship’s crew, “now I hope you see that I am not the greatest blackguard of my family.””
—Horace Walpole (1717–1797)