 Map of the hurricane on October 4 | |
| Meteorological history | |
|---|---|
| Formed | September 27, 1949[a] |
| Extratropical | October 6, 1949 |
| Dissipated | October 7, 1949 |
| Category 2 hurricane | |
| 1-minute sustained (SSHWS/NWS) | |
| Highest winds | 110 mph (175 km/h) |
| Lowest pressure | 965 mbar (hPa); 28.50 inHg |
| Overall effects | |
| Fatalities | 3 total[b] |
| Damage | $6.7 million (1949 USD) |
| Areas affected | El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Belize, Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois |
| IBTrACS | |
Part of the 1949 Atlantic and Pacific hurricane seasons | |
The 1949 Texas hurricane was a tropical cyclone that crossed over from the eastern Pacific to the Atlantic, contributing to extensive flooding in Guatemala and impacting East Texas. Forming in the Pacific Ocean on September 27, the storm meandered across Central America and southern Mexico as a tropical depression. Rainfall from the developing storm helped exacerbate a flooding event over southern Guatemala that may have killed as many as 40,000 people. The storm then crossed into the Gulf of Mexico on October 1 and began to intensify. It ultimately peaked as a high-end Category 2-equivalent hurricane on the modern-day Saffir–Simpson hurricane scale and made landfall near Freeport, Texas, on the morning of October 4. It rapidly weakened after moving inland and dissipated several days later. Damage from the storm was moderate, although the hurricane temporarily cut off the city of Galveston from the mainland. Rice crops suffered extensive damage in Texas and Louisiana, with losses estimated at up to $10 million (equivalent to $128 million in 2023). Three fatalities are attributed to the hurricane.
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