1916 –Aug 18, Hurricane, south Texas, especially greater Corpus Christi area, TX –15-20

–25 Blanchard tally of reported deaths from sources and descriptions below:
–2 Alice area. “…aged Mexican and his wife were found…demolished home…”
–1 Aransas Pass. Exposure; Herbert Moore, 14, at Flour Bluff; six hours in water.
–2 Flour Bluff area, Corpus Christi. Drownings; Lawrence Lewis, 21, and William Melrose, 50.
–3 Katherine area. “Three Mexicans, one a woman, on ranch near Katherine.”
–2 Laguna Madre lagoon south of Corpus Christi; fishermen.
–2 La Porta [La Porte?]; Mexicans.
–6 Port Aransas Harbor entrance; steamboat Pilot Bay “wrecked.”
–1 San Diego, Duval County. “…an unidentified Mexican woman…”
–2 Sarita; Mexicans.
–3 Willacy County. “Three unidentified Mexicans were killed…”
–20 Blanchard estimated death toll. (We do not include here Katherine or La Porta reports.)
–20 Dunn, Gordon E. and Banner I. Miller. Atlantic Hurricanes (Revised). 1964, p. 323.
–20 Roth, David (NWS). Texas Hurricane History. Jan 17, 2010 update, p. 9.
–2 Alice area. “…aged Mexican and his wife were found…demolished home…”
–6 Port Aransas Harbor entrance; steamboat Pilot Bay “wrecked.”
–1 San Diego, Duval County. “…an unidentified Mexican woman…”
–3 Willacy County. “Three unidentified Mexicans were killed…”
–2 Locales not noted; drownings, fishermen.
–16 Waco Morning News, TX. “Life Loss Placed At 16.” 8-21-1916, p. 1.
–9 “…members of the crew of the steamer Pilot Boy, wrecked off Port Aransas.” [6]
–3 Katherine area. “Three Mexicans, one a woman, on ranch near Katherine.”
–2 La Porta [La Porte?]; Mexicans.
–1 San Diego; Mexican.
–1 Sarita; Mexican.
–15 Burt and Stroud. Extreme Weather: A Guide & Record Book. 2004, p. 205.
–15 Corpus Christi Caller. “Fifteen Deaths in Storm Outside Corpus Christi.” 8-22-1916, p. 1.
–2 Alice area (7 miles southeast of). Unnamed “aged Mexican and his wife.”
–1 Aransas Pass. Exposure; Herbert Moore, 14, at Flour Bluff; six hours in water.
–2 Flour Bluff area, Corpus Christi. Drownings; Lawrence Lewis, 21, and William Melrose, 50.
–6 Pilot Boy crewmen
–1 Charley Martin of Galveston, first mate.
–1 Gus Schbering, of Galveston, second mate
–1 John Logan of Galveston, second engineer
–1 John Olson of Galveston, seaman
–1 Oscar Johnson of Galveston, seaman
–1 unnamed cook
–1 San Diego. “…reported the death of an unidentified Mexican woman.”
–3 Willacy county. Unidentified Mexicans
–2 Missing fishermen at Laguna Madre lagoon south of Corpus Christi.
–15 NWS Corpus Christi Weather Forecast Office. The Hurricane of 1916 (website).
–15 Henry. “Forecasts and Warnings….Tropical cyclone of August 12-18.” MWR.
–3 Corpus Christi coastal area. Drownings. (p. 461)
–2 Fisherman in the bay [Corpus Christi Bay] (p. 462.)
–1 Drowned, boy, 14. (p. 462.)
–6 Port Aransas Harbor entrance . Steamer Pilot Boy founders. (pp. 461, 462.)
–6 “…various interior points, as a result of hurricane winds…lower Rio Grande Valley.”
–2 7M SE of Alice, Jim Wells County. Aged couple; demolished house. (462)
–3 Willacy County. Unidentified Mexicans. (p. 462.)
–1 San Diego area, Duval County. Unidentified Mexican woman. (p. 462.)
–13 New York Times. “13 Killed in Texas Storm,” Aug 21, 1916.
— 2 Sarita [~62 miles south by southwest of Corpus Christi and 50M southeast of Alice].
— 1 Sarita. Brownsville Herald. “1 Fatality; 2 Injured At Sarita – Force of Storm…” 8-19-1916, 1.

Narrative Information

National Weather Service, Corpus Christi Weather Forecast Office: “The strongest storm since the Great Galveston storm of 1900 struck south of the Corpus Christi area. The hurricane, due to its fast movement and fortuitous landfall position, took relatively few lives and caused little damage….

“The following report was issued by W. F. Lehman, MIC of the Weather Bureau Office in Corpus Christi….

“In the early morning of the 18th the barometer began to fall slowly, and the wind, still from the north, increased from light at 1 a.m. to 22 miles at 7 a.m. Cloudiness also increased. Coming from the east, a layer of dense alto-stratus gradually advanced with a well-defined west front. At 5 a.m. about four tenths of clear sky could still be observed….

“The first light shower occurred at 7:45 a.m. and a thunderstorm, coming from the northeast and attended by moderate rainfall, passed over the city between 9:40 and 10:35 a.m. The wind, which had reached a velocity of 40 miles at 9:35 a.m., changed to light and moderate northeast during the passage of the thunderstorm, but resumed its north direction and squall character.

“The barometer, after registering the usual thunderstorm nose, fell rapidly, and the wind increased in intensity, attended from 11:55 a.m. on by a steady rain which did not end until late at night. At 1:53 p.m. a maximum velocity of 64 miles was recorded with an extreme of 70 miles. The direction of the wind soon after changed to northeast and its velocity decreased to the force of a strong gale from 3 to 5:30 p.m.

“The first squall of hurricane force occurred at 5:45 p.m. It was the beginning of straight east winds, veering occasionally between east-northeast and east by south. The barometer reached its lowest point, 29.05 inches – 29.07 reduced to sea level – at 6:15 p.m., but the wind attained its highest velocities during the subsequent two hours and a half. Estimated maximum velocities of 90 miles were reached at 6:50, 7:18, 8:15, and from 8:40 to 8:50 p.m., the barometer rising rapidly after 6:45 p.m.

“From 6:30 p.m. on all the meteorological notes except the barograph curve had to be recorded by eye observation or estimation, since the wind instruments were wrecked and the window panes in the instrument room were shattered, burying the mechanism of the automatically registering instrument under glass splinters. The barometer box was fixed solid to the wall, and as there was no safer place to take the barometers to – it was not thought that the windows in the other office rooms would hold out much longer – they were well protected and the room was closed up. After 9 p.m. the wind subsided, and at 11:30 p.m. it shifted to a southerly direction….

“From reports of reliable observers, gathered at this office, the storm center passed inland a little south of Riviera, situated 45 miles south of Corpus Christi….

“Of the death toll exacted by the storm: six of the crew of the steamboat Pilot Bay, coming from Galveston, forewarned, perished when the boat was wrecked in the entrance of Port Aransas Harbor…two fishermen…and a boy aged 14 complete the list of those drowned. Three unidentified Mexicans were killed in Willacy County, and an aged Mexican and his wife were found dead in their demolished home 7 miles southeast of Alice, Jim Wells County. Three warnings had been sent to Alice and were acknowledged with thanks. The death of an unidentified Mexican woman was reported from San Diego, Duval County.

“The property loss in the entire hurricane affected district is estimated at $1,600,000, the cities of Bishop, Kingsville, and Corpus Christi being the largest sufferers. In Corpus Christi it was the water front that sustained the heaviest damage. All the wharves and most of the buildings on the wharves were destroyed, even the solid timber head of the municipal wharf was unfloored, taking down the storm-warning display tower. Hardly a property in Corpus Christi escaped without damage of some kind, and vegetation where not destroyed suffered heavily. Many of the picturesque salt cedars, the pride of Corpus Christi, were blown down.” (NWS Corpus Christi Weather Forecast Office. The Hurricane of 1916 (website).)

Roth: “August 18-20th, 1916: On the 12th, a storm formed east of the Windward Islands and sped through the Caribbean and the Gulf with an unusually rapid motion. During the morning of the 18th, the Corpus Christi office warned it would strike between there and Brownsville. An evacuation was ordered by the mayor. Ironically, many visitors to the area were trying to evade Galveston, due to the hurricane the year before. Refugees fled to sturdy buildings away from the waterfront. It reached the coast near Corpus Christi. The winds were very destructive but the storm moved too rapidly to form an excessive surge.

“Winds increased to 22 mph at 7 AM the 18th. Rain began by 7:45. Winds became squally around 9:30. Winds gusted to 70 mph by 1:53 PM and debris was flying. The wind instruments there were destroyed at 6:30. Maximum sustained winds were estimated to 90 mph between 7 and 9 PM; the highest gust estimated was 100 mph. Gusty winds continued until noon the next day. The pressure bottomed out at 29.07″….

“At Kingsville, the pressure fell to 28.00″ at 8:15 PM on the 18th. As the center moved over Del Rio, pressures there fell to 28.69″ at 7:30 am the 19th. Damage was strewn across a wide area. In the interior of Texas, crops were badly damaged by winds and heavy rain. Rainfall records set during this storm are listed on the left. Windmills and barns were blown down. Six lives were lost in the Rio Grande valley as hurricane-force winds blew through the region.

“The storm surge demolished many boats and every pier in the Bay. Most of the damage was below the bluff with downed power lines everywhere. At the Aransas Pass lighthouse, the keeper’s dwelling and all outbuildings fell victim. Six lives were lost by the foundering of the steamer Pilot Bay off Port Aransas. In all, twenty people died and damages were near $1.8 million….” (Roth. Texas Hurricane History. Jan 17, 2010 update, pp. 36-37.)

Newspaper

Aug 20: “Corpus Christi, Texas, Aug 20. – The loss of life from the tropical storm which struck Corpus Christi and ten nearby counties in South Texas on Friday night was placed at thirteen tonight, including nine of the crew of the small freighter Pilot Boy, which foundered off the Aransas Pass jetties. Two Mexican men and one Mexican woman were killed at Katherine, a settlement on the King ranch near Alice, Texas, and one Mexican was reported killed at San Diego. Both towns are from fifty to sixty miles inland.

“The total damage in this region, of which Corpus Christi bore the heaviest part, was estimated at $2,000,000. This includes devastation of a large part of the lower coast’s cotton crop, which was ready to be picked…. The storm-stricken area extends about 150 miles along the lower Gulf coast from Corpus Christi to Brownsville, reaching inland from thirty to fifty miles.” (New York Times. “13 Killed in Texas Storm,” Aug 21, 1916.)

Sources

Brownsville Herald. “1 Fatality; 2 Injured At Sarita – Force of Storm Struck 100 Miles North.” 8-19-1916, p1. Accessed 9-20-2022 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/brownsville-herald-aug-19-1916-p-5/

Brownsville Herald, TX. “15 Lives is Total Death Toll Storm.” 8-23-1916, p. 1. Accessed 9-20-2022 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/brownsville-herald-aug-23-1916-p-1/

Brownsville Herald, TX. “Total Storm Damage $1,500,000. Corpus Christi Suffers $500,000.” 8-21-1916, p1. Accessed 9-19-2022 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/brownsville-herald-aug-21-1916-p-1/

Burt, Christopher C. and Mark Stroud. Extreme Weather: A Guide & Record Book. W. W. Norton & Co., 2004, 304 pages. Google preview accessed 1-1-2014 at: http://books.google.com/books?id=NuP7ATq9nWgC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false

Corpus Christi Caller and Daily Herald. “Fifteen Deaths in Storm Outside Corpus Christi.” 8-22-1916, p. 1. Accessed 9-20-2022 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/corpus-christi-caller-and-daily-herald-aug-22-1916-p-1/

Dunn, Gordon E. and Banner I. Miller. Atlantic Hurricanes (Revised Edition). Baton Rouge LA: Louisiana State University Press, 1964, 377 pages.

Henry, Alfred J. “Forecasts and Warnings for August 1916….Tropical cyclone of August 12-18.” Monthly Weather Review, Vol. 44, Issue 8, August 1916, pp. 461-462. Accessed 9-19-2022 at: https://journals.ametsoc.org/view/journals/mwre/44/8/1520-0493_1916_44_461_fawfa_2_0_co_2.xml

National Weather Service Weather Forecast Office, Corpus Christi, TX. The Hurricane of 1916 (website). Accessed at: http://www.srh.noaa.gov/crp/docs/research/hurrhistory/1916/1916.html

New York Times. “13 Killed in Texas Storm,” Aug 21, 1916. Accessed 9-19-2022 at: http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9B06E7D81E3FE233A25752C2A96E9C946796D6CF

Roth, David (National Weather Service). Texas Hurricane History. Camp Springs, MD: NWS. 1-17-2010 update. Accessed 11-22-2017 at: http://www.hpc.ncep.noaa.gov/research/txhur.pdf

Waco Morning News, TX. “Life Loss Placed At 16.” 8-21-1916, p. 1. Accessed 9-20-2022 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/waco-morning-news-aug-21-1916-p-2/